344 HALL'S EXCURSIONS. 
a mass of Obsidian, near the farm of Sicsipamba, on the 
eastern ridge of the Cordillera, I accompanied him on 
the 27th of July for the purpose of examining it. Our 
road lay across the valley of Guaillapamba, the upper half 
of it being known by the former name, while the lower part 
is called after the river which flows through it. The hill of 
Ylalo forms the division. Adjoining to Quito, on the north, 
is a level grassy plain called the Ejido of Anaquito. After 
crossing it in a north-easterly direction, the road descends 
precipitously to the village of Guapulo, placed in a ravine, 
formed by the stream of Machangara, which runs close to 
the city. About midway in the descent stands the elegant 
church of Guapulo, famous for its architecture, its shrine of 
coral and miraculous images. In coming from Quito, the 
traveller looks down upon its dome and towers, which seem 
planted in a lonely dell, while, to those ascending from the 
valley, it appears placed on a mountain. ‘The huts of the 
Indians, screened by the vegetation round them, are scarcely 
visible in the landscape, so that the edifice stands an object 
of lonely beauty. At the farther end of the village a stone 
bridge crosses the Machangara, close to which a small 
tributary stream precipitates itself in a cascade, shadowed 
by trees. The height of the bridge, above the level of 
the sea, is 8056 feet. The descent from Quito is con- 
sequently 1468 feet. The profusion of Mimosas along the 
road-sides indicates the approach to a milder climate. Emerg- 
ing from the ravine, through which the Machangara pursues 
its course to the Guaillapamba, we reached the village of 
Cumbaya, which consists of little more than Indian cottages 
grouped round a church. "The farms and gardens in the 
neighbourhood produce Sugar-cane, which, at this elevation, 
requires three years to ripen. Oranges, Limes, small Agua- 
cates, Granadillos, a species of Walnut-tree, with a round 
fruit, called Tortes by the inhabitants; we also found the Mi- 
mosa—? whose button-like yellow blossoms are esteemed for 
their fragrance, and some trees of the Sapindus saponaria in 
gardens; the vegetation, however, is by no means luxuriant ; 
