The Otavalo/Las Lagos bus company will drop you off at the bus terminal in Otavalo.
There is a small bus terminal northeast in town along calle Atahualpa & Jacinto Collahuazo and busses leave for Quito (2,5 hours) every 10 minutes.
Taxies will take you anywhere within town for $ 1,00.
Typical market products: [http://www.elrancho.edicypages.com/artisan] Article about the market: [http://www.volunteeringecuador.info/imbabura/awakening-the-senses-otavalo-in-its-full-glory.html]
See the website for a gallery of pictures taken around the area. </sleep>
Cuicocha Lake West of Otavalo at the base of Volcan Cotacachi and near Cotacachi Village. It is an eco reserve, with a lake in the crater of the volcano. Very pretty, with a lovely, but reasonably long, day walk around. Great views to Volcan Imbabura and Otavalo can be seen from there. To get there take a taxi to Cotacachi village, or take the bus from Otavalo terminal(20c), then hire a taxi from there.
Each of the small villages around Otavalo and Ibarra general specialise in a particular craft. Cotacachi specialises in leather goods.
A local speciality is Helados de Paila, or sorbet icecream. With beautiful fruit used to make the sorbet, it is a must for any visitor.
Amazing walking, and a much quieter pace of life just a 15 minute bus ride from touristy Otavalo. This indigenous village is truly charming. There are over 100 shamans in Iluman_Ls shaman_Ls association. They are famous for two types of work, one traditional botanical medicine, and more spiritual advice. The bus from Otavalo goes every 15 minutes from the terminal, and costs 18c.
There are a large number of villages surrounding, Otavalo, Ibarra, and Cotacachi. Each village tends to specialise in the manufacture of a one particular good, from the rugs, to Panama hats, to bronze busts.