30 Cities with the Highest Altitudes in the World

2. Quito, Ecuador

Average Elevation:  9,133.858 feet

The University of Colorado’s Altitude Research Centre has discovered genes that help protect long-term high-altitude populations against altitude sickness. Native inhabitants in these places are born with greater oxygenation, larger lung capacities, and a higher ability for activity than humans who acclimate through time. Because of this, the Ecuador national football team famously plays all of its World Cup qualification games in Quito, at a height of 2,850 meters. Quito can be considered as the highest capital city in the world.

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