Ecuador

What to see

Quito

A stunning city, complete with attractive colonial quarter that has a superb setting, backed by the breathtaking, snow-capped volcano Pichincha. For an overview, climb El Panecillo, on top of which stands a giant statue of the Virgin of Quito. By turns cosmopolitan, bustling and well-preserved, the city is absolutely charming.

Otavalo

Traditional town that is well-known for its handicrafts and for the lively, noisy Saturday market where Indians in habitual costume come to sell their wares.

Baños

Named after the thermal springs and hot water pools close by, fired by Volcán Tungurahua, this town is an excellent base for outdoor activities including trekking, horse-riding and mountain biking along a jungle highway.

Cuenca

Quaint colonial mountain town with stone streets lined with colourful buildings that’s also a great base for camping forays into the Parque Nacional Cajas.

Top experiences / sites of particular interest

Cotopaxi

At 5900m, this perfect conical peak is the world’s tallest active volcano. Popular with both visitors to the Parque Nacional de Cotopaxi and climbers who want to tackle the summit, the cone is an imposing and iconic landmark.

Ingapirca

Ecuador’s best preserved Inca ruins, which are still used by the local Cañari people to meet and to stage festivals.

Galapagos Islands

Archipelago around 1000km offshore that is home to numerous rare and unique animal species including lava lizards, marine iguanas, fur seals, sea lions and giant tortoises. Half of the species living here are found nowhere else on Earth.

El Oriente

Ecuador’s Amazonian region, which supports indigenous tribes and a myriad of flora and fauna.

Quilotoa Loop

The Quilotoa Loop is a bumpy circuit that allows you to get off the Panamerican Highway to explore the backcountry of Cotopaxi province, taking in indigenous markets, ‘bottomless’ crystal blue lakes and a community dedicated to preserving local traditions.

When to go

Weather & Seasons: Given the topography, Ecuador has a wide range of climates. In the highlands the dry season is between June and September and again from December to January, although even during the wet season it doesn’t rain all that much. The central valley remains constant and spring-like year round whilst the Oriente is much wetter, with rain possible all year, peaking in July and August when it is pretty much a given. On the coast the rains fall from January to May, but the afternoon bursts are short and sharp rather than protracted showers. The Galapagos Islands are stable, dry and cool all year.

Important Dates and Festivals: The majority of key festivals are centred on the Catholic Church, with Corpus Christi in June being a big occasion, especially in the highlands, whilst the pre-Easter Carnival is bright, noisy and peppered with water fights. All Souls Day on 2 November is widely celebrated and equally colourful. There are also celebrations around the birthdays of Simón Bolívar on 24 July and Christopher Columbus on 12 October.

Getting there / around

Short Trips:Because of its compact size, it is relatively easy to see a lot of Ecuador in a short time period. That said, there are a lot of highlights and you could easily spend much longer touring the country, particularly if you want to take in the Galapagos, too.

3 Weeks:Two to three weeks will allow you to travel south from Quito, in order to take in Cotopaxi and the mountainous landscape of the Quilotoa Loop. Push on to Baños to relax, then Riobamba for adrenaline activities and hiking around Chimborazo. Take the train along the Devil’s Nose to Cuenca and trek to Ingapirca before finishing in laidback Vilcabamba, exploring nearby Parque Nacional Podocarpus. Fly north again to Quito from Loja, to finish with a day trip to Otavlo so you don’t have to lug your market purchases all over the country.

Two to three weeks also enables you to tackle a road circuit around the Afro-Ecuadorian north coast, investigating giant mangrove swamps, hidden fishing villages and jungle reserves off the beaten track. The same timescale allows you to explore the little-visited southern reaches and sections of the southern Oriente, stopping at attractive, small Amazonian towns.

Longer Trips:To get the best of everything the country offers you’ll need far longer; if you’re prepared to fly between Quito, the Galapagos, the rainforest and the Andes, then you can manage a ‘Best of’ tour in three weeks.

Potential itineraries

Short Trips:Because of its compact size, it is relatively easy to see a lot of Ecuador in a short time period. That said, there are a lot of highlights and you could easily spend much longer touring the country, particularly if you want to take in the Galapagos, too.

3 Weeks: Two to three weeks will allow you to travel south from Quito, in order to take in Cotopaxi and the mountainous landscape of the Quilotoa Loop. Push on to Baños to relax, then Riobamba for adrenaline activities and hiking around Chimborazo. Take the train along the Devil’s Nose to Cuenca and trek to Ingapirca before finishing in laidback Vilcabamba, exploring nearby Parque Nacional Podocarpus. Fly north again to Quito from Loja, to finish with a day trip to Otavlo so you don’t have to lug your market purchases all over the country.

Two to three weeks also enables you to tackle a road circuit around the Afro-Ecuadorian north coast, investigating giant mangrove swamps, hidden fishing villages and jungle reserves off the beaten track. The same timescale allows you to explore the little-visited southern reaches and sections of the southern Oriente, stopping at attractive, small Amazonian towns.

Longer Trips: To get the best of everything the country offers you’ll need far longer; if you’re prepared to fly between Quito, the Galapagos, the rainforest and the Andes, then you can manage a ‘Best of’ tour in three weeks.

Guides

Overall Country Guides: There are complete country guides, which include the Galapagos, from Lonely Planet and Rough Guides and Frommer's .

Nature Guides: There are several natural history titles worth taking too, foremost amongst which are probably the Birds of Ecuador and Galapagos from New Holland, Galapagos Wildlife from Bradt.

Maps

Country Maps: The country map Ecuador from Reise Know-How offers good coverage, as do the versions available from Freytag & Berndt.

City Maps: The only city plan of note is ITMB’s Quito and Ecuador North.

Trekking Maps: Nelles Verlag make a trekking scale map of Nevado Chimborazo and Climbing Map publishes a very good walking scale map of Cotopaxi for people looking to scale the summit.

Read More

Eland publishes Galapagos as part of their excellent Through Writers’ Eyes series, an anthology of the best writing on the destination.

Sight & Sound

Film: For a flavour of the highlands, watch Que Tan Lejos? (How Much Further?), an Ecuadorian road movie following two young women on a journey of self-discovery. Gustavo Guayasamin’s documentary Hierlos del Chimborazo is a portrayal of the men who would cut ice from the glaciers to sell in highland markets.

Music: Traditional pan-pipe music and folklórica can be heard in most rural communities. Pasillo, based around the waltz, is also popular, and you’ll hear marimba music in the northern coastal regions and cumbia throughout the country. For a contemporary twist, listen out for Esto Es Eso, a US-Ecuadorian duo who fuse local sounds with modern hip hop.

Language

Latin American Spanish is the standard language although some English is also spoken in Quito and Guayaquil.

Currency

US Dollar ($), made up of 100 cents.

Visas

No visa required for UK or USA.

Health issues

Vaccinations for cholera, hep A, hep B, rabies, typhoid and yellow fever are recommended. There is also malaria in some areas.

Safety, FO travel advice

Generally welcoming and safe although you should exercise caution in the border territories adjoining both Colombia and Peru.

Useful Telephone Numbers

Ecuadorian country representative can be found

in the UK at

and in the US at

There are no tourist boards in either country.

For more information visit: www.ecuadorexplorer.com, www.ecuador.org or www.galapagos.org, www.ecuworld.com or www.ecuador.com.