Quito sits at 2,850 metres in an Andean valley, making it the second-highest capital city on Earth. Its historic centre—the best-preserved colonial old town in the Americas—was among the first places UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site in 1978.
La Compañía de Jesús on García Moreno Street took 160 years to build and is covered in seven tonnes of gold leaf inside. The Baños de Agua Santa, a short bus ride from Quito, sits below Tungurahua volcano with hot springs fed by geothermal water.
Plaza Grande at the heart of the old town is flanked by the Presidential Palace, the Metropolitan Cathedral, and the Archbishop’s Palace. Guards in white uniforms change on the hour. The square fills with pigeons, locals, and vendors selling newspapers and fresh juice.
The Teleférico cable car rises from 2,950 metres to 4,100 metres on the slopes of Pichincha volcano in under 10 minutes. The views from the top stretch across the city and down the Avenue of the Volcanoes toward Cotopaxi on clear mornings.
La Mariscal neighbourhood—known as Gringolandia to locals—concentrates restaurants, bars, and hostels in a few walkable blocks. The Mercado Central is better for lunch: enormous portions of seco de pollo and arroz con leche for around $3–4.
The Galápagos lie 1,000 kilometres off Ecuador’s Pacific coast. Charles Darwin arrived in 1835 and spent five weeks studying finches, tortoises, and iguanas that had evolved in isolation. His observations here eventually produced On the Origin of Species.
The wildlife has no fear of humans. Blue-footed boobies perform mating dances a metre from your feet. Sea lions sleep across footpaths and dock benches. Marine iguanas—the only seagoing lizards on Earth—swim through the surf and sun themselves in black clusters on volcanic rock.
Santa Cruz is the main island hub, with Puerto Ayora as the largest town. The Charles Darwin Research Station at the edge of town raises giant tortoises for reintroduction to their native islands. The Tortoise Reserve in the highlands lets you walk among free-ranging tortoises in the mist.
Day trips from Santa Cruz reach neighbouring islands. Española (Hood Island) has the world’s only albatross colony outside Antarctica. Bartolomé has the most photographed view in the archipelago: Pinnacle Rock rising from turquoise water above a lava field.
Entry to the Galápagos National Park costs $100 per person. All visits must be with a licensed naturalist guide. Live-aboard cruises ranging from 4 to 14 days reach the most remote islands—and the most spectacular wildlife encounters.
Alexander von Humboldt named it the Avenida de los Volcanes—the Avenue of the Volcanoes—when he travelled Ecuador in 1802. The road south from Quito passes between two rows of volcanic peaks: Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, Cayambe, Antisana. The scenery is relentless.
Cotopaxi at 5,897 metres is one of the world’s highest active volcanoes and Ecuador’s most iconic peak. The summit is permanently glaciated. Climbers attempt the summit year-round, typically starting at 11pm to reach the top at sunrise. Cotopaxi National Park surrounds the base with páramo grassland and wild horses.
Chimborazo at 6,268 metres is the furthest point from Earth’s centre due to the equatorial bulge—technically making its summit more distant from the Earth’s core than Everest’s. The Chimborazo Reserve below the snowline is home to vicunas, a wild relative of the llama.
Otavalo, two hours north of Quito, runs the largest indigenous market in South America every Saturday. The Plaza de los Ponchos fills before dawn with vendors selling hand-woven textiles, carved wood, alpaca products, and fresh produce. Quality is high. Bargaining is expected.
Laguna Quilotoa, a turquoise crater lake at 3,914 metres, sits inside a dormant volcano three hours south of Quito. The hike down to the water and back takes 2–3 hours. A full rim walk takes 5–6 hours. The colour of the lake shifts from jade to turquoise depending on the light and angle.
The Ecuadorian Amazon—called the Oriente—begins where the Andes drop away east of Quito. Within three hours, the road descends from 3,000 metres to 300 metres and the air becomes warm, thick, and alive. Tena is the main gateway for whitewater rafting on the Upper Napo River.
Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve in the far northeast is among the most biodiverse places on Earth: pink river dolphins, giant river otters, anacondas, black caimans, and over 500 bird species. Multi-day lodge trips from Lago Agrio bring you into the forest on canoe and on foot with indigenous Siona guides.
Ecuador’s Pacific coast runs 640 kilometres from Colombia to Peru. Montañita has become the surf capital—consistent beach breaks, a backpacker scene, and a main street that stays loud until 4am. Puerto López, further south, is the base for humpback whale watching from June to September.
Manta is Ecuador’s fishing city and the tuna capital of South America. The dock at dawn is a spectacle: hundreds of boats unloading, buyers negotiating, pelicans and frigatebirds competing for scraps. The nearby Isla de la Plata is called the poor man’s Galápagos—blue-footed boobies, frigatebirds, and sea turtles without the expensive flights.
The Mindo cloud forest valley, just 70 kilometres from Quito, holds over 500 bird species including 30 types of hummingbird. The road descends from the western Andes into a warm, green valley of waterfalls, chocolate farms, and butterfly houses. It’s an easy day trip or overnight from the capital.