Discover Three Sides of Ecuador

By Chris Robinson

Be prepared to travel – and pack – differently in Ecuador. Sure, you should take beachwear and clothing for tropical weather, but you need gear for cold climates, too, if you plan to explore diverse regions of the spectacular country.

At nearly 3,000 metres, you will notice reduced oxygen levels in Quito, an ideal place to start your journey. Take a few leisurely days to stroll around the superbly preserved historic heart of the capital city. The colonial architecture is so perfect that Quito was one of the first places in the world to be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are so many fine buildings. The Palacio de Carondelet is the imposing home of government; the grand Basilica del Voto Nacional is the epitome of neo-Gothic architecture; and the Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús glitters with gold and silver. The equator – the feature for which the country is named – lies on the outskirts of Quito. Ciudad Mitad del Mundo celebrates the invisible line dividing the Earth at its middle with a monument and ethnographic museum. Plus, you can stand astride the Northern and Southern hemispheres simultaneously.

Once acclimatized to the altitude, it’s time to tour some of the Andean splendours that make Ecuador’s mountain region so special. The snow-capped volcanoes of Cotopaxi and Chimborazo reach about 6,000 metres, and the slopes are a good place to see llamas and their wild cousins, the vicuña. Otavalo is famous for its market focused on Indigenous crafts and livestock. Cuenca is another UNESCO city that offers a perfect, perpetual springtime climate. Baños is known as a centre for mountain adventure and has soothing natural hot springs.

Baños is also a jumping-off place to descend the eastern slopes of the Andes into the oppressive humidity of the Amazon basin. This region features massive national parks and Indigenous communities where Amazon tribes continue living in traditional ways. It’s another world down here – a world of few roads and tiny frontier-style settlements perched on the banks of torrential brown rivers, a world of iridescent butterflies, fearless monkeys, and countless hummingbirds.

Misahuallí is a good place to sample these wonders. It sits on the banks of the Napo River, a major tributary of the Amazon, right on the edge of the great jungles of Amazonia. There are comfortable lodges here and yet you can walk into the jungle or take a dugout canoe down the river. Local guides can take you on hikes through the forest to point out the exuberant flora and fauna that overwhelm the senses.

Visit Indigenous villages to learn how their way of life is in harmony with the land – very different from our own lifestyle and little changed over time. Perhaps one of the village shamans will use herbs and smoke to extract your evil spirits. And as you drift to sleep in the syrupy humidity, listening to the sounds of the jungle, this place will feel worlds away from the mountains you were recently exploring.

Your road back over the mountains winds from the jungle lowlands ever upwards toward the continental divide. Travel through successive ecological zones toward dizzying mountain passes crouched beneath conical volcanoes. Visit the Incan ruins of Ingapirca and take a cable car above the Pastaza River to a high waterfall. And ride the famous Devil’s Nose railway zigzagging its way down a near-vertical Andean cliff. Head westwards and, as the height falls away, the warmth and lushness return. But this is a very different world again. These are the verdant plains of the Pacific coastlands. Sprawling plantations of cacao, pineapple, and banana encircle Guayaquil, the country’s largest city, and roll on to vast uncrowded beaches facing the Pacific. There are no glitzy high-rise resorts here – just sleepy fishing communities with simple but perfect accommodations and restaurants serving today’s catch from the local fishing boats. As a bonus, an offshore island called Isla de la Plata awaits you. This is the lesser-known place to meet those most lovable of birds – the blue-footed boobies. Three worlds, one trip, and many memories to last a lifetime.