Ecuador
If an argumentative group of travelers sat down to design a shared destination, they would be hard put to come up with a place that would best Ecuador. Packed like a knee-cap between Peru and Colombia, Ecuador contains within its borders an improbable variety of landscape and culture. For the mountaineer, it is bisected by an epic stretch of the northern Andes. For the jungle explorer, there is a biological mother lode within the Amazonian Oriente. The sea-minded are rewarded with miles of Pacific coastline, to say nothing of the living wonders of the Galapagos Islands. Not only are these regions highly defined, but excluding Galapagos they are also wonderfully contiguous. The entire country is about the size of Washington state, and it is home to some of the world's most extraordinary national parks. In a matter of two hundred miles, the traveler can penetrate all of the mainland's defining regions--the coastal lowlands in the West, the volcanic central highlands, and the rainforests of the East, or Oriente.
Ecuador's climate is equally generous to the traveler. Embracing the Pacific, Ecuador rests squarely on the equator (hence its name). Here, seasons are defined more by rainfall than temperature. A warm rainy season lasts from January to April, and May through December is characterized by a cooler, drier period that is ideally timed for a summer trip.
Quito is one of the oldest cities in the Americas. When you walk along the cobblestone streets and visit 16th-century churches, you really feel as though you have taken a trip back in time. Within a couple of hours of Quito, you can climb to the top of the highest active volcano in the world or shop for handicrafts in one of the largest and most colorful markets in South America.
Guayaquil may be South America's most up-and-coming city, a booming metropolis (it's Ecuador's largest city) that is making tremendous changes to its old image of an uninteresting, even drab destination -- and it's been hugely successful. The new Malecón 2000 is a beautiful stretch of riverfront boardwalk complete with great galleries, new museums, and hip restaurants.
Then there's the jungle. Hop on a quick flight from Quito and you'll find yourself in one of the most biologically diverse tropical rainforests in the world. Early in the morning, you can watch parrots and macaws gathering for breakfast. As you take canoe trips down the river, you might spot an anaconda curled up on the rocky shores, waiting patiently for its prey, or perhaps you'll catch a glimpse of playful dolphins frolicking in the river. If you're lucky, you may hear a jaguar howling in the night. You can also visit local villages in the jungle, where the people live very much the same way their ancestors did hundreds of years ago.
Cuenca is a must for history (and culinary) buffs. Before the Spanish arrived, this was the second-most important city in the Inca empire. Many of the city's majestic churches were built over the foundations of Inca palaces. But even before the Incas arrived, the area was inhabited by the sophisticated Cañaris culture. Just outside the city, you can visit Ingapirca, an important archaeological site that was sacred for both the Cañaris and the Incas. In the city itself, there are several excellent restaurants serving Ecuadorian specialties not found elsewhere in the country.
Ecuador is small enough that if you have 2 weeks, you can see the best of everything. If you only have time to visit the Galápagos, you certainly won't be disappointed. But if you travel through the mainland, you will have the chance to discover the diverse wonders of this tiny country.
If an argumentative group of travelers sat down to design a shared destination, they would be hard put to come up with a place that would best Ecuador. Packed like a knee-cap between Peru and Colombia, Ecuador contains within its borders an improbable variety of landscape and culture. For the mountaineer, it is bisected by an epic stretch of the northern Andes. For the jungle explorer, there is a biological mother lode within the Amazonian Oriente. The sea-minded are rewarded with miles of Pacific coastline, to say nothing of the living wonders of the Galapagos Islands. Not only are these regions highly defined, but excluding Galapagos they are also wonderfully contiguous. The entire country is about the size of Washington state, and it is home to some of the world's most extraordinary national parks. In a matter of two hundred miles, the traveler can penetrate all of the mainland's defining regions--the coastal lowlands in the West, the volcanic central highlands, and the rainforests of the East, or Oriente.
Here, seasons are defined more by rainfall than temperature. A warm rainy season lasts from January to April, and May through December is characterized by a cooler, drier period that is ideally timed for a summer trip.
As you take canoe trips down the river, you might spot an anaconda curled up on the rocky shores, waiting patiently for its prey, or perhaps you'll catch a glimpse of playful dolphins frolicking in the river. If you're lucky, you may hear a jaguar howling in the night. You can also visit local villages in the jungle, where the people live very much the same way their ancestors did hundreds of years ago.
Ecuador is small enough that if you have 2 weeks, you can see the best of everything. If you only have time to visit the Galápagos, you certainly won't be disappointed. But if you travel through the mainland, you will have the chance to discover the diverse wonders of this tiny country.