Tiny Ecuador sits astride the Equator squeezed between two larger Andean states, Peru and Colombia. But despite its size, it manages to deliver the perfect snapshot of everything that is Latin America, from ice-coated Andean volcanic peaks through gusty upland steppe and sheltered, wooded valleys to Amazonian rainforest . The coastal plain hosts plantations of tropical fruits while the wild Pacific beaches, caressed by warm seas, are strewn with driftwood and shaded by palms.
The capital, Quito, sits in an upland bowl framed by Andean peaks and is an excellent base from which to seek out the market towns and craft villages: Ecuador is justifiably renowned for its artisan work – carvings, leather goods and textiles. Many of the majority indigenous population still wear traditional dress and jewellery according to their village of origin. You can also visit the countryside from one of a number of traditional colonial haciendas, by road or on horseback. The energetic among you may even opt to climb a volcano, or cycle down it!
A column of snow-drenched volcanoes marches south to Cuenca, Ecuador’s gracious second city; to the east lie expanses of tropical rainforest, impenetrable except by air and canoe – within a couple of hours you can be enjoying jungle life from a comfortable lodge.
Westward the Pacific Ocean stretches into tomorrow, across the dateline to the coast of Borneo - unbroken but for the Galápagos Islands, with which most visits to the Ecuadorian mainland are combined.
We are pleased to offer escorted, fixed date group tours or individually tailor-made itineraries.