People come to Vilcabamba to relax – which is an easy task once you’re here, considering the tranquility of the village and its stunning mountainous surroundings. The slightly surreal peaks that practically engulf Vilcabamba make for some excellent day hikes from town. Furthermore, nearly every other building (and there aren’t many) has a sign out [...]
Tulcán is a chilly highland city steeped in grit and bustle, a narrow urban causeway linking with Colombia. The provincial capital of Carchi used to attract Colombians bargain hunting with the Ecuadorian sucre, but these days the best deals are with Colombian imports. The Sunday street market provides goods and clothing but few handicrafts. The [...]
As you roll further south along the Panamericana, the giant snowcapped peaks of the central highlands fade from the rearview mirror. The climate gets warmer, distances between towns become greater and the decades clunk down by the wayside. Although few peaks top 4000m here, the topography is rugged – so rugged in fact that not [...]
Bumping along the spectacular dirt roads of the Quilotoa loop and hiking between the area’s Andean villages is one of Ecuador’s most exhilarating adventures. Transportation is tricky but the rewards are abundant: highland markets, the breathtaking crater lake of Laguna Quilotoa, splendid hikes and traditional highland villages. Most of the villages along the loop have [...]
You can’t help but feel the rub of the first world chafing against the ancient in the Oriente, Ecuador’s Amazon Basin. Consider the Tagaeri and Taromenani, who refuse all contact with the modern world but inhabit the same forest where oil exploitation grows day by day. These worlds will one day meet. The Oriente is [...]
Much like the revolutionary scientific idea it’s become synonymous with, the Galápagos Islands may inspire you to think differently about the world. Nowhere else can you engage in a staring contest with wild animals and lose. You can’t help thinking you’ve stumbled upon an alternate universe, some strange utopian colony organized by sea lions – [...]
Tena has evolved as the ambassador of the jungle, a cheerful hodgepodge with two fat rivers intersecting at its heart. White-water paddlers get giddy in the rafting and kayaking capital of Ecuador; there are so many rafting options and a cold beer and toasty bed back in town. Even if the river’s not your cup [...]
Encircled by verdant jungle, at the edge of a dank, still sea, San Lorenzo (population 14,600) is a decrepit, lively hodge-podge of blazing heat, tropical beats and crumbling storefronts. Marimba notes and salsa music flavor this mostly African-Ecuadorian outpost, which goes all out in August with an annual music festival. The main reason to visit [...]
Deemed ‘the Sultan of the Andes, ’ Riobamba is a traditional, old-fashioned city that both bores and delights travelers. It’s sedate yet handsome, with wide avenues and random mismatched shops tucked into imposing 18th- and 19th-century stone buildings. It lies at the heart of an extensive scenic road network and is the starting point for [...]
Spread across a spectacular Andean valley and flanked by volcanic peaks, Quito’s setting alone is enough to strike you speechless. The historical center – or ‘old town,’ as it’s called – is a maze of colonial splendor, an Unesco World Heritage Site since 1978. Quito is currently flush with pride after 2006 marked the final [...]