Ecuador Holidays

ECUADOR

 

OVERLAND ROUTES

Major border crossings at Ipiales (Colombia): at Tumbes/ Aguas verdes, La Tina  and la Balsa (perú); and via Iquitos/Nuevo Rocafuerte (Peru by river). 

Nowhere else on earth you find so much natural diversity-and all the fun that goes with it-in so tiny a place. Ecuador is the second smallest country is South America, but the ranger of landscape it offers is no less than astounding. One day you'll be picking through hand-woven sweaters at chilly indigenous market in the Andes, and the next day you'll be sweating all over your binoculars while spying on howler monkeys in the rainforest.

For nature lovers, the palce is a drem; exotic orchids and birds, bizarre jungle plants,strange insect. windswept páramo (high altitude grassland), dripping tropical forests and the fearless animals that hop, wobble and swim around the Galápagos Islands all await your hungry eyes.

For the adrenaline junkie, the choices are outrageous:climbing, mountaineering, trekking and white-water raffing are world class. Toss in some horse-riding, hiking and surfing and you'll leave Ecuador with a happily aching body. And for the culture vulture, Ecuador is alive with indigenous heritage, with traditional costumes andhighland markets, where a constant rhythm of sound and movement draws you slowly into an other-worldly states of mind.

Festivals: Held duringthe first two weeks of September, the Fiesta del Yamor features processions, music and dancing in theplaza, fireworks, cockfights, the election of the fiesta queen and ofcourse, lostof chicah de yamor (adelicious nonalcoholic corn drinkmade  with seven varietiess of corn).

HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE

Ecuador's past is written in its street sings. One only need stroll around Quito for a day, from Av de los Shyris (named after the pre inca tribe of the northern highlands) to the mariscal Sucre neighborhood (named for Ecuado's greatest independece hero) to get a good lesson on  Ecuadorian history.

Many of Quito's churches were built during the colonial period, and the architects were influenced by the Quito school (see visual Arts, right). In addition, churches often show Moorish influences, particulary  in the decorative details of interiors. Known as mudéjar this reflects architectural style that developed in Spain beginning in the 12th century. 
The overall architecture of colonial churches is overpoweringly ornamental and almost cloyingly rich- in short, baroque.

Many colonial houses have two stories, with the upper floors bearing ornate balconies. the walls are whitewashed and the roofs are red tile. Quito's old town and cuenca are Unesco world heritage Sites and both abound with beautifully preserved colonial architecture.

WILDLIFE

Ecuador is one of the most species-rich countries on the globe, deemed a megadiversity hot spot' by ecologists. The country has more than 20.000 plants species, with new ones discovered every year. In comparison, there are only 17.000 plant species, on the entire North American continen. The tropics, in general, harbor many more species than temperate regions do, but another reason for Ecuador's biodiversity is simple is simply that the country hols a great number of habit types. Obviously,the Andes will support very different species than the tropical rainforests, and when intermediate biomes and coastal areas are included, the result  in wealthof diferent ecosystems, a riot of life thatdewas nature loveres from the world over.

Bird watchers flock to Ecuador for the great number of bird species recorded here-some 1500, or about twice the number found in any one of the continents of North America, Europe or Australia. but Ecuador isn´t just for the birds: some 300 mamals species have  been recorded, from monkeys in the Amazon to the rare Andean spectacled bears in the highlands.

NATIONAL PARKS

 Ecuador has over 30 government protected parks and reserves , as wellas numerous privately aministered nature reserves. A total of 18 % of the country  lies within protected areas. Ecuador's first (National Parks) was the Galápagos, formed in 1959. Scatterred across mainlandEcuador are eight other national parks, including the most visited.(from north to south): Parque Nacional Cotopaxi,
Parque Nacional Yasuni, Parque Nacional Machalilla, Parque Nacional Sangay, Parque Nacional Cajas, Parque Nacional Podocarpus

NORTHERN HIGHLANDS

 The steep green hills, dust-blown villages, bustling provincial capital and cultural riches of the northern highlands are but a stone's throw from Quito. Those traveling to/from Colombia are bound to pass through the region, and there's plenty worth stopping for: the famous Otavalo market,which dates back to pre-inca times, is the largest crafst market in South America, and several small towns are know for their handicrafts including wood carvings and leatherwork. Best of all, the people-especially the oindegenous otavaleños (peolpe from Otavalo) -are wonderfully friendly.