Things to do in Ecuador

Quito, the high Andean capital, has one of the best-preserved colonial centres in Latin America, with gilded churches and plazas ringed by volcanoes. Nearby, the Mitad del Mundo monument marks the equator, and the market town of Otavalo is famed for crafts and textiles.

South along the Avenue of the Volcanoes, Cotopaxi's snowy cone rises above the high grasslands, and the spa town of Baños sits among waterfalls. Cuenca is a graceful colonial city of rivers and hat workshops, the Amazon lowlands offer jungle lodges and wildlife, and the cloud forests of Mindo are full of hummingbirds. Far offshore, the Galápagos Islands are home to giant tortoises, sea lions and marine iguanas found nowhere else.

Locro de papa, ceviche and empanadas are local staples, and the country is famed for its fine cacao and coffee. On the equator, temperatures depend on altitude rather than season: the highlands are spring-like all year, the coast is warm, and the drier season in the Andes runs from June to September.