Ecuador - Nature and History

Modernization has not robbed Ecuador's cities and towns of their distinct local flavours largely because it is people not just historic sites that give this country its character.

The smallest country in the rugged Andean highlands, Ecuador has an array of vibrant indigenous cultures, well-preserved colonial architecture, otherworldly volcanic landscapes and dense rainforest. And all that in a nation no bigger than the US state of Nevada.

Touch down in its picture-perfect capital, Quito, and you are no more than a day's drive from a slog through all-swallowing Amazonian jungle, a snow-swept ascent of an active volcano, a sociable haggle with indigenous artesanos or a welcome wallow on a tropical beach.

Squint your eyes at a map of the region and Ecuador looks something like a grinning skull, gazing across the Pacific at its lone 'overseas' holding, the blissfully distant Galápagos Islands. Owned by Ecuador since 1832, the far-flung islands are lauded as one of the world's greatest natural history treasures, their unique diversity of plant and animal life providing a living textbook for ecologists. It'll cost you plenty to get out to see them, but when you weigh that against the immense affordability of mainland adventuring and the rarity of the experience, you'll be hard pressed to let your purse strings tie you down.

Ecuador's population is estimated to be 12,646,095, with a less than 2% annual growth rate. The population is ethnically mixed: 55% mestizo (mixed indigenous - Caucasian), 25% Indigenous, 10% Caucasian, 9% African, and 1% other.

Amazonian frontier towns, Pacific coast fishing villages, rambling old haciendas, packed markets, and colonial cities provide the stage on which Ecuador's cultures intermingle; each striving to maintain its own identity and history while also charting a meaningful path into the future. Even outside these cultural crossroads, in a day, because of Ecuador's compactness, one can experience any number of Ecuador's distinct cultures.

Travelers can visit Ecuador year-round; certain areas are better at certain times of the year, but there are no absolutes. In terms of the weather, El Niño hits hard about one winter every decade, playing havoc with road and rail connections and making communication spotty in some outlying areas. If you're visiting the Galápagos, you'll find the warm rainy season from January to April is the best time for snorkeling; the rest of the year the water is cooler, typically around 20°C (68°F). The mainland coast has similar weather patterns, and its beaches fill up from January to May during coastal Ecuador's school holidays. June through August sees gringo vacationers descend, though the weather's generally gone chilly by then.

The highlands' dry season (the best time for hiking and climbing) is June to August, which coincides with the wettest months in the Oriente. Trekking in the Oriente is best done in the dry season, from late August through February. As for crowds and costs, the high season both on the mainland and in the Galápagos tends to be mid-December through January and June to August, when most of the vacationing foreign visitors arrive.

Full country name: Republic of Ecuador
Area: 283,520 sq km
Population: 12 million
People: 40% mestizo, 40% Indian, 15% Spanish descent, 5% African descent
Language:  Spanish, Quechua
Religion: Over 90% Roman Catholic, small minority of other Christian denominations
GDP: US$41,700,000,000
Major Industries: Oil, bananas, shrimp, fish, coffee, textiles, metal work, paper products, wood products, chemicals, plastics, fishing, lumber.
Major Trading Partners: US, Latin America, EU, Asia, Caribbean
 

For more information please visit: Ecuador Tourism

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