The Wanderlust Guide to the best of Ecuador

Small but perfectly formed, Ecuador might be one of the smaller countries in South America but it packs a whole lot of attractions into its dramatically beautiful landscapes.

Bordered by the Pacific to the west, Ecuador’s coastline offers sandy beaches, great surf and fascinating wildlife: watch whales and sea lions galore in Machalilla National Park. Once dangerous, the city of Guayaquil has been thoroughly gentrified, with pastel-coloured buildings and a host of new restaurants, and is a good starting point for drives up the coast.

Moving inland in Ecuador you soon hit the Andes, where snow-topped peaks reach to over 6,000m. This is where you’ll find the capital, Quito, a majestic colonial settlement with churches and cathedrals, threaded with little alleyways and dotted with Indian market stalls.

South of Quito a line of volcanoes, many still active, run down the Andes past the hiking centre of Banos to the colonial city of Cuenca. North is the pretty little colonial town of Otovalo, with probably the best Indian market in South America. From here a network of trails thread past fields tacked onto impossibly steep slopes to reach remote mountain farming villages far off the grid.

Cross the Andes to the east and you’re into the Oriente, Ecuador’s hunk of the Amazon basin. The Andes squeeze rain from the sky to feed a biodiversity hotspot, crawling with wildlife and dense, tropical growth. Indigenous tribes are now exerting direct control over this wild, remote region: stay at an ecolodge owned by the locals to learn the area’s secrets.

Just how inspirational is Ecuador? Well, 21 years ago it inspired Lyn Hughes to start a travel magazine. You might have heard of it. It’s called Wanderlust…

Lyn recently revisited Ecuador, running the gauntlet of ash clouds and flight cancellations to find the country – and it’s capital, Quito – as beguiling and beautiful as ever. She also recommends checking out Chimborazo, the world’s tallest peak. (If you measure from the centre of the earth: the earth bulges around the Equator, you see, giving the Ecuadorian mountain bragging rights over its more famous Himalayan cousin, Everest.)

The long-derelict railway linking Ecuador’s coast and capital – via the looming Andes – has reopened and Anthony Lambert says it’s the world’s wildest ride. It’s also the easiest way to check out each of Ecuador’s nine climate zones, he says, and if you go from the coast to Quito, it’s the perfect way to acclimatise yourself to the high altitudes of the Andean mountains.

Those various climate zones are home to a dizzying array of flora and fauna, making it one of the best wildlife destinations in the world. Indeed, Will Gray says it is the ultimate wildlife destination, especially if you’ve got kids.

If you’re looking for a destination where you can give something back for a change, Ecuador ticks all the right boxes there too. Ed Stocker joined the country’s famous book bus as a volunteer, touring the countryside and teaching local children English and says it was an experience that changed his life – as well as the lives of the children he taught.

More information

Revisiting Quito, Ecuador – Lyn Hughes

The ultimate … Mountain – Lyn Hughes

Traversing the Devil’s Nose, Ecuador – Anthony Lambert

Wildlife adventure a natural high – Will Gray

Teaching English on the Book Bus in Ecuador – Ed Stocker