Where to go in Ecuador

Galapagos Islands

Two iguanas take a romantic stroll on the Galapagos

Lying on the Equator some 970 kilometres west of the Ecuadorian mainland, the Galapagos Islands offers the most in-your-face wildlife experience on the planet.

These dozens of islands and islets scattered across 45,000 square kilometres of Pacific Ocean are home to many endemic species of fish, plants and reptiles.

For Darwinians and wildlife spotters, the archipelago is something of a Mecca, offering a rar

Browsing the Saturday artesania market in Otavalo

When you're in need of some serious retail therapy, the market town of Otavalo can deliver with flying colours.

Just two hours north of Quito, Otavalo is home to a lively Saturday handicrafts market, jam-packed with stalls attended by locals in traditional indigenous dress. Men wear their hair long and plaited, along with ponchos and calf-length pants. The women adorn themselves with beads, elaborate blouses and shawls.

Ecuador's capital is presided over by the Virgen de Quito

Quito sits in the Andes at a lofty altitude of 2,850m, South America's second highest capital after La Paz in Bolivia.

Sprawled at the base of the Pichincha Volcano, Quito's crowning jewel is its UNESCO World Heritage-listed Old Town with its ornate colonial buildings, lively markets, narrow cobblestone streets, grand squares and more churches and museums than you have fingers and toes.

Most visitors stay in the New City, where the majority of the restaurants, hotels and tourist facilities lie.

Vilcabamba

Vilcabamba - ''Sacred Valley'' - is a tranquil village set in a picturesque valley in Ecuador's southern mountains.

A popular stop for travellers heading south towards Peru, Vilcabamba is a great place to drop your pack for a few days, hike through nearby nature reserves and just enjoy listening to yourself think. For a good leg stretch, the nearby Mandango (''sleeping woman'') mountain can be conquered in half a day.