Parque Nacional Sangay

Ecuador

　　This 2710-sq-km national park contains three of Ecuador’s most magnificent volcanoes – the mightily active Sangay, the remittently active Tungurahua and the extinct El Altar. Because the park ranges from glaciated mountain tops to tropical rainforests, it offers flora, fauna and terrain of immense diversity. The two official park entrances...

Parque Nacional Yasuní

Ecuador

　　Yasuní is Ecuador’s biggest mainland park at 9820 sq km, boasting all manner of terrain from marshes to rivers to tropical rainforest. A Unesco Biosphere Reserve, it has more than 600 bird species (including harpy eagles) as well as jaguars, pumas and tapirs. ...

Parque Nacional Machalilla

Ecuador

　　Preserving isolated beaches, coral formations, two offshore islands, tropical dry forest, coastal cloud forest, archaeological sites and 200 sq km of ocean, Ecuador's only coastal national park is a marvelous and unique destination. Within its nature-rich, strange-looking forest are more than 200 species of birds, including coastal parrots and parakeets,...

Ingapirca

Ecuador

　　Ecuador’s best-preserved archaeological site, Ingapirca, with its semi-intact temple, grazing llamas and open fields, is definitely worth a stopover if you are headed this way. The ruins were originally used by the Cañari people as an observatory. The strategic site was later taken over and developed by the Inca during...

Reserva de Producción de Fauna Chimborazo

Ecuador

　　Volcán Chimborazo and Volcán Carihuairazo are both within the Reserva de Producción de Fauna Chimborazo. It is called a ‘fauna-production reserve’ because it is home to hundreds of vicuña (a wild relative of the llama). Once hunted to extinction, they were donated by Chile and Bolivia in the 1980s. Now...

Reserva de Producción Faunística Cuyabeno

Ecuador

　　This beautiful reserve is a unique flooded rainforest covering 6034 sq km around Río Cuyabeno. Seasonally inundated with water, the flooded forest provides a home to diverse aquatic species and birdlife. Macrolobium and ceiba treetops thrust out from the underwater forest, creating a stunning visual effect. The blackwater rivers, rich...

Podocarpus National Park

Ecuador

　　This national park fills in much of the triangle between Loja, Zamora and Vilcabamba, as well as a huge swath to the southeast. Because altitude ranges so greatly within the park borders – from around 900m in the lowland sector to over 3600m in the highland sector – Podocarpus has...

Volcán Alcedo

Ecuador

　　The summit of this volcano (1097m) is famous for its 7km-wide caldera and steaming fumaroles. Hundreds of giant tortoises can be seen here, especially from June to December, and juvenile hawks soar on thermal updrafts. The view is fantastic. Permits are required to hike this long, steep and waterless trail...

El Chato Tortoise Reserve

Ecuador

　　South of Santa Rosa is El Chato Tortoise Reserve, where you can observe giant tortoises in the wild. When these virtually catatonic, prehistoric-looking beasts extend their accordion-like necks to feed, it’s an impressive sight. The reserve is also a good place to look for short-eared owls, Darwin’s finches, yellow warblers,...

León Dormido

Ecuador

　　About an hour’s boat ride northeast of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is León Dormido (Kicker Rock), so named because of its resemblance to a sleeping lion. León Dormido is an imposing, vertical, sheer-walled tuff cone that has been eroded in half; smaller boats can sail between the two rocks. Because there’s...

Laguna de las Ninfas

Isla Santa Cruz (Indefatigable)

　　This peaceful lagoon has a short boardwalk path, where you can stop to take in the mangroves while looking for stingrays, baby sharks, sea turtles and other creatures sometimes spotted here. ...

Tortoise Statue

Isla Santa Cruz (Indefatigable)

　　Among the various statues of prominent Galapagos wildlife around Puerto Ayora, this is probably the most photographed of them all. ...

Playa Mansa

Isla Santa Cruz (Indefatigable)

　　If you walk the length of Tortuga Bay, you'll reach this picturesque lagoon lined with mangroves. Here you can spot marine iguanas, brown pelicans and blue herons, among other species. On the nearby dunes, sea turtles lay their eggs. The placid, shallow water is a great swimming spot for kids....

Tortuga Bay

Isla Santa Cruz (Indefatigable)

　　In terms of sheer white-sand beauty, this beach is the rival of any in South America. You’ll find it at the end of a 2.5km paved trail southwest of Puerto Ayora. In addition to swimming (a spit of land provides protection from the strong and dangerous currents on the exposed...

Charles Darwin Research Station

Isla Santa Cruz (Indefatigable)

　　Just northeast of Puerto Ayora is this iconic national-park site, where over 200 scientists and volunteers are involved with research and conservation efforts, the most well known of which involves a captive breeding program for giant tortoises. Paths leading through arid-zone vegetation take you past tortoise enclosures, where you can...

MAPRAE

Isla Santa Cruz (Indefatigable)

　　The first of its kind in the world, this museum uses augmented reality to showcase a permanent exhibition of 55 pre-Columbian artifacts. The ancient cultures of Ecuador’s Amazon and coastal regions are brought to life as visitors point smart phones or tablets at one of the relics, with historical information...

Parque Amazónico La Isla

The Northern Oriente

　　If you take the snazzy footbridge partway across the river to this 27-hectare island, prepare to be disappointed. What began as a beautifully developed park has become an abandoned tangle of no-man's-land, with poorly maintained and unsafe walkways and miradors (lookouts) which are sadly no longer safe to climb. ...

Cathedral

The Northern Oriente

　　Tena's cathedral sits modestly on the main plaza on the west side of the Río Tena. ...

Parque Tena

The Northern Oriente

　　Part astro-turfed, part grassed, and with multiple leisure facilities from running tracks to playgrounds, Parque Tena has replaced the old airstrip and has brightened up the north of the city center significantly. ...

Parque 21 de Abril

Central Highlands

　　Just north of downtown, the Parque 21 de Abril has an observation platform with views of the surrounding mountains. ...

Parque Maldonado

Central Highlands

　　The handsome, tree-filled Parque Maldonado is flanked by Riobamba’s cathedral on the northeastern side. ...

Parque La Libertad

Central Highlands

　　Parque La Libertad is anchored by its neoclassical basilica, famous for being the only round church in Ecuador. ...

Museo de la Ciudad

Central Highlands

　　Built in the 1900s by the Costales-Dávalos family, this beautifully restored historic building has a few old-time pictures of the city, rotating art exhibits and historic artifacts. It lacks good information, but is an interesting afternoon break nonetheless. Check out the ornate ceilings. ...

Basílica

Central Highlands

　　Parque La Libertad is anchored by this neoclassical basilica, famous for being the only round church in Ecuador. It was designed, built and decorated mainly by locals, making it a great source of civic pride. It's often closed; try Sundays and evenings after 6pm. ...

Cathedral

Central Highlands

　　The ornate, baroque facade of Riobamba's cathedral was reconstructed from fragments after the 1797 earthquake that destroyed the town. Made from white limestone, the relief depicts both indigenous and Spanish images. The cathedral is often closed, but the building exterior (its most interesting aspect) can be viewed any time. ...

Fería Artesanal

Central Highlands

　　The Saturday market transforms Riobamba into a hive of commercial activity, when thousands of people from surrounding villages come to barter, buy and sell, spreading out their wares along in and around Plaza de la Concepción, also known as Plaza Roja. Look out for colorful chumbi, traditional handwoven belts. ...

Museo de Arte Religioso

Central Highlands

　　Inside the beautifully restored 18th-century convent, Riobamba’s top museum houses one of the country’s finest collections of 17th- and 18th-century religious art. More than 200 pieces in 15 different rooms include the painting La Flagelación de Jesús; painted by an indigenous artist in the 17th century, it depicts men dressed...

Mirador Teléferico

Loja

　　Loja's best viewpoint is at the top of the cable car from Parque Pucará, 1km south of Plaza de la Independencia up Olmedo. Walk or get a taxi ($1) to the cable car base. Tourist robberies have happened on the trail which goes up from the park, so taking the...

Parque Universitario PUEAR

Loja

　　Almost 5km south of the center, the 90-hectare reserve has excellent trails. You’ll need to cab it here ($1.25). ...

Plaza Santo Domingo

Loja

　　Make a beeline a block south of Parque Central for this plaza, mainly notable for the Church of Santo Domingo, adorned with religious paintings. ...

Plaza de la Independencia

Loja

　　The plaza is hemmed in by the Church of San Sebastián and colonial-era buildings with pillared overhangs and shuttered wooden balconies. A brightly tiled fountain depicts Ecuadorian wildlife. ...

Parque Recreacional Jipiro

Loja

　　North of town, this kid-friendly park offers a giant chessboard, a skate park, a Chinese pagoda, a pint-size Kremlin, small animal enclosures and a paddleboat pond. Green buses ($0.25) go there from the southeast corner of Eguiguren and Peña. ...

Museo de la Cultura Lojana

Loja

　　On the south side of Parque Central, a characterful republican-era building houses this museum and its exhibits, which include good local art, archaeology and ethnography. Most interesting are the old photographs of Loja and the room devoted to the Saraguro culture. ...

Museo de la Música

Loja

　　This fun museum located in an old school explores the lives of famous musicians who hailed from Loja (most peaking in success during the golden 1890–1940 period). Many old instruments and scores of music are on display, and a shop here (often closed) sells music. ...

Puerta de la Ciudad

Loja

　　With perhaps more pomp and circumstance than you'll encounter anywhere else in Loja, the City Gate greets you into downtown from the northern corner. It's a giant castle with an arched doorway spanning Sucre, a street forging south (from the confluence of Ríos Zamora and Malacatus) towards the central plazas....

Townhall & Clocktower

Baños

　　Central landmarks in the town of Baños. ...

Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Agua Santa

Baños

　　This Basilica is dedicated to the Virgin of the Holy Water, who is credited with several local miracles. Inside there are several artworks by Father Enrique Mideros depicting the miracles. ...

Museo Fray Enrique Mideros

Baños

　　Adjoining the church, this museum in the priest's former living quarters contains several oil paintings by Father Enrique Mideros as well as his collection of more than 500 pre-Columbian sculptures and utensils. Additional rooms house religious sculptures and assorted taxidermy (pumas, bears, snakes and birds). ...

Casa del Arbol

Baños

　　Perched on a hilltop behind Baños, just beyond the village of Runtún, this grassy viewpoint is a photographer's dream. As well as a pretty tree house, there are several swings where you can whoosh over the precipice, making for fabulous shots. On a clear day you can see Volcán Tungurahua....

Daily Market

Otavalo

　　Next to the Animal Market, this large, covered complex just west of the Panamericana houses the vendors who previously plied their trade in a messy overflow on the city's streets (around Montalvo and Jaramillo). Everything from exotic highland fruits and baggies of ground spices to mops and weaving tools is...

Cementerio

Otavalo

　　Each Monday and Thursday morning, groups of Otavaleños summit the Calle de las Almas (Street of Souls) to this hillside cemetery, sharing meals, songs, tears and prayers with relatives who've gone on to the next dimension. Vendors do a brisk business in flowers, fried fish and pork, and various other...

El Lechero

Otavalo

　　While this tree outside Otavalo is famous for its magical healing powers, it's much more reliable as a great picnic spot, romantic or otherwise, and for fresh air and great views of town. It’s a steep 4km walk or a $4 taxi ride; ask the driver to wait if you...

Crafts Market

Otavalo

　　Plaza de Ponchos, the nucleus of the crafts market, is filled every day with vendors selling woolen goods, such as rugs, tapestries, blankets, ponchos, sweaters, scarves, gloves and hats, as well as embroidered blouses, hammocks, carvings, beads, paintings, woven mats and jewelry made from tagua nut (also known as vegetable...

Parque Cóndor

Otavalo

　　Get an up-close view of Andean condors, as well as eagles, owls, falcons and hawks, at this Dutch-owned foundation, which rehabilitates these and other birds of prey. Don’t miss the free flight demonstrations at 11:30am and 3:30pm. Primarily Spanish spoken. The center is perched on the steep hillside of Pucara...

Lighthouse

Guayaquil

　　You can climb the spiral staircase inside the lighthouse for spectacular 360-degree views of the city and its rivers. It's 444 taxing steps up through Santa Ana (past bars tempting you with their wares) and then another 52 to the top of the faro. ...