With the Andes, the Pacific Ocean, the Sierras and Amazonia, Ecuador combines exceptional scenery with the colourful ambience of Indian villages and colonial towns. The country shimmers in the heart of South America.

Even its very name is evocative of exotic promise. Ecuador, situated on that line that divides the world in two halves, boasts a tropical atmosphere severely tempered by its rugged terrain. Quito, the capital, is at an altitude of 2,850 m, and the town and its magnificent colonial buildings are tightly encircled by a series of high peaks which give it its astonishing highland character. Once you have explored its delightful buildings and some of its museums, you will no doubt take the cable car to Pichincha volcano to look down on the majestic site over which the capital sprawls.

The Andes range, the spine of the Equator, offers the opportunity for a whole range of excursions: Cotopaxi National Park and volcano, the Otavalo region and its Indian markets, the Andes mountain train from Riobamba, Chimborazo National Park… Further south, the town of Cuenca is also Andean in feel. White houses, cobbled streets, churches: its colonial architecture stands at the gateway to Cajas National Park and the immaculately-preserved villages perched high in the mountains. To the East of the country, Amazonia is a must. Just beyond the town of Tena the “green” zone begins as do the exotic excursions into forest communities.

In Ecuador, lovers of seaside holidays are also in for a treat. While the country does not boast major beach resorts, it does offer charming little fishing villages (Puerto Lopez) and the exotic delights of that legendary archipelago, the Galapagos islands.