What a colorful country! Traditional costumes with distinctive hats, lively markets, and exquisite handicrafts. The parallel rows of snow-capped volcanoes provided striking vistas. Home to the Galapagos Islands but well worth spending a few days pre or post cruise.
Places of Interest
Cuenca: Artisans & Incas
Cuenca is a charming colonial city with cobblestone streets, red rooftops, a blue-domed cathedral and colorful inhabitants. Though its Inca heritage is only visible as excavations (interesting in their own right) you should make the trip up to the fine stone ruins of Ingapirca, the most visible remains of Ecuador’s once-key position in the Inca Empire. The region surrounding Cuenca has a strong artisanal tradition and you will find beautiful ceramics, gold and silver jewelry, ikat weaving, and true Panama hats.
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Oriente
East of the Andes lies Ecuador’s rainforest, considered one of the richest and most complex ecosystems in the world.
Quito & Avenue of the Volcanoes
The twin ranges of the Andes, know as the Avenue of the Volcanoes, shelter fertile valleys, colonial cities and villages filled with colorfully dressed people.
Guayaquil
Guayaquil is a bustling city – the most important commercial city of the country. Its port onto the Pacific Rim is one of the most important south of the equator. Tour the streets of Las Peñas colonial neighborhood or the Malecon 2000 riverside walkway.
Guayaquil is a busy commercial city and port, not normally that appealing to tourists, but sometimes a convenient stopover to or from the Galápagos
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Galápagos Hiking the Enchanted Islands
600 miles off the coast of Ecuador lies an isolated chain of islands known as the Galápagos. The wildlife that arrived here evolved in such unique ways that all the reptiles and nearly half the birds and plant life are found nowhere else in the world. This is what inspired Charles Darwin’s “Origin of species.” You’ll find prehistoric land iguanas, colorful birds and the 600-pound tortoise that gives the archipelago its name. Most wonderfully, the wildlife in their isolation has never developed a fear of humans. Come snorkel with sea lions, swim with penguins, or watch the mating dance of the blue-footed boobies.
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