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Ten places that explain the country.

The turquoise crater lake of Quilotoa, from the trail above it
Photograph by Ymblanter, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Plaza de San Francisco in Quito’s old town, with El Panecillo beyond

The capital

Quito, above the clouds

A UNESCO old town, a working city, and air thin enough to slow the first day down.
Aerial view of Cuenca’s El Vado neighborhood and blue cathedral domes

The south

Cuenca, at a walking pace

Marble churches, a river path, and a climate people describe as permanent spring.
Pinnacle Rock and the twin bays of Bartolomé Island, Galápagos

The islands

The Galápagos, with a plan

A national park that happens to be a province. Go with rules, not a wish list.
The gorge and waterfall of Pailón del Diablo, near Baños

The valley

Baños, under the volcano

Waterfalls, hot water, and Tungurahua in the background.
Textile stalls at the Otavalo artisan market

The north

Otavalo and the Saturday market

Textiles in the morning, a crater lake when the square fills up.
A rufous-tailed hummingbird in the Mindo cloud forest

Cloud forest

Mindo, in the cloud forest

A wet, green pause between Quito and the coast. Bring a layer and look up.
Cotopaxi seen from the trail around Laguna Limpiopungo

Avenue of the Volcanoes

Cotopaxi, the perfect cone

One of the world’s great volcanic profiles. Most people should stop well below the ice.
The turquoise crater lake of Quilotoa, from the trail above it

The crater

Quilotoa, the crater lake

A lake the color of glacial milk, in a collapsed volcano above the villages.
Los Frailes beach in Machalilla National Park, on the Pacific coast

The Pacific

The Pacific coast

A warm shore, a surf town, and humpback whales from roughly June to September.
A blue-throated piping guan in Yasuní National Park

The Oriente

The Ecuadorian Amazon

A flooded forest and a great river. You go with a guide, and you stay.