Ecuador - Small country, big destination

There are many reasons to visit Ecuador, we are including a travel planner to help you extend your stay beyond your Galapagos Islands Cruise

Ecuador is a multiethnic and multicultural nation. Fourteen indigenous nationalities an dozens of settlements conserve their ancestral and diverse habits, attire, spirituality, native tongues a cosmic vision.

The cleansing rituals of the shamans inspire awe and respect in the way they attempt to communicate with the gods after having drank a ceremonial beverage made of the "Ayahuasca" plant having hallucinatory properties.

For centuries, natives have dwelled in the Amazon, they conserve nature and obtain from nature healing elements for an infinity of aliments.
 
The deep knowledge of "Záparo" people have of the rainforest is expressed thorough their language, their rites, mythology and their art, as well as their traditional medicine. The heritage and cultural expressions of these people have been declared a master piece of the new intangible patrimony by UNESCO.

The Andes pay homage to the sun, harvests and mythical personages are still present in old traditions. Visiting the Indians markets getting know the identity of people. The wealth of leather, wooden, gold and textile handcrafts are a representation of their religion, myth and beliefs. The most famous Indian market in Ecuador is Otavalo mainly due the weavings manufactured through the use of colonial techniques. 

During the XVII-XVIII centuries, the most important colonial dockyards of the American Pacific Coast were located in Guayaquil and, because of the wealth caused by the cacao production they were attacked many times by buccaneers.
The Ecuadorian Pacific coast is a region that offers untouched and tropical beaches, small fishing villages, national parks, archeological sites and lively harbor and touristic cities. It´s known as the Route of the sun , whose path is of great variety and a wonderful mixture of ecotourism, sun, culture and gastronomy .

In Ecuador , between the pacific coastline and the western Andes slopes is located a great extension of lowlands covered with exuberant tropical vegetation , this region is known as the Chocó rainforest.
This area has a great natural and cultural richness, part of this territory has also been used for the agricultural production of bananas , cacao and tropical fruits.

The area to the east of the Andes is part of the great basin of the Amazon . It is a fluvial net fed by the thaw of the mountain glaciers; the dense tropical humid forest that is considered the lung of the earth.
This forest holds the largest biodiversity on the planet.
The Ecuadorian Amazonia covers an area of almost 125.000 km 2, about 45% of the territory of the country.