Ecuador

Travel to the middle of the world any time of year to explore Ecuador’s lush rainforests and cloud forests, hike in the shadow of a volcano, and observe humpback whales along the coast. Paricipate in an ecotourism project involving the conservation of over 82 square miles (53,500 acres) of the most pristine Amazon rainforest within Yasunì National Park, an important UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and the largest tract of tropical rainforest in Ecuador.

Located on the equator at zero latitude, Ecuador is divided into four distinct “worlds”: Andes, Amazon, Pacific Coast, and Galapagos Islands. Visitors can explore the avenue of volcanoes, tropical Amazonian rainforests with the world’s largest collection of living plants and animals, areas where green beaches meet the sea, and a living laboratory of evolution with unique animals that exist nowhere else in the world.

Ecuador is the smallest country in the rugged Andean highlands, only the size of Colorado, yet one of the most rewarding travel destinations in South America. With its array of vibrant indigenous cultures, UNESCO World Heritage sites, otherworldly volcanic landscapes and dense rainforest, Ecuador packs its perimeters with more points of interest than many countries twice its size.