Visit Ecuador
Quito wakes high in the Andes, volcanoes hold the horizon and a few hours of travel can replace thin mountain air with cloud forest or Amazon humidity. Ecuador's compact outline contains journeys that feel much farther apart than the map suggests. Let the mainland lead rather than treating it only as a route to the Galápagos. Colonial streets, páramo, Indigenous markets, cacao regions and coastal food reveal how altitude, climate and community change the country from one stage to the next. Build in time to adjust to altitude and check the current FCDO map immediately before choosing a route: advice presently covers much of the coastal region and areas near Colombia. Use established transport, insure the full itinerary, follow local states of emergency and avoid compressing distant ecosystems into unsafe travel days. Count it complete after a considered stay that includes the Andes and at least one contrasting Ecuadorian landscape or community. Add it if one journey containing mountains, forest, food and living history feels richer than a single headline sight.