DESTINATION ECUADOR
& THE GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS

Facts at a Glance

The country can be divided into four regions: the western coastal lowlands, the central Andean highlands, the eastern jungles of the Amazon basin and - some 1000km (620mi) west of the mainland - the Galápagos Islands. The western lowlands - once thick with forests - are today blanketed by banana, palm and cacao farms and have little to interest most travelers. Only a few protected pockets, such as the Maquipucuna biological reserve, still provide glimpses of Ecuador's once spectacular forestlands. The Andean highlands - the country's backbone - are composed of two volcanic ranges separated by a central valley in which the bulk of the population lives. The highlands also contain the nation's highest mountain, Chimborazo, whose 6310m (20,700ft) peak stands out - thanks to Earth's equatorial bulge - as the farthest point from the center of the planet.

The Amazon basin lowlands east of the Andes are an almost impenetrable tangle of rainforest known to Ecuadorians as the Oriente (the East). Although the Amazon itself does not flow through Ecuador, all rivers east of the Andes eventually empty into it. The world famous Galápagos Islands were Ecuador's first national park and are celebrated for their unique and fearless wildlife.

Despite fierce opposition, the conquering Incas soon held the region, helped by strong leadership and policies of intermarriage. War over the inheritance of the new Inca kingdom weakened and divided the region on the eve of the arrival of the Spanish invaders.

The first Spaniards landed in northern Ecuador in 1526. Pizarro reached the country in 1532 and spread terror among the Indians thanks to his conquistadors' horses, armor and weaponry. The Inca leader, Atahualpa, was ambushed, held for ransom, 'tried' and executed, and the Inca empire was effectively demolished. Quito held out for two years but was eventually razed by Atahualpa's general, Rumiñahui, rather than be lost intact to the invading Spaniards. Quito was refounded in December 1534. Today, only one intact Inca site remains in Ecuador - Ingapirca, to the north of Cuenca.

There were no major uprisings by the Ecuadorian Indians, though life was abysmal under Spanish rule. Spain ruled the colony from Lima, Peru, until 1739, when it was transferred to the viceroyalty of Colombia. It was largely rural and conservative, with large estates of introduced cattle and bananas farmed by forced labor.

As a creole middle class began to emerge, there were several attempts to liberate Ecuador from Spanish rule. Independence was finally achieved by Simón Bolívar in 1822. Full constitutional sovereignty was gained in 1830. The country's internal history has since been marked by fierce rivalry and occasional open warfare between the church-backed conservatives, based in Quito, and the liberals and socialists of Guayaquil.

Over the last 100 years, assassinations and political instability have increasingly invoked military intervention, and the 20th century has seen more periods of military rule than of civilian. In 1941, neighboring Peru invaded Ecuador and seized much of the country's Amazonian area. The 'new' border between the two countries - although formally agreed upon and ratified by the 1942 Rio de Janeiro treaty - remains a matter of dispute, as a comparison of Ecuadorian and non-Ecuadorian maps will show. Border region skirmishes have occasionally flared up, usually around January, the month when the treaty was signed. The squabbling has died down in recent years, as both countries work to impress potential foreign investors (who tend to be scared off by territorial skirmishes), and a treaty is in the works that should finally bring an end to the dispute.

Despite its history of internal rivalry and border conflicts, life in Ecuador has remained peaceful in recent years, and it is at present one of the safest countries to visit in South America.

Culture

Ecuador's colonial religious architecture is predominantly baroque, although domestic architecture tends to be simple and elegant, comprising whitewashed verandahed houses built around a central courtyard. Traditional Andean music has a distinctive haunting quality based on an unusual pentatonic scale. Wind and percussion instruments, including bamboo panpipes and flutes, are staples of the sound. Local crafts include fine examples of basketry, leather work, woodcarving, weaving, ceramics and jewelry.

The pre-Easter Carnival features water fights and fruit and flower festivals. Corpus Christi is a movable feast in June and combines with traditional harvest fiestas in many highland towns. The larger cities' founding and independence days virtually bring them to a partying standstill. Some of the biggies are found in Guayaquil, Otavalo, Cuenca and Quito, though most towns and villages also have their special days. Shops, offices and services are closed during holidays and festivals, and accommodation and transportation options are often packed - book well in advance if possible.

Relative costs:

• Budget room: US$2-15
• Mid-range hotel: US$15-70
• Top-end hotel: US$70 and upwards

• Budget meal: US$1-5
• Mid-range restaurant meal: US$5-30
• Top-end restaurant meal: US$30-50

Costs in Ecuador are among the lowest in Latin America. From year to year, prices for travel basics like transportation, meals and lodging may vary up or down by as much as 50%, but they remain cheap by Western standards. Prices tend to fluctuate more in terms of sucres than US dollars.

The country has a two-tier pricing system in effect, and foreigners pay a lot more for certain services (mainly transportation and top-end hotels) than locals do. It's colloquially known as the 'gringo tax' and is avoidable by staying in budget to mid-range hotels and by taking buses rather than trains or planes. Doing so, travelers on a budget should be able to get by on as little as US$10 per day, including the periodic indulgence. A less frugal approach to visiting Ecuador might set you back US$50 to US$80 per day, allowing more comfort in travel and sleeping arrangements and a more interesting diet. Living like visiting royalty is also an option, and you can play the part for a modest outlay of around US$150 per day.

Banks and casas de cambio are your best bets for changing money, and their rates don't vary too much whether you're changing cash or travelers' checks. Major credit cards are widely accepted in tourist areas and big hotels, though merchants will often add a surcharge of 6% to 8% to cover the transaction fee. Credit cards are also increasingly accepted at Ecuadorian ATMs and for cash advances at banks, though not all branches provide this service. Cheaper hotels, restaurants and stores typically don't accept credit cards.

Tipping is expected by tour guides, porters and other tourist industry workers, though not by taxi drivers. Quality restaurants add 10% tax and a 10% service charge to their bills; cheaper restaurants usually don't. If you want to tip your server, give the money to them directly - don't just leave it on the table. Bargaining is accepted and expected at craft markets. Elsewhere, if you're not sure, try asking for a descuento (discount) - these are often available in touristed places.

The highlands' dry season (the best time for hiking and climbing) is June to August, which coincides with the wettest months in the Oriente. Trekking in the Oriente is best done in the dry season, from late August through February. As for crowds and costs, the high season both on the mainland and in the Galápagos tends to be mid-December through January and June to August, when most of the vacationing foreign visitors arrive.

Quito

Otaveleños use traditional backstrap looms to create their clothes and tapestries. Their work is so much in demand these days that the Indians have opened shops across Ecuador and now sell directly to galleries and stores in the US and Europe. There are three main plazas in which to see the market in full swing. Poncho Plaza is the main one for crafts, and you'll find a good variety of wool blankets, scarves, ponchos and tapestries. Bargaining at the market is elevated to something of an art.

Otavalo is two to three hours north of Quito by bus. Taxis are the only other way to get to Otavalo from Quito.

Cuenca is about 11 hours south of Quito by bus. The local airport has daily flights to the capital and to Guayaquil. The highways accessing the town are not in particularly good shape, and the railway station has been closed for some time.

Almost all roads in the southern Oriente are unpaved and subject to landslides and other delays during the rainy season - June to August are the worst months. Don't plan too tight a schedule if you visit during the rains. Late August and December through February are the best times to visit. The northern Oriente's road system and its connections to the capital are much more user friendly. There are two roads to Quito, several buses, a system of motorized canoes and six times as many flights as there are to the south.

Galápagos Islands

Near Cuenca in the southern highlands, the Area Nacional de Recreación Las Cajas offers rugged hiking in bleak terrain scattered with beautiful lakes. Ecuador's highest peak, the 6310m (20,700ft) Chimborazo, is not for daytrippers - if you're not an experienced climber, stick to the area around the mountain, which is great for less strenuous treks.

You can also get to Ecuador by land or by sea, but as air travel is much more convenient and roughly equivalent in price, few travelers opt to do so. Overland travel on public buses from both Colombia and Peru presents no problems. Occasionally, cargo ships use Guayaquil as port of call, but as the days of steamer hopping are long-since over, it's a rare traveler who secures this type of passage.

Most travelers use buses to get around. Busetas (22 seat small buses) cover long distances quickly; larger autobuses are slower but tend to be more social and fun. Keep your passport with you when traveling by bus, as there are frequent, usually cursory, transit police checks on the outskirts of towns. Avoid taking night buses through Guayas Province, as the routes are favored by highwaymen. Pickups (camionetas), trucks (rancheras) and taxis can be hired for long journeys - negotiate a price before you ride. Rental cars are available in a few major towns, with prices comparable to those in the US or Europe. If you love train journeys, the dramatic ascent from Alausi to Guayaquil is one of the most spectacular in the world.

• The Conquest of the Incas by John Hemming is the best regional history book and contains several chapters on Ecuador.
• Ecuador: Fragile Democracy by David Corkill and David Cubitt looks at historical patterns and modern trends in Ecuadorian politics.
• No visit to the Galápagos Islands is complete without a peek at the book that put them on the map: Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. A less dated approach to the subject is offered in Darwin for Beginners by Jonathan Miller and Borin Van Loon.
• Galápagos: A Natural History Guide by Michael H Jackson is the best general guide to the history, geology and plant and animal life of the islands.
• The exceptional Travels Amongst the Great Andes of the Equator is Edward Whymper's story of the 1880 mountaineering expedition that made eight first ascents of Ecuador's highest peaks.
• The Panama Hat Trail by Tom Miller is a fun, insightful and informative account of Ecuadorian life disguising itself as a novel about a man in search of Panama hats.
• Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut is a comic, cautionary, evolutionary tale.