Ecuador travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Located in the southern sierra of Ecuador at about 2500 m above sea level, Cuenca is the third largest city in the country. Founded in 1557, the city offers a rich diversity of art, history and colonial architecture. Considered as the country’s cultural heart and soul, in 1999, the city was included on UNESCO‘s list of World Heritage sites. Cuenca is the site of four universities, many museums, research and cultural organizations and many travel writers call Cuenca the “most European” of Latin American cities. With its large student population, the city also has a modem edge, with international restaurants, art galleries, cool cafes and welcoming bars all tucked into its colonial architecture. The architecture, parks, restaurants, museums, cafes and four free flowing rivers make it a destination in itself.

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QUITO, the capital of Ecuador, was once a stopover for tourists heading to the Galapagos. Its Old Town was a maze of litter-strewn streets and dilapidated colonial facades, and its New Town was known for raucous partying and muggings. However, the things start to turn around thanks to a revitalization campaign initiated in 2001 that has poured hundreds of millions of dollars in public and private investment into neglected neighborhoods. Renovation of old historic structures and construction of cultural places and hotels have made Quito more visited today, and a strengthened Policía de Turismo has made the streets safer.

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Cusin is set on the shore of the San Pablo Lake, 90 minutes drive of Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Hacienda Cusin is a restored, 17th-century estate at 2,600m in the Andes and is considered as one of the best hotels in South America.

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Montanita is a small village located on Manglaralto parish along the southern coast of Ecuador. It is also considered a surfer’s paradise, and many people come here from all over Latin America to participate in surfing events. The region is well known for its unique combination of magnificent unspoiled beaches, and both island and mountain natural reserves. Over the years, a relaxed and multicultural atmosphere has evolved. 

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Salinas is located on the southern coast of Ecuador, and is the country’s most western city. It is a small, upscale city that offers many big-city comforts and luxury resources like yacht clubs, but is not as ridiculously expensive as some other resort areas. Salinas is also the beginning of the “Route of the Sun,” which is a road along the coastal resort areas. In Salinas, you can choose form a big bag of sports like jet-skiing, fishing, hang gliding and skydiving.

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Cotopaxi the maximal dynamic volcanoes in the class at 19,348 ft is situated at the country of the most visited national adventurer on mainland Ecuador.  Low valleys scoured by lahars run from the breakfast of the andesitic , gap and whopping andesitic lava flows journey as far as the assets of Cotopaxi. The come diurnal temperature is 45° F (7°C).  Seasonal variations and night-time temperatures potentiality the temperatures between cooling and 68°F (20° C).

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Designed by French Architects, Olivier Donnet and Caroline Tresse, Hamadryade Lodge is located a few kilometers away from Puerto Misahualli – the main entrance to the Amazon Rainforest of Ecuador.  Those eager to discover the Amazon forest will appreciate this very unique, very chic eco-lodge, built with tropical woods and stylishly decorated respecting local cultures and traditions.

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Boca del Lobo Restaurant is located in the splendid neighborhood of La Mariscal, Ecuador. The restaurant features brightly lit, colorfully painted glass-encased patio with funky chandeliers, hanging birdcages, and faux renaissance portraits. La Boca del Lobo sticks out as the most flamboyant joint in the Mariscal’s somewhat low-key gringo scene. It’s no wonder then that La Boca del Lobo is also gay-friendly, and you’ll find Quito’s “beautiful people” here mixed in with upper-scale gringo tourists.

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The Pygmy marmosets are the smallest living monkeys in the world. They inhabit the rainforests in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil. This species live in the upper canopy of the forest and survive on an omnivorous diet of fruit, leaves, insects, small reptiles. Image from: Frösö Zoo via DRB

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Galapagos Islands are volcanic islands located west of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are populated with sea turtles, humpback whales and the national park’s trails are inhabited by herons and albatrosses.

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