Ecuador is one of the megadiverse countries of the world of which there are only seventeen and is considered as the most bio-diverse in the world. The republic also includes Galapagos Islands that inspired the Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. The capital city of the republic, Quito, is a World Heritage Site. It was bestowed this honor in the 1970s because it had the least altered and best preserved historic center in the Latin America. Cuenca, the third largest city and the historic center of Ecuador was also in 1999 named a World Heritage Site. The country is home to a large variety of species a majority of which are endemic making it a favorite tourist destination. After a provision by the President of the nation, visitors can enter the country without a visa no matter their nationality and stay for ninety days which works the same as provision of the US.
Things to do in Ecuador
It is possible to enter the country via a number of means including car which provides a great experience and easy border crossing from Colombia to Tulcan in Ecuador. Once in the country, there are a lot of things to do and places to visit.
• The capital city has a lot of history and beautiful colonial buildings which make for scenic walks. You can also see the entire city by a cable car ride which takes people from the highest Quito Mountain for a bird’s view of the city.
• Guayaquil has a lot of similarities to the Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois and offers boat rides, an excellent view of the river, food and shopping opportunities. The area is quite safe and prices are low except for electronics.
• For extreme sports enthusiasts, Banos is the place to be. It offers mountain climbing, rafting and backpacking excursions. There is also a mineral bath from the hot springs in Banos which are open to the public. It is advisable to get vaccinated to prevent any nasty infections as a result of prolonged exposure to water with all these activities.
• The Cuenca offers up Spanish architecture at its finest. The city was founded in past millennia where five rivers meet and has an exciting g blend of time periods and many cultures.
• To view the Amazon Rainforest, Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve offers the best view. It is paradise for nature lovers with its high biodiversity and is a great place to meet a local shaman and discover the Ecuador indigenous communities.
• The country also has amazing beaches such as San Clemente, Salinas, Manta, Crucita and Bahia de Caraquez.
Ecuador also offers the opportunity to volunteer either with Peace Corps and other larger groups from teaching to conservation projects. It is also possible to volunteer with a local NGO. It also offers an amazing learning experience. For example, Quito is an excellent place for learning Spanish because the accent is clear, soft ad easy to understand. Some universities also offer allow foreigners to learn for a semester or two but it is important to ensure that you do not break the rules set out on the turkish visa as it could mean deportation or being banned from visiting the beautiful country again.
