Quito

283,560 km²
(6.8x the Netherlands)

UTC -5

Spanish, Quechua, Chibcha

Chimborazo - 6,310 m

The colors of the flag were chosen during the battle against the Spaniards in 1810. The current flag was raised for the first time in 1860. Yellow represents agriculture, blue is the ocean and red is the bloodshed during battle for independence.

The US dollar has replaced Sucre as legal tender since the year 2000.

The Andes in Ecuador consists of two parallel chains. The central Sierra with 8 of the 10 highest peaks in Ecuador lies south of Quito. The Panamericana highway is running through the ctwo chains at an altitude of 2,800 meters. One of the peaks is the Cotopaxi volcano (5,897 meters) with its perfectly symmetrical cone. It is the most visited of the 40 national parks on th main land. The Cotopaxi has erupted at least 10 times since 1742. Since the last one in 1904, the volcano has been quiet and has the most popular ascent of Ecuador. PS: On August 14, six days after our visit, another eruption took place.



Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is located 20 kilometers south of the equator. In terms of size, it is the second largest city ??of the country, after Guayaquil. The city is 70 km long and 4 km wide. After the arrival of the Incas in the 15th century, it was an important city in the Inca Empire, next to Cuzco and Cajamarca. In 1534, the city was conquered by the Spaniards, burned to the ground and re-founded. On August 10, 1809, the first call for independence arose here. Quito has a historic center that is the largest in Latin America after that of Havana in Cuba. In 1978, the center of Quito and Krakow, Poland, were the first cities in the world to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The interior of the San Francisco, La Merced and La compania de Jesus churches are exceptionally beautiful. For a beautiful view of the surroundings you can climb the 115 meter tall towers of the Basilica del Voto Nacional. The first part uses an elevator, after which you walk on a bridge over the ceiling of the church. Here it gets exciting: On the outside you climb over two steep but short stairs to a cental tower that is right behind the two main towers. Not suitable for people with a fear of heights, but the view over Quito is great.

Influenced by Charles Darwin's discoveries, his book 'On the origin of species' published in 1859 and its worldwide increase of tourism, the Galápagos archipelago with its special nature and animal world is the most visited National Park in Ecuador. The Galápagos Archipelago, which is originally volcanic, is located in the Pacific Ocean, 960 km west of mainland Ecuador. It includes 13 large volcanic islands and more than 40 smaller islands. Around the 17th and 18th centuries it was used as a base for English pirates and later for whalers. It belonges to Ecuador since 1832. Attempts to colonize the islands failed until the mid-20th century. Nowadays approximately 40,000 people are spread over 8 settlements on 4 islands. The islands are a National Park since 1959 and one of the first locations (1978) on the world heritage list. Common animal species include: giant tortoise, steller's albatross, whitetip reef shark, sea lion, stingray, pink flamingo, whimbrel, bahama pintail, marine iguana, blue-footed booby, whale, dolphin, galápagos penguin, brown pelican, frigatebird, red-billed tropicbird and red-legged booby. In july and august, the sea is quite cold for snorkeling and the highlands are often foggy. The temperature is pleasant.

Isabela, the largest island (4,558 km²) in the archipelago, consists of 6 separate volcanoes are connected by lava flows. Wolf volcano, which lies on the equator, is the highest point of the islands at 1,707 meters and has recently (April 2015) erupted. Antonio Gil founded Puerto Villamil in 1897, which has some than 2,200 inhabitants. It lies at the base of the 1,124 m high volcano Sierra Negra which has a crater with a diameter of 10 km and a depth of 200 meter. When you go island hopping, definitely visit Las Tintoreras that is right in front of the harbor. A good chance to spot white tip reef sharks.

Santa Cruz is a conical island of almost 1000 km² and also the most populous island (approx. 27,000 inhabitants). Visit Caleta Tortuga Negra, Las Bachas, named after two shipwrecks that the United States left behind after World War II, the Charles Darwin Research Station and the lava tunnels. The town of Puerto Ayora was founded in the 1920s by a group of Norwegians. Take a day trip (expensive) to Plaza Sur Island to the north-east of Santa Fé. This is the only place where you can find Galápagos land iguana in the wild. You also have a good chance to see the red-billed tropicbird. The small island also has beautiful nature, ask about the possibilities in Puerto Ayora.

San Cristóbal is the fifth largest island with the provincial capital of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, named after the first Ecuadorian president. Here you will find the Laguna El Junco, the largest freshwater lake on the islands. GO snorkeling here at Cerro Tijeretas behind the interpretation center on the north side of the town.

Patrick Watkins was the first of many settlers to populate Floreana in the early 19th century. With 173 km², it is the fifth largest island. Due to the settlers, the turtles are extinct here and wild cats were responsible for the extinction of the mockingbird (Mockingjay), which can only be found on the two islands off the northeastern coast. About 100 people live in the settlement of Puerto Velasco Ibarra. This is the best place to see flamingos. Half an hour's walk south of the settlement is La Loberia, a sea lion colony on a white beach with black lava rocks, red ground cover, green shrubs and an azure blue sea.