Ecuador

Ecuador: Where You Can Stand in Two Hemispheres, Hike Active Volcanoes, and Dodge Amazonian Bugs

Welcome to Ecuador, a country so absurdly packed with diverse geography that you can stand on the Equator in the morning, freeze near a snowy volcano by afternoon, and fall asleep to the loud croaks of the Amazon jungle that night.

It’s a place where gravity feels optional and the landscape is constantly flexing. Near Quito, you can hop between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres at the Mitad del Mundo line—though locals love to point out that the actual GPS-accurate equator is a few hundred feet down the road at a quirky museum where guides demonstrate how water drains straight down without spinning. Then head into the Andes, where Chimborazo rises so high that its summit is technically the point on Earth closest to the Sun. Apparently being “the tallest mountain” wasn’t impressive enough.

Drop down the eastern slope of the Andes and you’re instantly plunged into the Amazon basin, where the humidity hits like a hot wet towel and the insects are large enough to require their own passports. If you ever tire of the mainland's volcanoes, cloud forests, and jungle riverboats, you can always catch a flight out west to the Galápagos Islands, where giant tortoises and marine iguanas essentially run the local government.

Between feasting on fresh ceviche, sipping hot canelazo to fight off Andean mountain chills, and negotiating winding switchbacks behind diesel-spewing trucks, Ecuador is a wild, concentrated rush of pure adventure. Just pack clothes for three completely different climate zones, keep the altitude sickness pills handy, and always watch your step in the jungle!

March-April, 2014