Bumping along the spectacular dirt roads of the Quilotoa loop and hiking between the area’s Andean villages is one of Ecuador’s most exhilarating adventures. Transportation is tricky but the rewards are abundant: highland markets, the breathtaking crater lake of Laguna Quilotoa, splendid hikes and traditional highland villages. Most of the villages along the loop have only basic accommodations, but you can base yourself in Chugchilán, which has good lodging options for all wallet sizes. (Tigua is another option.) One of the best parts of the loop is the fact that you’ll have many chances, especially in Quilotoa, to interact with indigenous folks. They can seem somewhat withdrawn at first, but are friendly and talkative once the ice is broken, especially if you speak some Spanish or – even better – Quichua.
Category: Ecuador
Atacames’ rolling cobalt waves set the stage for Ecuador’s most popular beach, crowded with thatched bars and sarong shops. If you enjoy the accoutrements of urban beaches, this place is for you. The strip is the lively haunt of all-night revelers with blaring music and coconuts waiting to be split, spiked with rum and served up with a Chinese umbrella. Revelry thrives during high season (July to mid-September, Christmas through New Year, Carnaval and Easter) when serranos (highlanders) pour into town to party. In low season it drops dead and becomes a cloudy, brooding refuge.
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Pacific-Coast-And-Lowlands Manta Ecuador
Come daylight, little boats of Manteño fishing crews haul in their lines and Tarqui beach churns to life with prattling housewives and restaurant owners haggling for the best of the catch. This is the daily ritual of an old seafaring society which has transformed into a frenetic, major port. While Manta depends on fishing, the artisan fisherman battles daily against the massive industrialized fishing industry. A large US military base whose mission is Plan Colombia fills the backdrop.
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The-Southern-Highlands Ecuador
As you roll further south along the Panamericana, the giant snowcapped peaks of the central highlands fade from the rearview mirror. The climate gets warmer, distances between towns become greater and the decades clunk down by the wayside. Although few peaks top 4000m here, the topography is rugged – so rugged in fact that not until the 1960s did the first paved road reach Cuenca, Ecuador’s third-largest city and the southern highland’s main urban center.
Chalk-colored high-rises and red-tile roofs fill this tiny peninsula, whose manicured yards and swept sidewalks give a tidy impression. In the first half of the 20th century, the city was Ecuador’s principal port, but eroding sandbanks let the honor drift to Guayaquil and Manta, and Bahía (as the locals call it) was left to its housekeeping.
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The-Oriente Misahualli Ecuador
The sleepiest of all jungle towns, Misahuallí (Mee-sah-wah-YEE) sits swathed in greenery on the junction of two major rivers. On Saturday night, lights blink on and off the main square (more shortages) and a waitress from the coast longs for the thrill of a steamy salsoteca (salsa nightclub). Locals may be bored but many a traveler is attracted to this very inertia, of swirling river currents and sunny sandbanks. The proverbial end of the road, Misahuallí (also called Puerto Misahuallí) is still boxed off by water but across the river a dirt road links small villages as far as Bellavista.
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Northern-Highlands Tulcan Ecuador
Tulcán is a chilly highland city steeped in grit and bustle, a narrow urban causeway linking with Colombia. The provincial capital of Carchi used to attract Colombians bargain hunting with the Ecuadorian sucre, but these days the best deals are with Colombian imports. The Sunday street market provides goods and clothing but few handicrafts. The main attraction for foreign visitors is heading overland to Colombia.
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Central-Highlands Banos Ecuador
Hemmed in by luxuriant green peaks, blessed with steaming thermal baths and adorned by a beautiful waterfall, Baños is one of Ecuador’s most enticing and popular tourist destinations. Ecuadorians and foreigners alike flock to this idyllically set town to hike, soak in the baths, ride mountain bikes, zip around on rented quad-runners, volcano-watch, party and break their molars on the town’s famous milcocha (taffy). Touristy as it is, it’s a wonderful place to hang out for a few days, complementing outdoor-activity days with excellent dining out.
From the baggy shorts to the friendly, sleepy demeanor, surfer-dude culture is universal. The good surf at the beach here insures a steady stream of travelers, some you’ll see settling up their bills after weeks and months, or taking up trades like hair braiding and wristband weaving. The accompanying Rasta vibe and laid-back ethos means the end of the road for some. Most of the buildings lining one of the several dirt streets in town house a restaurant on the ground floor and either residences or rooms for rent above.
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The-Southern-Highlands Vilcabamba Ecuador
People come to Vilcabamba to relax – which is an easy task once you’re here, considering the tranquility of the village and its stunning mountainous surroundings. The slightly surreal peaks that practically engulf Vilcabamba make for some excellent day hikes from town. Furthermore, nearly every other building (and there aren’t many) has a sign out front advertising massages and facials, a trend started by a few hotels and later picked up by the rest of the resident population, a large percentage of whom are foreigners who couldn’t bring themselves to leave. Most of those who stayed, as well as a handful of locals, now own cafés, offer horse-riding tours or own rustic little hotels offering travelers ample opportunity to do what you do in Vilcabamba: kick back. The town offers access to remote sections of Podocarpus and is a good stopping point en route to or from Peru via Zumba.