Insight Guides - Insight Guides Ecuador & Galapagos (Travel Guide eBook)

How To Use This E-Book

Getting around the e-book

This Insight Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration for your visit to Ecuador and Galapagos, as well as comprehensive planning advice to make sure you have the best travel experience. The guide begins with our selection of Top Attractions, as well as our Editors Choice categories of activities and experiences. Detailed features on history, people and culture paint a vivid portrait of contemporary life in Ecuador and Galapagos. The extensive Places chapters give a complete guide to all the sights and areas worth visiting. The Travel Tips provide full information on getting around, activities from culture to shopping to sport, plus a wealth of practical information to help you plan your trip.

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights in Ecuador and Galapagos are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

Youll find hundreds of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Ecuador and Galapagos. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

About Insight Guides

Insight Guides have more than 40 years experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.

Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.

2019 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Ecuadors Top 10 Attractions

Top Attraction 1

Avenue of the Volcanoes. These snow-capped peaks span Ecuadors Andean spine. Hike and climb at the top of the world, as measured from the earths center. For more information, .

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 2

Cuenca. Cupolas of the 19th-century Catedral Nueva blend in with the older buildings of Cuenca, a Unesco World Heritage Site, and one of Latin Americas best-preserved colonial Spanish cities. For more information, .

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 3

Otavalo. Culture does not get more Andean than in Otavalo, with its excellent textile market. Nearby lakes, haciendas, and colonial Ibarra round off the experience. For more information, .

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 4

Baos. Nestled in the Andes, this traveler magnet boasts thermal springs heated by the volcano above, and two little-visited national parks. For more information, .

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 5

Quito. The historic Old Town of Quito, one of the biggest in the Americas, is studded with Baroque churches, such as La Compaa de Jess. For more information, .

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 6

Galpagos Islands. Marvels of isolated evolution, the Galpagos Islands boast unique wildlife, approachable like nowhere else on the planet. Swim with sea lions, and dive with sharks and marine iguanas. For more information, .

iStock

Top Attraction 7

Ingapirca. Possibly a temple for sun worship, fortress-like Ingapirca is Ecuadors best-preserved pre-Colonial monument, built by the Inca Tupac Yupanqui in the late 15th century in imperial Inca style. For more information, .

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 8

Pacific coast beaches. Offering leaping whales, water sports, and some of the oldest archeological remains in the Americas. For more information, .

iStock

Top Attraction 9

Amazon lodges. Just a hop away by plane and canoe, Amazon lodges offer a doorway to the worlds most diverse ecosystem. For more information, .

iStock

Editors Choice

Sculptures at Capilla del Hombre.

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Best wildlife-watching

The Galpagos Islands. The most famous wildlife reserve in the world and the place where Charles Darwin formed his theory of evolution. For more information, .

Parque Nacional Machalilla. Most visitors come for the whale-watching around Isla de la Plata, but you can also see frigate birds and blue-footed boobies on Isla de la Plata. For more information, .

Parque Nacional Yasun. Ecuadors largest nature reserve is home to the elusive jaguar and the vocal howler monkey. For more information, .