QUITO
Ecuador’s capital city is a welcoming, culture-rich metropolis with scenery that will take your breath away in more ways than one. Occupying a montane basin at nearly 3,000 meters, Quito boasts a perpetually agreeable climate and one of Latin America’s richest concentrations of colonial churches, plazas, museums, and historic buildings. See centuries-old paintings and Catholic relics in the Casa de la Cultura and modern works at Oswaldo Guayasamín’s home-turned-museum, or enjoy the views of Old Town from the Itchimbia Cultural Center or El Panecillo, which is topped by a huge winged statue of the Virgin Mary. Even better, there’s enough to do within an hour or so to fill a week of sightseeing, from the standard (skipping over the equator line at the Mitad del Mundo) to the sublime (cloudforest birding around Mindo).

NORTHERN SIERRA
High among Ecuador’s Andean peaks you’ll find pastoral scenes of colorfully dressed indigenous herders watching sheep and llamas graze in windswept fields of grass. Indigenous markets like the famous one in Otavalo offer crafts for tourists and household goods and food, some squawkingly alive, for locals. A full-blown animal market is an unforgettable sight, providing a glimpse into the gritty realities of life for a large part of Ecuador’s native population. Ecological preserves such as Cotacachi-Cayapas and El Angel protect parts of the stunning scenery, while comfortable country hotels nestle next to dark Andean lakes.

CENTRAL SIERRA
South from Quito, the Avenue of the Volcanoes boasts some of Ecuador’s most inviting cities and outdoor pleasures. After climbing Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano in the world, or camping by the turquoise Laguna Quilotoa, enjoy a soak in the hot springs of Baños followed by a night in the town. Riobamba and Latacunga are both genteel, relaxing places to visit, and if you’re in the mood for something a little more out of the way, ride on top of the bus around the Latacunga Loop to the Black Sheep Inn, an award-winning ecolodge. Numerous other volcanic peaks are there for the climbing, including Chimborazo, Ecuador’s highest, and the jagged bowl of El Altar.

THE ORIENTE
Head east for the green expanse of the Amazon rainforest, stretching all the way to Brazil and the Atlantic. Here shotguns and rubber boots, machetes, and hard liquor are as practical as they are common. Some roads consist of smooth river stones, whereas others are simply a car-wide gap in the vegetation. Along the rivers, the real highways of the region, children wave down from crumbling riverbanks and entire families pole upriver in dugout canoes. Around it all the rainforest buzzes, shrieks, and breathes, a living backdrop that inspires humility at its vastness, outrage at its seething disorder, or some strange combination of the two.

  Rafting and jungle-hiking trips are easy and inexpensive to arrange in the gateway towns of Baeza and Tena. Farther afield wait luxury jungle lodges accessible only by motorboat or plane. Many tours stop by indigenous communities, where groups of Lowland Quechua, Huaorani, Achuar, and Cofán hold on to many of the old ways practiced by their ancestors. Other options in the Oriente include exploring caves and mining towns and joining the locals in a tube ride down a muddy river.

NORTH COAST AND LOWLANDS
A long Pacific coastline shelters kilometers of fine sandy beaches, many of which remain unspoiled because easy access roads simply don’t exist. Former fishing villages such as Súa, Same, Atacames, and Montañita cater to budget travelers looking for surf, sun, and occasional nightlife. In between there’s the treehouse architecture of the Alandaluz Ecological Tourist Center and beachfront cabins at Muisne and Canoa. Birding in the western lowlands is excellent at places like Tinalandia and the Río Palenque Science Center.

  Upriver from sweaty San Lorenzo, the Afro-Latin village of Playa del Oro offers access to the world’s only ecological reserve dedicated to protecting small jungle cats. Farther south, Machalilla National Park protects dry coastal forests and the richest archaeological sites of Ecuador’s pre-Inca past, as well as the “poor man’s Galápagos” that is Isla de la Plata.

GUAYAQUIL AND THE SOUTHERN COAST
Ecuador’s biggest metropolis meets the water at the new-and-improved Malecón 2000, a compelling symbol of the recent municipal renaissance that has also touched the historic neighborhood of Las Peñas. High-end tourists, foreign and Ecuadorian alike, head for the gleaming high-rises and clean beaches of the Santa Elena Peninsula west of the city, while remnants of once-widespread mangrove estuaries are protected in the Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve nearby. Jambelí near the city of Machala offers a more laid-back take on southern coastal life. The Puyango Petrified Forest and the old mining town of Zaruma are two offbeat tourist options on the way south to Peru.

SOUTHERN SIERRA
Ecuador’s southernmost region feels far from the hubbub of big-city life, and most of it is. Ancient steam trains squirm through the Devil’s Nose below Alausí on their rattling way to the coast. A rooftop ride on one of these can be combined with a visit to Ingapirca, Ecuador’s premier Inca ruins. Farther south is the colonial center of Cuenca, which rivals Quito in its profusion of churches, convents, and museums. It’s a popular place to study Spanish. Even closer to the Peruvian border is Podocarpus National Park, stretching from the cloud forest to the Amazon, and the serene backpackers’ getaway of Vilcabamba.

THE GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS
Everyone’s heard about this archipelago off the shoulder of South America, where doe-eyed sea lions, birds with blue feet, and tortoises as big as armchairs roam free and fearless. A lucky few (including you, I hope) will actually get to swim with puppy-sized penguins and walk past nesting seabirds close enough to touch. The scuba diving is some of the best in the world, and all visits are strictly monitored by the National Park Service to ensure that this unique ecosystem is minimally impacted. The islands are one of the world’s natural treasures, and a visit here will be a highlight of your trip, guaranteed.