NORTHERN SIERRA

Ecuador’s northern highlands, stretching from Quito to the Colombian border, enclose everything that makes the Sierra special: incredible scenery, picturesque towns with bustling indigenous markets, unspoiled national parks, and ice-capped volcanoes. It’s no surprise, then, that the northern Sierra is one of the country’s most popular regions for tourists. What may surprise you is how easily you can leave the beaten path and find yourself in rural areas and nature reserves you’d swear no traveler had ever seen before.

  Otavalo’s textile market, one of the most spectacular in South America, is the biggest draw in the region. Many of the smaller villages around Otavalo specialize in particular crafts; the city and its environs demand at least a few days’ exploring. Farther north, the quiet colonial “White City” of Ibarra is larger but calmer. Unless you have some urgent, unresolved business with the border police, there’s no excuse not to stop by the famous topiary cemetery in Tulcán near the Colombian border.

  Parks and nature reserves offer hiking, camping, and mountaineering to rival any in Ecuador. The Cotacachi-Cayapas and Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserves spill from the highlands into the coastal lowlands and the Oriente, respectively. Many smaller private reserves, such as Intag and Cerro Golondrinas, are tucked into the corners of the larger ones. After a long hike to a remote laguna, soak your aches away in one of the many hot springs that bubble up from the hillsides.

  The inter-Andean plateau is lined by towering mountain ranges on its way northeast to Colombia. Dry river valleys and cold alpine lakes punctuate the land in between the peaks. Near the border, highland valleys climb into damp, moody páramo straight out of a Scottish historical epic. Earthquakes occasionally rattle the region, explaining mountaineer Edward Whymper’s description of the local topography as “not very unlike that of a biscuit which has been smashed by a blow of the fist.”

Textile Market: Otavalo’s Saturday market is justifiably famous, with acres of multihued textiles and crafts of every description. (read more)

Hacienda Cusín: Ecuador’s oldest and most elegant hacienda is a sumptuous step back in time. (read more)

Laguna Cuicocha: Take a boat through the Dream Canal on the icy waters of this lake high in the Andes at the foot of Volcán Cotacachi. (read more)

El Angel Ecological Reserve: One of Ecuador’s most pristine páramo reserves is home to odd plants in a high, misty setting. (read more)

Tulcán’s Municipal Cemetery: With its unbelievable topiary works, this graveyard has been called “so beautiful it invites one to die”. (read more)