Recreation

Climbing/Hiking/Trekking

Ecuador offers an incredible variety of landscapes, culture and adventure. National parks, nature reserves, breathtaking sceneries and much more. For hikers and trekkers, there are a number of excellent trips throught the highlands which features spectacular views of Ecuador's volcanic peaks. Within a day's drive of the modern capital city of Quito are 20,000 foot glaciated peaks, Amazon rainforest, warm coastal beaches, and dense cloud forest with hidden Incan treasures. Whether you decide to ramble out on your own or hook up with a local guide service, the logistics of planning excursions in Ecuador are simpler and the approach time shorter than in other, more remote, areas of the world.

Horseback Riding

There is a rich variety of opportunities for riding enthusiasts in Ecuador. You can ride high in the Andes through the grassy páramo plains with glaciated volcanoes as a backdrop, through lowland tropical rain forest, or even through the many unique ecosystems of the Galapagos Islands.

Ecuador has a number of stables which rent good horses and if you know where to look you can find pure Peruvian Pasos, Andalusians, and Arabs. Even healthy horses will generally look thin in the Sierra - at these altitudes the horses cannot afford to carry extra weight

Rafting and Kayaking

There are scores of rivers that carve their way through spectacular gorges, canyons, valleys and jungles leaving behind hundreds of miles of breathtaking world class whitewater. Ecuador holds the headwaters of the Amazon river and as a result the country has one of the highest concentrations of rivers per square mile in the world. Add to this warm tropical waters, year-round flows, excellent accessibility, and an opportunity to paddle in the Amazon jungle and you have perhaps the world's best whitewater playground.

Scuba Diving

Diving in the islands is quite spectacular and you have excellent opportunities of seeing some really dramatic underwwater wildlife. It truely is a unique, world-class diving location. It is still private, pristine, and relatively unexplored. Nevertheless, a few tour companies specializing in diving have been operating in the Galapagos for over a decade. If you have never dived before they can supply you with all the equipment and teach you what you need to know. Both certified one week courses and quick instruction are available. The best time of the year for diving is November to April, when the seas are comparatively calm and the water temperature is warm. In the Galapagos it is possible to dive in the company of sea turtles, manta rays, penguins, sea lions, dolphins, and numerous species of shark, including hammerheads and whale sharks. There are also hundreds of species of tropical reef fish, many of which are particular to this fantastic underwater sanctuary.

Snorkeling is another great activity not to be missed at the Galapagos Islands. Donning a mask and snorkel will expose you to a completely new world. Baby sea lions may come up and stare at you through your mask. Various species of rays and penguins dart past you in a stream of bubbles. Hundreds of species of fish are spectacularly colorful along with sea urchins, starfish sea anemones, algae and crustaceans.

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