Discovering Ecuador

Alejandra Rincon, one of our longest-serving South & Central American experts, recently took a trip to one of Goway’s most popular destinations – Ecuador. Read on below as Alejandra, following the outline of Goway’s 8-Day Essential Ecuador itinerary, found out what this beautiful country has to offer.

Ecuador is beautiful. It’s more than I expected, which is really saying something, considering I am advising people every day on all the amazing options for travel there, including the Galapagos Islands. Each little town along the way was simply more amazing than the next, it was hard to keep the camera down!

After spending some time in and around Quito, including a trip to the equator, we headed towards Banos, a town 4 hours south of the capital. Banos is famous for the hot springs in the heart of the village. Located at the base of a volcano, the town is a perfect area for some down time as well as a wide choice of soft adventure activities such as rafting, mountain biking, trekking, and the famed “Swing At the End of the World”.

We visited the famous Pailon del Diablo waterfall and took a small hike up to the falls. It was then onto Riobamba and Alausi to catch the Devils Nose train. You not only find a more indigenous side of Ecuador in this region, you also get to travel from the Andean Highlands, down to the much more humid lowlands.

The view from the train is simply unbelievable! To top it off, you can get a cool stamp in your passport at the train station in Alausi.

Alejandra Rincon with Passport Stamped on Devils Nose Railway, Ecuador — Passport stamped!

At the end of the trip, we moved further down south to the spectacular colonial jewel of Cuenca. Featuring local markets, great restaurants, nearby national parks, and little villages, Cuenca harks back to an older day, and is the perfect stop to finish a mainland journey through Ecuador.

View of the City of Cuenca, Ecuador — View of the city of Cuenca

As a promoter of travel, my incredible journey to Ecuador made me realize all the other wonderful places to see and things to do, other than a trip to the Galapagos. In fact, the most perfect experience in Ecuador would be to enjoy both!