South America

Ecuador

Discover Ecuador - straddling the equator with the Galápagos Islands, Andean volcanoes, Amazon rainforest, and colonial Quito.

Where Is Ecuador?

Ecuador is a country in South America. Its capital is Quito.

Where Ecuador isSouth America · Capital Quito

Capital Quito
Population 18.3M
Area 276,841 km²

Ecuador is named after the equator that runs through it, and despite being one of South America's smallest countries, it packs more biodiversity per square kilometer than almost anywhere on Earth. The country has four distinct worlds: the Pacific coast, the Andean highlands, the Amazon rainforest, and the Galápagos Islands — Darwin's living laboratory, 1,000 km offshore, where giant tortoises and marine iguanas live with no fear of humans.

Quito, the capital, sits at 2,850 meters in a valley surrounded by volcanoes, and its colonial center was the first place ever designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Avenue of Volcanoes — a corridor of snow-capped peaks including Cotopaxi and Chimborazo — is one of the most dramatic landscapes in the Americas. Ecuador adopted the US dollar as its currency in 2000, making it one of the few countries outside the US to use it. It's a country where you can breakfast on the beach, lunch in the mountains, and dinner in the jungle, all in the same day.

At a glance

Language

Spanish, Kichwa

Currency

US Dollar (USD)

Calling Code

+593

Drives On

Right

Internet

.ec

Timezone

ECT (UTC-5)

Script

Latin

Government

Presidential Republic

Independence

1822

By population

Largest cities in Ecuador

Quito

High-altitude capital with the best-preserved colonial center in Latin America, first UNESCO World Heritage City

2,800,000

Guayaquil

Ecuador's largest city and main port, gateway to the Galápagos with a revitalized waterfront

2,700,000

Cuenca

Colonial gem in the southern highlands with cobblestone streets, Panama hat workshops, and a mild climate

600,000

Baños

Adventure capital at the foot of the active Tungurahua volcano, famous for hot springs and the Swing at the End of the World

20,000

People

Famous people from Ecuador

Antonio Valencia
Sport
Ecuador's most successful footballer, Manchester United captain and Premier League star
Jefferson Pérez
Sport
Ecuador's first Olympic gold medalist, winning the 20km racewalk in 1996
Oswaldo Guayasamín
Art
Ecuador's most famous painter, whose powerful murals depict Latin American suffering and resilience
Jorge Icaza
Literature
Author of Huasipungo, one of the most important social realist novels in Latin American literature

Food

Traditional cuisine of Ecuador

Ceviche: Ecuadorian-style with shrimp in tomato-citrus sauce, served with popcorn and plantain chips on the coast
Llapingachos: Pan-fried potato patties stuffed with cheese, served with peanut sauce, sausage, and fried egg
Encebollado: The national hangover cure - tuna soup with yuca, pickled onions, and chili, eaten for breakfast
Cuy: Roasted guinea pig, a pre-Columbian Andean delicacy still popular in the highlands
Chocolate: Ecuador produces some of the world's finest cacao, especially the prized Nacional variety

Nature

Nature and landmarks in Ecuador

Galápagos IslandsNational Park: Darwin's evolutionary laboratory 1,000 km offshore, where giant tortoises and marine iguanas roam without fear
CotopaxiMountain: One of the world's highest active volcanoes at 5,897m, its perfect snow-capped cone visible from Quito
Amazon RainforestNational Park: Ecuador's Oriente region holds incredible biodiversity in Yasuní National Park, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth
ChimborazoMountain: At 6,263m, its summit is the farthest point from Earth's center due to the equatorial bulge
QuilotoaLake: Stunning turquoise crater lake at 3,914m in the Andean highlands, formed by a volcanic eruption

Sport

Sports in Ecuador

Football: Qualified for the World Cup three times (2002, 2006, 2014), reached the Round of 16 in 2006
Racewalking: Jefferson Pérez won Olympic gold in 1996 and multiple World Championship medals
Ecuavolley: Unique three-person volleyball variant played on every street corner in Ecuador

Facts

Did you know?

Ecuador uses the US dollar as its official currency, having adopted it in 2000 to stabilize the economy
Chimborazo's summit is the farthest point from Earth's center, technically closer to space than Everest
The Panama hat is actually from Ecuador - it got its name because it was shipped through Panama
Ecuador was the first country in the world to grant constitutional rights to nature in 2008
The Galápagos giant tortoise can live over 170 years, making them among the longest-lived vertebrates
Quito's historic center is the largest and best-preserved colonial center in the Americas
Ecuador has the most biodiversity per square kilometer of any country on Earth