The Rough Guide to Ecuador & the Galapagos (Travel Guide eBook)

Rough Guides

Description

World-renowned 'tell it like it is' guidebook

Discover Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands with this comprehensive, entertaining, 'tell it like it is' Rough Guide, packed with comprehensive practical information and our experts' honest and independent recommendations.

Whether you plan to take in the colonial architecture of Cuenca or stroll along Guayaquil's Malecón 2000, relax in the spa town of Baños or climb a volcano, The Rough Guide to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands will help you discover the best places to explore, sleep, eat, drink and shop along the way.

Features of The Rough Guide to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands:
- Detailed regional coverage: provides in-depth practical information for each step of all kinds of trip, from intrepid off-the-beaten-track adventures, to chilled-out breaks in popular tourist areas. Regions covered include: Quito, the northern sierra, the central sierra, the southern sierra, the Oriente, the northern lowlands and coast, Guayaquil and the southern coast and the Galápagos Islands.
- Honest independent reviews: written with Rough Guides' trademark blend of humour, honesty and expertise, and recommendations you can truly trust, our writers will help you get the most from your trip to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands.
- Meticulous mapping: always full-colour, with clearly numbered, colour-coded keys. Find your way around Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca and many more locations without needing to get online.
- Fabulous full-colour photography: features a richness of inspirational colour photography, including the vibrant colours of Otavalo market, stunning wildlife and captivating Andean mountains.
- Things not to miss: Rough Guides' rundown of Quito, Guayaquil, and the northern and southern sierras' best sights and top experiences.
- Itineraries: carefully planned routes will help you organise your trip, and inspire and inform your on-the-road experiences.
- Basics section: packed with essential pre-departure information including getting there, getting around, accommodation, food and drink, health, the media, festivals, sports and outdoor activities, culture and etiquette, shopping and more.
- Background information: comprehensive Contexts chapter provides fascinating insights into Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands, with coverage of history, religion, ethnic groups, environment, wildlife and books, plus a handy language section and glossary.
- Covers: Quito, the northern sierra, the central sierra, the southern sierra, the Oriente, the northern lowlands and coast, Guayaquil and the southern coast and the Galápagos Islands

About Rough Guides: Rough Guides have been inspiring travellers for over 35 years, with over 30 million copies sold globally. Synonymous with practical travel tips, quality writing and a trustworthy 'tell it like it is' ethos, the Rough Guides list includes more than 260 travel guides to 120+ destinations, gift-books and phrasebooks.

Sujets

• Galapagos Islands
• América del Sur
• Travel
• South America
• Ecuador
• Îles Galápagos

Informations

• Publié par: Apa Publications
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781789196368
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 26 Mo

Extrait

Peter Adams/AWL Images
Contents
INTRODUCTION
Where to go
When to go
Author picks
Things not to miss
Tailor-made trips
BASICS
Getting there
Getting around
Accommodation
Food and drink
The media
Festivals
Sports and outdoor activities
National parks and protected areas
Culture and etiquette
Health
Living in Ecuador
Travel essentials
THE GUIDE
1 Quito
2 The northern sierra
3 The central sierra
4 The southern sierra
5 The Oriente
6 The northern lowlands and coast
7 Guayaquil and the southern coast
8 The Galápagos Islands
CONTEXTS
History
Art
The mainland: geography and wildlife
The Galápagos: geography and wildlife
Books
Language
SMALL PRINT
Alamy
Introduction to
Ecuador
There’s a well-known saying that Ecuador, roughly the size of Great Britain, is actually four worlds rolled into one country. Straddling the equator, it boasts a mountainous Andean spine (the sierra) encrusted with glittering snowcapped volcanic peaks – the famed “Avenue of the Volcanoes” – and dotted with cobalt-blue lakes. To the east, vast emerald carpets of steamy Amazonian rainforest harbour a mind-boggling array of flora and flora (the Oriente), while the 2000 kilometre-long Pacific coastline entices visitors with its hidden coves, avian-rich mangroves and endless golden beaches lapped by warm waters. Then there is the country’s most famous attraction, the other-worldly Galápagos Islands. Anchored 1000 kilometres from the mainland, and like nowhere else on the planet, this volcanic archipelago is renowned for its tame wildlife – giant tortoises, Equatorial penguins, marine iguanas and blue-footed boobies to name but a few – that inspired Charles Darwin’s thinking on the nature of evolution.
The cultural and ethnic make-up of Ecuador is as fascinating and diverse as its landscapes and wildlife. Most of the country’s seventeen million citizens are descendants of the various indigenous groups who first inhabited this territory 12,000 years ago, Incas who colonized the land in the late fifteenth century, Spaniards who conquered the Incas in the 1530s and African slaves brought by Spanish colonists. Although the mixing of blood over the centuries has resulted in a largely mestizo (mixed) population, indigenous cultures remain very strong, particularly among the Kichwa-speaking communities of the rural sierra and the ethnic groups of the Oriente. As in many parts of Latin America, social and economic divisions between indígenas , Afro-Ecuadorians, mestizos and a small elite class of white people remain fairly entrenched.
While Andean Quito is the political and cultural heart of Ecuador, the port city of Guayaquil is the pulse of the country’s economy, exporting tonnes of bananas, shrimps, cocoa and coffee worldwide. Above all though, the country relies heavily on the export of oil: vast tracts of Amazonian rainforest in the Oriente have been transformed by oil multinationals, and although significant areas are officially protected, pollution and industrial accidents have had a devastating impact. That said, the accessibility of the rainforest and its abundant wildlife is one of Ecuador’s main draws – due, ironically, to the transport infrastructure developed by and for the oil companies. Other threats to Ecuador’s jungle come from deforestation , on account of logging, gold mining and clearing of land for cultivation. These factors threaten not only the region’s ecosystem, but also the numerous distinct indigenous groups – including the Siona, Waorani and Secoya – who live there. In recent years, indigenous rights groups and environmentalists have combined their efforts to resist the continued threat posed by government and multinationals to one of the most biodiverse landscapes on the planet.
One of the oldest democracies in Latin America – though this was put into question during the decade of autocracy under charismatic leader Rafael Correa that ended in 2017 – Ecuador has found it difficult to find consensus on a development model that can provide economic growth while protecting the cultural and natural heritage of one of the most biodiverse lands on the planet. Much like the military dictators of the 1970s, Correa left behind a heavily indebted, broken economy and a society shocked by corruption and disappointed by unfulfilled promises of well-being.

SuperStock
THE DISTINCTIVE BLUE DOMES OF THE CATEDRAL NUEVA, CUENCA

FACT FILE “Ecuador” is the Spanish for “ equator ”. It was chosen as the name of the newly independent country in 1830 after the alternatives, which included “Quito” and “Atahualpa”, proved unpopular. The Galápagos giant tortoise can weigh up to 250kg, over four times the weight of the average adult human. Spanish is the official language of Ecuador, but there are more than 20 other native tongues, including several dialects of Kichwa, the language of the Incas. Ecuador has more species of mammals and amphibians per square metre than any other country on Earth. Ecuador was one of the first Latin American countries to separate the state and church, permit divorce, and grant women the vote; in 1979, it led a wave of re-democratisation in the region and is now the only country that is both a member of OPEC and uses the US dollar as its currency. Chimborazo, Ecuador’s highest peak at 6268m, is the furthest point from the centre of the Earth due to the planet’s equatorial bulge.
But beyond the constant buzz of political debate and scandal remains a country grandiose landscapes and diverse cultural heritage, of welcoming people and a surprising degree of cultural diversity. The US dollar has provided an anchor of economic stability since 2000, and Ecuador has progressed in general much as Latin America has. Decent roads reach well beyond the major cities, allowing easy access to endless possibilities, from the eternal ice of the glaciers to the tropical lowlands; thrill-seekers can kayak or raft world-class rivers, bike down the slopes of volcanoes and ride the waves of the Pacific Ocean. The country has cosmopolitan major cities as well as rural communities steeped in ancient traditions and hunter-gatherers only recently confronted with the gains and costs of modern society. Hotels and restaurants have improved strongly since the introduction of the dollar, and as a whole the country is well set up for backpackers and independent travellers. You’ll find that the biggest challenge most travellers will face is deciding where to go and what to do first.
Where to go
Most visitors fly in to the lofty Ecuadorian capital, Quito , whose glorious colonial old town – a mix of pleasant plazas, impressive churches and monasteries and some fascinating museums – demands at least a day to explore. Add another to take in more art and culture in the new town as well as climbing to one of the city’s many stunning viewpoints. North from Quito, the northern sierra is dappled with glistening lakes backed by volcanic peaks, a region famed for its artesanías – centres of native craftwork, leather goods and woodcarving – all within a short bus ride of each other. Of these, Otavalo is undoubtedly the biggest attraction, thanks to its enormous Saturday market – one of the continent’s most renowned – and flourishing weaving industry. The region also offers plenty of scope for walkers and horse riders, who should consider splashing out on a stay in one of the beautifully converted haciendas , while an increasing number of community-based tourism initiatives provide opportunities to learn first-hand about highland life.

Danita Delimont Stock/AWL Images
SAN LUCAS MARSUPIAL FROG

A BRILLIANT BIODIVERSITY
Ecuador’s size belies a stunning biodiversity . The country has more than 25,000 plant species – ten percent of the world’s total – compared to around 17,000 in North America. It is home to 1600 types of birds – about twice as many as in the whole of Europe, and almost half the total for all of South America. Ecuador’s extraordinary concentration of wildlife is largely due to the country’s unique geography, its position on the equator and the geologically recent appearance of Andean cordilleras, which divide the coastal and Amazonian basins and provide an array of habitats and isolated areas for the evolution of new species. Ecuador’s highly varied terrain encompasses Andean mountains, parched semi-desert scrub, chilly high-altitude grasslands, subtropical cloudforests, tropical rainforests, dry forests, mangrove swamps, warm Pacific beaches and the unique environment of the Galápagos Islands.
South of Quito, the central sierra is home to the most spectacular of the country’s volcanoes, including the smoking snowcapped cone of Cotopaxi and Chimborazo , Ecuador’s highest peak at 6268m . Also in this rural region are some of the more exciting highland markets, at Saquisilí and Zumbahua , often combined with a side-trip to the dazzling crater lake of Quilotoal , while more established attractions include the spa town of Baños , framed by soaring green peaks, Riobamba , the central sierra’s most appealing city, and the spectacular train ride down the Nariz del Diablo (“the Devil’s Nose”).
In the southern sierra lies the captivating colonial city of Cuenca , a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a convenient base for visiting Ingapi