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.
Please
note that additional info (prices, activities, etc) are found
to the right of this pages. 
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. |
