Plan Your Perfect Ecuador Trip

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UNDERSTAND ALL THAT ECUADOR HAS TO OFFER

Ecuador is made of four key geographic regions. Three of those regions run north to south on the mainland: the Amazon, the Andes, and the Pacific Coast. Add the Galapagos Islands for number four! Each region has beautiful places to visit, neat people to meet, and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to learn.

Learn More About Each Region

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PLANNING YOUR VACATION IS PART OF THE FUN!

sparkling violetear hummingbird, ecuador

Explore

Our writers have unique insights into the people and places they write about. Many have not only visited Ecuador but have made it their home.

Connect

Local guides and business owners are invited to answer your questions in the forum. We help translate, both language and culture, when need be!

Travel

We recommend agencies to book entire trips, help you design your own itinerary, or anywhere in between. At the end of the day, how much we help is your choice.

Festivals Are More Fun With A Local Guide

Fiesta del Sol en el Centro del Planeta

por Jacqueline Granda | junio 19, 2020 | Cultura, Ecuador, El Norte, Festivales, La Sierra | 4 Comentarios

En Ecuador, esta celebración, declarada como Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial del Ecuador desde el 29 de junio del 2016, es una de las más esperadas a lo largo de todo el año en la serranía ecuatoriana por la importancia en la cosmovisión andina, también es festejada en...

Holy Thursday in Quito

por Angie | abril 9, 2020 | Culture, Ecuador, Festivals, Northern Ecuador, Quito, South America, The Andes | 0 Comentarios

Maundy Thursday, often called Holy Thursday, is a busy day in Quito. It is a half-holiday and most Quiteños spend the afternoon visiting churches that dot the historic center. While it is a time for reflection and prayer, it is also an opportunity to meet family and...

Celebrating Palm Sunday in Quito

por Angie | febrero 15, 2020 | Churches, Culture, Ecuador, Festivals, Quito, South America, The Andes | 0 Comentarios

A week before Easter Sunday, Catholics around the world celebrate Palm Sunday. In Quito, Ecuador, Domingo de Ramos is a more festive day than Easter Sunday itself. The line-up of activities changes each year but in our experience the folklore group Jacchigua always...

What to Expect at the Cacería del Zorro

por Angie | enero 21, 2020 | Culture, Ecuador, Festivals, Northern Ecuador, South America, The Andes | 0 Comentarios

The day of the annual Cacería del Zorro horse race is guaranteed to be action-packed from morning until night. The excitement begins with a parade down city streets, continues on to the race track at Yahuarcocha, a high altitude lake nestled into the base of the...

Everything You Need To Know About Mama Negra

por Angie | octubre 21, 2019 | Central Ecuador, Culture, Ecuador, Festivals, South America, The Andes | 0 Comentarios

So you want to visit Latacunga to see the Mama Negra parade? But you can't find any information. You've come to the right place. Last year, we attended the November festivities with local friends and learned a ton about the do's and don't of the day. Read on to learn...

Intiraymi in Cotacachi: Dancing For A Good Harvest

por Angie | junio 4, 2019 | Culture, Ecuador, Festivals, Northern Ecuador, South America, The Andes | 0 Comentarios

A couple of years ago, I took friends to stay in the small town of Cotacachi for Inti Raymi. Our plans were simple, to enjoy the local festival as best as possible. Of course, as is pretty typical in Ecuador, I could find very little information about which days would...

Traditional Foods Taste Better When You Eat With Locals

Locro de Papas, Quiteño Comfort Food

por Angie | junio 10, 2020 | Culture, Ecuador, Food and Recipes, Quito, South America, The Andes | 0 Comentarios

I can't think of a dish that is more emblematic of Quito than Locro de Papas or Potato Soup In Ecuador, a locro is a thick soup, almost a stew, and it's base is potato, specifically the papa chola, a large, starchy, reddish skinned potato with a pale yellow to white...

The Most Authentic Peruvian Food in Cusco

por Angie | marzo 18, 2020 | Food and Recipes, Peru | 0 Comentarios

A few years back, my family and I stayed a couple of nights in Cusco, Peru. We ate a lot of authentic meals before, during, and after our adventure on the Inca Trail. But years later, only two stand out. One was a meal we ate standing on the street outside of our...

How To Roast Guinea Pig a la Ecuador

por Angie | marzo 1, 2020 | Culture, Ecuador, Food and Recipes, South America, The Andes | 0 Comentarios

Let me warn you. This post is not for the faint of heart. In the mountainous regions of Ecuador people love to eat roast cuy (rhymes with gooey). A cuy is a guinea pig raised for meat. Ecuadorians raise them in small pens, caring for them until they're large enough to...

Green Plantain Dumplings, AKA Bolón de Verde

por Angie | febrero 17, 2020 | Culture, Ecuador, Food and Recipes, South America | 0 Comentarios

One of the things I love about Ecuadorian chefs is that most seem willing to share their recipes. That's how I came to make Bolón de Verde - literally translated as balls of green but more appropriately called green plantain dumplings. Our First Bolón de Verde A young...

Connor’s Favorite Coleslaw

por Angie | febrero 17, 2020 | Culture, Food and Recipes | 0 Comentarios

How did we discover Connor's Favorite Coleslaw? By trying to compensate for the lack of really great mayonnaise in Ecuador. Even the olive oil we purchase doesn't always guarantee a good-tasting mayo. All I can imagine is that many of the imported bottles turn rancid...

Make Your Own Sauerkraut

por Angie | febrero 5, 2020 | Culture, Europe, Food and Recipes | 0 Comentarios

Sauerkraut isn't exactly an Ecuadorian staple. That's one of the great things about living overseas; it pushes me to make the foods I love but can't easily buy. A couple of years ago, I had tried to make sauerkraut at home and the attempt resulted in a...

Learn The History You Never Learned In School

Cómo crear un anuncio de lugares informativo

por Angie | julio 21, 2020 | Ecuador, Información para Guías, Marketing, SEO | 0 Comentarios

Hemos pasado los últimos años escribiendo sobre nuestros viajes en Ecuador y otras naciones andinas. Todavía tenemos un montón para escribir! Mientras espera leer más sobre nuestras propias experiencias personales, sabemos que a veces solo deseas conocer los hechos....

Cómo crear una publicación de guías de aspecto profesional

por Angie | julio 15, 2020 | Ecuador, Información para Guías, Marketing, SEO | 0 Comentarios

Aquí en Not Your Average American, ¡nos aman guías locales! Queremos que los turistas contraten a los mejores guías turísticas en Ecuador. Uno de los primeros pasos que puede tomar un guía turístico para presentarse a clientes potenciales es crear un anuncio...

Soy Guía De Turismo Y EL COVID-19 INFECTÓ MI TRABAJO

por Autor Invitado | marzo 30, 2020 | Ecuador, Información para Guías | 0 Comentarios

Soy Guía De Turismo Y EL COVID-19 INFECTÓ MI TRABAJO Cancelaron todo tipo de VIAJES, mi trabajo se ve afectado, no hay turistas que quieran viajar por ahora, y es entendible!! 😔😔 hay y habrá mucho miedo incluso luego de que toda esta pesadilla pase!! 🖤 🌎 Todo EL MUNDO...

A Guided Tour of Cusco

por Angie | marzo 19, 2020 | Archeology, History, Peru, South America | 0 Comentarios

It's not often that we end up on a scheduled group tour. Especially not one that hits all the major sites in a single afternoon. However, that's how we ended up seeing most of Cusco, in a slap-dash tour that took us to major sites inside and out of the city itself....

La Florida Archealogy Site: Dig Into Ancient Quito

por Angie | enero 29, 2020 | Archeology, Culture, Ecuador, History, Museums, Northern Ecuador, Quito, South America | 0 Comentarios

A couple of weekends ago, we headed out on a mission to explore La Florida Archeology Museum. This pre-Columbian burial ground sits in the middle of an average Quiteño neighborhood. On our way up the hillside to see this little treasure, we passed lines of laundry...

The Virgin of Quito

por Angie | enero 23, 2020 | Ecuador, History, Northern Ecuador, Quito, South America | 0 Comentarios

Shortly before moving into our new home in Quito, we made our first visit to the Virgin of Quito. We could see her statue from our hotel window. The angel-like, silver edifice stands atop a dome-shaped hill called El Panecillo. History of the Panecillo Before the...

Hike Like A Local

La Puruhanta Misteriosa – Una Laguna de Altura de Imbabura

por Autor Invitado | mayo 4, 2020 | Ecuador, El Norte, La Sierra, Trekking | 0 Comentarios

Para los viajeros ecuatorianos de experiencia, la provincia norteña de Imbabura evoca bellas imágenes de montañas verdes, valles empinados y lagos de acero azul. De hecho, esta provincia se conoce como la región de los lagos. Lagos como el Lago San Pablo, la Laguna...

The Best Birding Around Papallacta, Ecuador

por Angie | marzo 18, 2020 | Birds, Ecuador, Hiking, Northern Ecuador, South America, The Andes, Wildlife | 0 Comentarios

Most people make the day trip from Quito to Papallacta to enjoy the hot springs alone. Then there are those of us who go for the birds! With that in mind, here are a few locations in and around Papallacta, Ecuador that make for great birdwatching! Birdwatching The...

Hiking to the Glacier at Cotopaxi National Park

por Angie | marzo 4, 2020 | Ecuador, Hiking, South America, The Andes | 0 Comentarios

If you find yourself at Cotopaxi National Park on a sunny day, you may just want to take the opportunity to hike up to the Cotopaxi glacier, especially if you've already taken the time to hike to the Refugio! The views are spectacular, both towards the icy mountain...

Hiking Cayambe Coca National Park Near Papallacta

por Angie | febrero 24, 2020 | Ecuador, Hiking, Northern Ecuador, South America, The Andes, Wildlife | 0 Comentarios

I wanted to write about Cayambe-Coca National Park. However, the truth is that I can't do it justice. With several access points and no safe way to transverse its grand 3,700 square kilometers (1,430 square miles), it's a park that begs to be treated like multiple...

A Hop, Skip, and a Jump from Quito – Yanacocha Reserve

por Angie | febrero 10, 2020 | Birds, Ecuador, Hiking, Northern Ecuador, South America, The Andes, Wildlife | 0 Comentarios

The Yanacocha Reserve protects a small slice of high altitude cloud forest about an hour outside of Quito. On a sunny day, it's a great place to hike for unimpeded views of Guagua Pinchincha, the volcano that last erupted in 1999. The vista towards the coast is...

Hiking Rucu Pichincha

por Angie | enero 21, 2020 | Ecuador, Hiking, Northern Ecuador, Quito, South America | 0 Comentarios

Hiking the Rucu Pichincha Volcano is a glorious way to explore the Andean wilderness only a short distance outside of Quito. In fact, if you've read my earlier post about riding the Teleferico, you already know that this activity is one of the most popular in the city...

Find Orchids Around Every Corner

The Best of Buenaventura

por Angie | mayo 25, 2019 | Birds, Ecuador, orchids, South America, Southern Ecuador, The Coast, Wildlife | 0 Comentarios

The Buenaventura Reserve provides easy access to explore the flora and fauna of Southern Ecuador. However, a visit to this widespread reserve requires a little planning as many of the great things to do lie a few kilometers from the main lodge. Once you arrive, there...

El Jardín Botánico de Loja

por Angie | junio 7, 2018 | orquideas, Sin categorizar | 0 Comentarios

Nunca esperé encontrar un jardín botánico en Loja, Ecuador. Pero esta ciudad universitaria en el sur de Ecuador está llena de sorpresas. Mi hijo menor y yo pasamos una agradable mañana caminando por los senderos sombreados y disfrutando de los cuidados jardines. Los...

The Best Places to See Orchids in Ecuador

por Angie | abril 12, 2018 | Ecuador, orchids, South America | 0 Comentarios

Ecuador is home to over 4,000 species of orchids. These specatuclar blooming epiphytes grow in high altitude cloud forests of the Andean Sierra and the equatorial jungles of the Amazon Basin. There are so many orchids that the only comprehensive identification guide...

El Pahuma: A Wild Orchid Reserve Near Quito

por Angie | abril 6, 2018 | Ecuador, Northern Ecuador, orchids, South America, The Andes | 0 Comentarios

The 2.5 hour drive from Quito to Mindo, Ecuador follows a long and windy road with very few places to pull off and stop. However, one small pullout provides more than a bathroom break. El Pahuma is an orchid reserve near Quito. It is home to gushing cascades of water,...

The Orchids of Cabañas San Isidro

por Angie | mayo 29, 2015 | Ecuador, Northern Ecuador, orchids, The Amazon | 0 Comentarios

rchids can be tough to see in the wild, even near wildlife lodges like the Cabañas San Isidro. Large orchids love to grow high in the tree canopy, beyond the reach of even a pair of good binoculars. And some of the orchids that grow at eye...

Local Guides Know Where To Find The Best Birds

Global Big Day Ecuador 2020

por Jacqueline Granda | mayo 20, 2020 | Aves y Pájaros, Ecuador, Fauna | 0 Comentarios

El Global Big Day es el evento global más importante a nivel mundial de identificación y registro de aves, nace en el 2015 como una iniciativa de la Universidad de Cornell en los Estados Unidos con el valioso objetivo de acercarnos más a la diversidad biológica que...

Pesca de bagre en tiempos de Coronavirus

por Jacqueline Granda | mayo 8, 2020 | Cultura, Ecuador, Entrevistas, Fauna, La Amazonia | 8 Comentarios

El bagre es sólo una muestra de la generosidad de la naturaleza, un ejemplo de ésto ocurrió en la Amazonía ecuatoriana, el 11 de abril del año en curso cuando Robert Granja, su hermano Kevin y unos dos amigos más salieron a pescar, ésta práctica normalmente la...

The Best Birding Around Papallacta, Ecuador

por Angie | marzo 18, 2020 | Birds, Ecuador, Hiking, Northern Ecuador, South America, The Andes, Wildlife | 0 Comentarios

Alambi – A Hummingbird Paradise

por Angie | febrero 29, 2020 | Birds, Ecuador, Northern Ecuador, South America, The Andes, Wildlife | 0 Comentarios

Most people drive right by the Alambi Reserve never realizing that they are missing one of the best hummingbird gardens near Quito. The small property provides an oasis from the big city. It is a spot where you can spend a few minutes or stay for an hour or more....

Hiking Cayambe Coca National Park Near Papallacta

por Angie | febrero 24, 2020 | Ecuador, Hiking, Northern Ecuador, South America, The Andes, Wildlife | 0 Comentarios

A Beautiful Beach in Manabi, Ecuador

por Angie | febrero 15, 2020 | Central Ecuador, Ecuador, The Coast, Wildlife | 0 Comentarios

Unfortunately, Chirije Lodge is closed for business. While it is not possible to stay the night at Chirije, day trips to the locations are still an option with a local guide. Therefore, we're leaving this article for future visitors. The following article was...

Find Artists and Artisans In Every Corner of Ecuador

Cusco’s Treasure Trove of Ancient Art and Modern Craft

por Angie | marzo 19, 2020 | art and artisans, Culture, Museums, Peru | 0 Comentarios

The Pre-Colombian Art Museum in Cusco is a small but visit-worthy addition to any tourist itinerary. Basicly, this museum should be on everyone's list of things to do in Cusco. A Beautifully Curated Museum The collection at Cusco's Pre-Colombian Art Museum is...

Folk Art from Tigua, Ecuador

por Angie | febrero 25, 2020 | art and artisans, Central Ecuador, Culture, Ecuador, Interviews, South America, The Andes | 0 Comentarios

It started decades ago with a single folk artist living in Tigua - Julio Toaquiza. The men in his village had a long tradition of painting masks and drums. An art dealer in Quito asked Julio to paint on a flat surface and a new school was born. Today, there are...

In Search of the Perfect Guitar

por Angie | junio 21, 2019 | art and artisans, Cuenca, Culture, Ecuador, South America, Southern Ecuador | 0 Comentarios

A chance encounter with a guitar lover and fellow tourist in Cuenca led us to discover the Route of the Guitars, a little-known tourism route along the backroads of San Bartolome, Ecuador. While stringed instruments, including traditional guitars, requintos,...

Fiber Artists in Cuenca, Ecuador

por Angie | diciembre 21, 2018 | art and artisans, Central Ecuador, Cuenca, South America, The Andes | 0 Comentarios

We just love walking the streets of Cuenca. Mainly because we are always finding something new around the corner. That's how we found the wonderful exhibit of handwork and embroidery hosted by the Centro de Bordados Cuenca. About the Centro de Bordados Cuenca Founded...

Explore Backroads With The Best Guides

Ecuadorian Backroads: Sigchos

por Angie | febrero 28, 2017 | Central Ecuador, Ecuador, Favorite Routes, South America, The Andes | 0 Comentarios

I love driving Ecuadorian backroads. Even when it means we tend to get a little lost or turned around. That's how we discovered Sigchos. We thought we would just be driving through on our way to the Quilotoa Crater. But what we looked like the main road...

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ARMCHAIR TRAVEL IS OFTEN THE FIRST STEP TO PLANNING A TRIP

Ecuador

With over three-years experience traveling Ecuador, we’ve shared content from all four geographic regions: the Sierra, the Coast, the Amazon Basin, and the Galapagos. Incredibly, we keep returning for more.

Peru

As Machu Picchu attracts thousands of new visitors every year, lesser-known destinations hold opportunity for exciting adventures and less-crowded vacationing. If you have visited Peru in the last few months and would like to add to our growing list of posts, let us know!

Bolivia

With only one week in La Paz and Isla del Sol, we barely scratched the surface of Bolivia. This small South American nation is ready and waiting for increased tourism from their neighbors in the north.

Argentina

We lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina for one year. If we learned anything, it’s that Argentina deserves time. Distances are grand and a single trip really can’t do it justice.

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If you want to explore our blog, most of our content is about Ecuador but we are expanding to include other Andean Nations!

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