Ecuador & Galápagos Holidays

The Avenue of Volcanoes

Alexander von Humboldt named it in 1802. Two parallel chains of mountains run north-south across central Ecuador, each studded with snow-capped volcanic cones, eleven of them rising above 5,000m, several still venting steam. The most photographed is Cotopaxi (5,897m), an almost perfect cone visible from Quito on clear days. The most extraordinary is Chimborazo (6,263m), whose summit, because of the Earth's equatorial bulge, is the farthest point from the centre of the planet, further out than Everest itself.

Trekking and riding range from gentle hacienda walks at 3,000m to serious alpine ascents. The Quilotoa Loop, a five-day circuit through indigenous Andean villages to a turquoise crater lake, is the classic mid-difficulty walk. Day-rides on Cotopaxi's wildflower-strewn northern flank suit non-trekkers; technical glacier climbs on Cayambe and Chimborazo suit the serious. Old converted haciendas, colonial farms with fireplaces, libraries and stables, make the perfect base.

Most UK travellers spend two to three nights on the Avenue, slotted between Quito as cultural arrival and a Galápagos or Amazon extension. Altitude matters: Quito sits at 2,850m, the haciendas higher still, so plan the first 48 hours gently, short walks, light meals, no alcohol, and the Andes reveal themselves at their own pace.

Quito's colonial heart

Quito, Ecuador's capital, sits in a narrow valley at 2,850 metres, ringed by volcanoes. Its colonial old town was on the first UNESCO World Heritage list in 1978, alongside Kraków, and UNESCO still calls it the best-preserved, least altered historic centre in Latin America: churches, convents and plazas built from the 16th century on, and all walkable in a morning.

The highland markets are the other draw. Otavalo, north of Quito, holds the largest indigenous market in South America, where Kichwa weavers sell textiles made the way their grandparents made them. Baños, under the active Tungurahua volcano, is the adventure town: bridge swings, waterfall trails, and the Swing at the End of the World at Casa del Árbol, hanging out over the valley.