The Complete Guide to Visiting Ecuador!

girl standing in front of cotopaxi volcano

two girls sitting in front of puluahua volcano ecuador

girl standing in street in baños ecuador

We went on a trip to Ecuador with EF Ultimate Break (use our code 27TRAVELS100 for $100 off your first trip with EF!) and it was one of our favorite trips ever! After visiting, we think Ecuador is such an underrated country that should be on everyone’s bucket list. Ecuador actually translates to “equator” in Spanish because the country lies on the equator line. There is so much to do and see in the country, we honestly had no idea we would fall in love with it this much. We went to many different cities and locations during our trip, as well as the Galápagos Islands, so keep reading to see all the amazing things you can do and see in Ecuador!

This blog post will not include the Galápagos Islands since we thought they deserved their own! For our Galápagos post please click here.

Quito

equator line museum quito — *Museo De Sitio Intiñan*

The first stop on our Ecuador trip was the capital city of Quito. Quito is the second highest capital in the world at 9,300 ft. in elevation. One of the main attractions in Quito is visiting the equator line, where you can step foot in both the southern and northern hemispheres at the same time. But there is also a lot more to see in this city so here are our favorites:

Museo De Sitio Intiñan - This museum lies on the equator line and teaches you a lot about the history of Ecuador. You also learn about the equator and get to try fun activities on the equator line. Make sure you visit the museum and not just the equator monument nearby. The museum is much more informative and the monument doesn’t actually lie on the equator line anyway.
Pululahua Volcano - Pululahua is a dormant volcano that you can now visit for around $3 USD. The views from there are gorgeous and there is now a whole village in the crater of the volcano!
Old Town Quito - Quito’s old town is one of the most well preserved in all of Latin America! We visited on a Sunday and loved walking around then because it was bustling with locals. Make sure you check out Independence Square and The Church of the Society of Jesus. The interior of the church is stunning and the design work is incredible (everything is covered in gold foil)!
Mercado Artesanal La Mariscal - A local market open everyday! It’s a great place to get souvenirs, clothings, blankets, etc. made by locals.
Virgen del Panecillo Statue - This statue is 135 ft. high and is one of the highest statues in South America. It is on top of the Panecillo Hill where you can also get an amazing view of Quito from above.
Parque El Ejido - This is a beautiful park in the center of the city. Some days there is also a market in there where you can buy souvenirs and fresh produce. It’s also just a great place to walk around and explore.
TelefériQo Cable Car - This cable car costs about $8 USD (the USD is the currency of Ecuador) and takes you to the top of the Pinichincha Volcano. The day we went to do this the cable car was closed for renovations so we never got to go to the top, but our local tour guide said it is 100% worth it!

Please be aware our local tour guide said Quito is not the safest at night. We never went anywhere at night without our whole EF group. If you want to go out at night you should use Uber since it’s safest than a local taxi and very affordable!

Baños

il pailon del diablo waterfall baños — *Il Pailon del Diablo*

About a 4 hour ride from Quito is the mountain town of Baños. Baños was one of our favorite stops on the trip. The town is small, cute, and has a lot of history. It sits on the base of an active volcano and is known as “the gateway to the Amazon”. Baños is known for it’s impressive waterfalls and their volcanic thermal baths that are believed to have healing properties. Our favorite things we did in Baños are below:

Drive the Ruta de las Cascadas - The road of waterfalls is a singular road where a lot of Baños’ waterfalls are located. We visited the Agoyan Waterfall, The Veil of the Bride Waterfall, and the largest and most popular one — Il Pailon del Diablo Waterfall. Some of the waterfalls you can zipline or take a cable car across which was so cool! We did the cable car across the Veil of the Bride Waterfall and got so close to it, and the cable car only cost $2 USD!
La Casa Del Arbol - is an adventure park on top of the mountains. It’s filled with activities and photo ops, but its most popular attraction is the Swing at the End of the World. Here you can swing off the mountain tops and it looks like you are flying! This whole area was so fun and so photogenic, you have to make sure you stop here!
Take a dip in the Thermal Baths - There are public thermal baths at the edge of the town, but we had some at our hotel! We chose to do that since it was included with our stay at the Monte Selva, and it was amazing! Our tour guide told us if you want to do the public thermal baths that is it best to go when it opens as it can get crowded later in the day.

Cotopaxi National Park

Cotopaxi National Park is located between Quito and Baños, about a 2 hour drive from either. It’s a National Park named after an active volcano inside — the Cotopaxi Volcano — that last erupted in 2015. There are lots of wildlife you can see there as well as hiking trails and obviously the Cotopaxi Volcano. As long as you are here on a clear day, you can see the volcano really close up, and it’s one of the most amazing sights ever. This National Park is 100% worth the trip, so even if you are not visiting Baños, we still think you should make a day trip here!

We had a local guide and naturalist with us in the park, but you can also go yourself. There is a restaurant inside the park called Tambopaxi where we had the most amazing soup and the famous local tea — Te de Coco. Also be warned Cotopaxi is much colder than other parts of Ecuador, we needed a jacket and long sleeve shirt so make sure you pack extra layers when you visit.

Otavalo

two girls kissing in front of peguche waterfall — *Peguche Waterfall*

Otavalo is a famous market town in northern Ecuador. We visited on our last day and loved it so much! There are also other things to do and see nearby so keep on reading to hear our favorites:

Otavalo Market - A famous local market where you can find handmade trinkets, clothes, blankets, & more. This is the perfect place to come to find souvenirs for your friends and family, and everything is unique and affordable.
Visit the nearby town of Cotacachi - a really cute, local town known for it’s leather goods. They had amazing cafes, food, and shops here and is a perfect pit stop if you are already visiting Otavalo.
Cascada de Peguche - another amazing waterfall you cannot miss! The Peguche Waterfall was probably our favorite of the trip because you could get so close to it. You have to walk about 15 minutes from the parking lot to get to the waterfall, but it’s 100% worth it.

Where to Eat & Drink in Ecuador

vegan ceviche vegano de altura — *Vegano De Altura, Quito*

Quito

Vegano De Altura
Miskay
Govinda Gopal
Vegano to Go

Baños

Honey Coffee & Tea
Arepas To Go (the best arepas we’ve EVER had!)
Sativa Studio Cafe
Leprechaun Bar

Cotacachi

Sub’s Station
Red Rabbit Coffee Lounge

If you want to see everything we did on our trip to Ecuador, make sure you check out our Ecuador vlog below where even more of our trip is included! You’re not going to want to miss it.

Thank you to EF for bringing us on this trip! As always, all opinions are honest and our own. Some links on this post are affiliate links of which we receive a small commission, but the price is the same for you.