Ecuador backpacking itinerary

Ecuador was one of those countries I hadn’t researched much before coming out to South America. I had heard of the Galapagos but not much else and probably did not allocate the time it deserved. I had three weeks in Ecuador and this is some of the things we did.

Ecuador lies south of Colombia sharing borders with Peru and Brazil. It’s a pretty small country relative to its neighbours and often gets over looked and doesn’t get the attention it deserves. If you love hiking, beaches, colonial cities and mountains, Ecuador is has it all. From the Amazon jungle to snow capped mountains, surfing beaches and Andean villages, it ticks all the boxes.

Ecuador uses the US dollar making it slightly more expensive than neighbouring Peru and Colombia but still its very cheap compared to US or Irish prices. Some of the best value hostels so far have been in Ecuador.

I arrived to Ecuador from Colombia via land. This was fairly easy to navigate and took about 5 hours on a bus from the border town of Tulcan to reach the capital of Quito.

Quito

Quito is the world’s second highest capital at 2850 m after La Paz. Its famous for its historical center which is one of the largest, least altered and best preserved of the centers of the Americas.

As soon as we landed in Quito we were warned by several locals to be careful at night with our things and to take a taxi, never to walk out past dark alone. I never encountered any problems in Quito but this was something that was mentioned a few times so best not to take risks. I arrived to Quito on a Sunday night and it was like a ghost town. A Sunday session doesn’t seem to be a thing in South American cities.

Things to do

I loved Quito and found there was plenty to do to fill a few days and there are lots of easy day trips to do from Quito.

• Do a free walking tour. The walking tours leave in the morning and the afternoon.
• Explore Quito old town. Quito has been named a UNESCO Heritage site due to the mainly unchanged colonial buildings and squares.

• Visit the Basilica del Voto Nacional. This Basilica towers over the city and is perched on a hill a few minutes walk from the main tourist area.

• Ride the teleferico and hike Pichincha Volcano. The views of Quito from the teleferico are unparalleled to anywhere else. The teleferico brings you to an altitude of 4100 m. Here you can swing over Quito, admire the views with a coffee or hike to Pichincha Volcano. Head early if you aim to hike the volcano. This is a half day trip and finished at an altitude of 4700 m. We took a taxi to and from the teleferico for a couple of dollars.

• Visit the Virgin on top of Quito El Panecillo– Quito is all about elevation. The Panecillo is a hill near the old town with the statue of the virgin. It is a popular viewpoint from Quito and can be seen from many points throughout the old city. We had started to walk up and were stopped by a local advising us to take a taxi or bus. The same happened when we asked at the virgin if we could walk back. It is known for robberies, take a taxi or bus and don’t walk alone.

• Be the center of the world. Take a bus to Mundo to stand at the equatorial line and visit the museum at Mital del Mundo to learn about the history of equator, Ecuador and science. It’s a bit of a tourist gimmick but I really enjoyed the museum and being able to stand on one hand in the center of the world. You don’t need a tour to visit it. Just take a public bus to Mundo for a few dollars which takes about an hour.

• Watch the Quito changing of the guard. Every Monday morning in the Plaza Grande, just outside the Quito Presidential Palace, a formal ceremony is held to mark the changing of the guards. The Plaza is cornered off for the horses and guards to parade around the Plaza Grande.

Where to eat

We cooked a bit in Quito but did head out for a nice lunch in a veggie restaurant and a family style dinner in Secret Garden.

• El Maple: lovely veggie restaurant in Mariscal, a trendy area with lots of restaurants and bars. Not the cheapest of places to eat but worth it for fresh veg and tasty food.

• Secret Garden hostel: dinner served family style every night for $5 and free desert if you sign up before 11 am. I got the veggie lasagna and banana split for $5. Its great to meet people and fabulous views of Quito from the rooftop terrace.

Where to stay

Secret Garden: I didn’t stay here but stayed in their sister hostel in Cotopaxi. I had dinner here one night and really liked the community vibe here. The rooms looked a bit tired but if you’re looking to meet people this is the best place to stay. They organise lots of tours and things to do in Quito from here.

Massaya: We stayed here and had stayed in their sister hostel in Bogota and really liked it. It was clean and modern, has a big kitchen, ensuite dorms, pod like beds with actual duvets which is key, Quito gets cold at night. Not as social as Secret Garden but great place to get some sleep.

Cotopaxi

Cotopaxi is Ecuador’s second highest active volcano and is an easy day trip from Quito but I would definitely recommend staying in the region. I stayed in Secret Gardens Cotopaxi and it was one of my favourite if not my favourite I’ve stayed in to date. I’d heard about it from so many travelers and for good reason. We booked the $90 package nearly everyone goes for which includes 2 nights accommodation, all meals and unlimited tea and coffee and banana bread, transport from Quito and two hikes.

We left Quito at 10 am and arrived in time for lunch in Cotopaxi. After lunch we headed on a waterfall hike which took us past three waterfalls, the last one you could swim in. The water is freezing though so not too many braved it.

The hostel sits at over 3500 m so it’s warm when the sun it out but gets very cold at night. The meals are all family style in the dining room around a warm fire. It has a real homely feeling to the place. The next day we went on the free activity which is a hike to Pasachoa summit at 4200 m. This isn’t a difficult hike but its very long and the altitude started to get to some people half way. The views from here were amazing even though we got a bit of a cloudy day for it.

The next day we opted to do the Cotopaxi refuge hike. Summiting Cotopaxi at 5897 m is an option we inquired about but it was over $300 per person so that took that option out of the equation and we settled for just going to the refuge for $30 and we threw in mountain biking down for an extra $10. The refuge sits at 5000 m so even though its a very short hike to the summit and took me 45 minutes, it as really tough due to the altitude plus it was snowing when I started out. My runners were wet from the previous days hike so my feet were freezing and I’m not good when I’m cold.

I warmed up in the refuge with a gas heater and hot chocolate and made it to the glacier line at 5100 m, just above the refuge. The snow stopped and the sun came out to reveal the most insane views of the national park and the summit.

The walk back to the jeep to take our bikes was totally different without the snow on the ground. We geared up and mounted the bikes for the bumpy descent down to the base. This was pretty terrifying and I was nearly over the handle bars a few times but somehow managed to remain upright.

When we arrived back to Secret Gardens we had lunch and packed up to catch our transfer to Latacunga. The transfer to Latacunga is $40 and it is split between how every many people are headed that way too. Secret Gardens is like no other hostel I’ve stayed in and is one of those destination hostels with nothing else around that is a must visit.

Quilotoa loop

We started the Quilotoa loop from the city of Latacunga. There isn’t much here for tourist bar a jump off point to start the Quilotoa loop. Most people leave there big bags in a hostel here before starting the hike from either Sigchos or Quilotoa. I’ve written a more detailed post on hiking the Quilotoa loop here.

We started the 3 day, 2 night hike from Sigchos and finished with the crater lake as the reward at the end of the third day. We stayed in most incredible hostels along the way, my favourite was LuLu LLama on the first night.

After finishing this exhausting but spectacular hike we boarded a bus to Latacunga to collect our bags before going straight for a bus to Banos that night.

Banos

Banos is known as the adventure capital of Ecuador and when I arrived here I could clearly see why. Banos is about a two hour bus from Latacunga but there is only one direct bus a day here from the bus station in Latacunga so we got a taxi to the roundabout on the highway to catch a direct bus to Banos. Near Banos you’ll find mountains, waterfalls, hot springs and rivers. It’s one of the cheaper places in South America to do white water rafting, ziplining and canyoning.

Things to do

• White water rafting: Rafting in Rio Pastaza is on of the most populat tours from Banos. I opted out of rafting in Banos as I will be doing it later on in Peru but for 5 hours of white water rafting, you’ll pay around $30, including lunch, safety gear, transportation, and a wetsuit.
• Canyoning: Ths is where you alternate between adventure activities to work your way down a waterfall canyon. The activities can include zip lining, cliff jumping, water fall rappelling or just sliding down on your arse. I had done this in Honduras so I skipped it in Banos but I heard for 4 hours of canyoning you’ll pay about $35.
• Zip lining: again I had done zip lining previously in Costa Rica on my trip so i skipped it here but at $20 for 2 hours its definitely one of the cheaper paces to do it.
• Visit the thermal baths: another activity I didn’t get around to but I believe they are nice and only cost $3.50 to enter. Go at night when it’s cooler and the warm water will feel great.
• Cycle Ruta de las Cascadas: Matt and I headed off on our rented bikes which we rented for $6 for the day from the hostel in search of waterfall number 1.

There are seven waterfalls along this 20 km route which is mainly downhill. You can’t swim in any of the waterfalls but just admire them from afar. The last waterfall, Pailon del Diablo is the most impressive and you can get very close to it which will mean you’ll get soaked if you go under it. This waterfall is accessed through a park which costs a $2 to enter. If you want to access it from both sides you’ve to pay twice. The waterfall park is complete with a suspension bridge and amazing views of the waterfall. You can also zip-line or take a cable car over the gorge! After our day of hiking to waterfalls and cycling we enjoyed a drink over looking the valley and threw the bikes into the back of a truck back to Banos. A 20 km uphill cycle on rental mountain bikes was not something either of us fancied.

• Swing to the end of the world: Casa de Arbol is one of the iconic pictures that everyone associates with Banos. It is a great picture if you get a clear day for it but you don’t actually swing that high off the ground. It’s about a 20 minute drive from Banos, $8 in a taxi or $1 on the bus. The entrance is $2 and includes a mini zip line, the big swing and two smaller swings so quite good all of $2.

Where to stay

Great Hostels Backpackers Los Pinos: The real draw here was free breakfast AND DINNER (unheard of) for $9 a night. Dinner on the house is only included Monday to Wednesday but that happened to be exactly when we were staying there. Other than that it’s a basic enough hostel near the town center with a social vibe.

Community Hostel: Friends were staying here and we went down for drinks one night. seemed very social and had decent WiFi which can be hard to find.

Quayaquil:

I hadn’t heard rave reviews about this massive city and we were just using it as a jump off point to the Galapagos. We got a bus from Banos to Quayaquil which took about 7 hours. The bus terminal in Quayquil is right beside the airport so we booked a cheap place to stay for the night before flying to The Galapagos Islands the next morning. We had a nutritious dinner of Mac Donald’s in the bus terminal before grabbing an Uber to our guesthouse which was 5 mins away. I would have liked to see a bit of the city but unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to spend a day exploring.

The Galapagos Islands

My favourite place in Ecuador and probably my favourite place in the world. Check out a post I did on it here. If you get a chance to visit these enchanted islands home to the rarest creatures on earth, do it!

Cuenca

This was without a doubt my favourite city in Ecuador with its charming plazas, beautiful churches and cute coffee shops. This colonial city is Ecuador’s largest and it’s historical center was named a UNESCO world heritage site. Cuenca has a big expat community and It’s easy to see why. I thought it was Ecaudor’s most livable city.

Things to do

• Climb to the top of Cuenca’s new cathedral. This gorgeous cathedral can be climbed for $2. The new cathedral’s blue domed roofs define Cuenca’s skyline.

• Stroll, bike, or picnic along Cuenca’s Rio Tomebamba riverfront: this reminded me of being back at home by the canals. The river banks are dotted with nice restaurants and green spaces to sit down.

• Visit Cuenca’s Inca ruins in Pumapungo museum and enjoy the views. It’s free to enter and open every day apart from Mondays.

• Learn about Cuenca’s production of Panama hats: Ecuador, not Panma, is the home to the ” Panama Hat”. This Ecuadorian product has a factory and exhibition shop in Cuenca where you can purchase hats starting at $50 or you can go to the market like i did and get one for $15 if your budget doesn’t stretch for $50. Homero Ortega Museum is free to visit.

• Join a free walking tour in Cuenca. I seem to have a habit of getting the wrong times for the walking tour but this time I arrived as advised online but couldn’t find a group. We did a self guided walking tour but I’m sure the tour would have been nice.

• Swing above Cuenca and admire the views from Mirador de Turi. This viewpoint has spectacular views of the city down below. You can also swing above the city . It’s $1 into the park at the view point with ziplines and the swing and costs $3 to have a go on the swing. We got a taxi up and back to the viewpoint from the historical center for $2 each way.

• Take a day trip to Cajas National Park. Only an hour on bus there is some great hiking in this stunning national park.

Where to stay:

We stayed in the Latin Brothers Hostel which was a kip, I would not recommend it! I suppose we got what we paid for and got a private room there for $10.

However, a friend of ours stayed in Selina’s and that was lovely and in a great location.

Where to eat

El Funky Sauce : lovely little veggie place by the river. Reasonable prices and small family run place serving salads, veggie burgers and stir fries.

Cuenca was so cheap for food. We had previously enjoyed burgers and a pizza slice for a dollar each near the Selina and bar scene.

Leaving Ecuador: crossing the border from Ecuador to Peru.

We left Cuenca on a 23.10 night bus from the main bus terminal to Mancora. This was the smoothest border crossing I’ve done. It took about 4 hours to reach the border between Huaquillas and Tumbes and here we got off the bus, got stamped out of Ecuador and into Peru in a matter of minutes and I was back on the bus within 15 minutes. We left the border and arrived to Mancora at 4 am. I had a hostel booked for the following night, Loki, which is a five minute walk from where the bus dropped us off.

Thankfully Loki had room and could give us a bed at 5 am so we could get some sleep. It’s not the type of hostel where most people are tucked up in bed at 4 am so there was still a lot of life in the hostel when we arrived. On the plus side of it being a party hostel, noone surfaces before 11 am so it meant I could lie in without being woken up to people russling and packing bags at 7 am which is usually standard in a dorm.

Another option if you have time before or after crossing the Peru/ Ecuador border is to stop in Vilcabamba to stay in Izhcayluma Hostel. I’ve heard it a resort like destination hostel and perfect for relaxing in but this requires crossing the boarder at a different area. It books up at least a week in advance, especially at the weekends so plan ahead.

This wraps up Ecuador and Mancora is where my Peru journey begins. Thanks for reading!