Top tourist attractions in Ecuador
Here is a list of top tourist attractions in Ecuador. Only the topmost tourist destinations are presented here. To see other destinations, please check the images from Ecuador section.
Curious if any of these place from Ecuador made it our best tourist attractions in the world list? Read the aformentioned article in order to find out.
You can also view all tourist attractions in Ecuador and other countries on our tourist attractions map.
Chimborazo
Stratovolcano
Chimborazo is a currently inactive stratovolcano located in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known eruption is believed to have occurred around 550 AD. With a peak elevation of 6,268 metres, Chimborazo is the highest mountain in Ecuador. It is the highest peak in proximity to the equator. While Chimborazo is not the highest mountain by elevation above sea level, its location along the equatorial bulge makes its summit the farthest point on the Earth's surface from the Earth's center.
Baltra Island
Island
Baltra Island, or Isla Baltra, is a small island of the Galápagos Islands. Also known as South Seymour, Baltra is a small flat island located near the center of the Galápagos. It was created by geological uplift. The island is very arid and vegetation consists of salt bushes, prickly pear cactus and palo santo trees.
Floreana Island
Island
Floreana Island is an island of the Galápagos Islands. It was named after Juan José Flores, the first president of Ecuador, during whose administration the government of Ecuador took possession of the archipelago, having previously been called Charles Island. It is also called Santa Maria after one of the caravels of Columbus. The island has an area of 173 square kilometres and made by volcano eruption. Can say that the highest point of island Cerro Pajas, 640 metres, is also the highest point of volcano like the most smaller islands of Galapagos .
Fernandina Island
Volcano
Fernandina Island is the third largest, and youngest, island of the Galápagos Islands. Like the others, the island was formed by the Galápagos hotspot. The island is an active shield volcano that has been erupting since April 11, 2009. It is the westernmost of the islands in the archipelago.
El Cajas
Protected Site
The Parque Nacional Cajas is a national park in the highlands of Ecuador. It is located about 30 km west from Cuenca, the capital of the province of Azuay. The area of 285.44 km² between 3100m and 4450m above sea level offers a tundra vegetation on a jagged landscape of hills and valleys. It was declared a National Park on November 5, 1996 by resolution N° 057.
Cotopaxi National Park
Protected Site
Cotopaxi National Park is a protected area in Ecuador situated in the Cotopaxi Province, Napo Province and Pichincha Province. The volcano that lends its name to the park is located within its boundaries, roughly 50 km south of Quito. Cotopaxi volcano is among the tallest active volcanoes in the world.
Genovesa Island
Shield volcano
Genovesa Island is a shield volcano in the Galápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The island occupies about 14 square kilometres, and its maximum elevation is 64 m. The horse-shoe shaped island has a volcanic caldera whose wall has collapsed, forming the Great Darwin Bay, surrounded by cliffs. Lake Arcturus, filled with salt water, lies in the centre, and sediment within this crater lake is less than 6,000 years old. Although no historical eruptions are known from Genovesa, there are very young lava flows on the flanks of the volcano.
Llanganates National Park
Protected Site
Llanganates National Park is a protected area in Ecuador situated in the Cotopaxi Province, Napo Province, Pastaza Province and Tungurahua Province. The name, "llanganates" supposedly comes from "beautiful mountain" in Quechua. Located within the park is the similarly named Cerro Hermoso which means "beautiful mountain" in Spanish. The park is famous for the Treasure of the Llanganatis. The park can be accessed from a number of directions, but visitors usually come by way of towns like Salcedo, Patate, Pillaro, Baños, and Rio Verde.
Church and Convent of St. Francis
Tourist attraction
The Church and Monastery of St. Francis, commonly known as el San Francisco, is a 16th-century Roman Catholic complex in Quito, Ecuador. It fronts onto its namesake Plaza de San Francisco. The imposing structure has the distinction of being the largest architectural ensemble among the historical structures of colonial Latin America and for this reason is sometimes known as "El Escorial of the New World". The style evolved over almost 150 years of construction through earthquakes and changes in artistic fashion. The Church houses the city's beloved Virgin of Quito.
Basílica del Voto Nacional
Tourist attraction
The Basilica of the National Vow is a Roman Catholic church located in the historic center of Quito, Ecuador. It is the largest neo-Gothic basilica in the Americas.
El Panecillo
Tourist attraction
El Panecillo is a 200-metre-high hill of volcanic-origin, with loess soil, located between southern and central Quito. Its peak is at an elevation of 3,016 metres above sea level. The original name used by the aboriginal inhabitants of Quito was Yavirac. According to Juan de Velasco, a Jesuit historian, on top of Yavirac there was a temple which the Indians used to worship the sun. This temple is said to have been destroyed by the Spanish conquistadores. The street that leads up to El Panecillo is called Melchor Aymerich.
Rábida Island
Island
Rábida Island, is one of the Galápagos Islands. The island has also been known as Jervis Island named in honour of the 18th-century British admiral John Jervis. In Ecuador it is officially known as Isla Rábida.
Vulqano Park
Amusement Park
Vulqano Park is an amusement park in Quito, Ecuador. The park is part of a much larger entertainment complex named the TelefériQo.
New Cathedral of Cuenca
Neo-baroque Structure
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, commonly referred to the as the New Cathedral of Cuenca, is the cathedral church in Cuenca, Ecuador. It is situated in front of Parque Calderon. The plan of the Cathedral was drawn up by Juan Bautista Stiehle — a German-born friar who arrived in Cuenca from Alsace in 1873 — on suggestions made by Bishop León Garrido. The Cathedral took over the function of the nearby Old Cathedral that had become too small. Construction works started in 1885 and lasted for almost a century. This building combines many architecture styles, but Romanesque Revival is predominant. The cathedral is surmounted by three giant domes covered by striking blue and white glazed tile from Czechoslovakia. Its towers are truncated due to a calculation error of the architect. If they had been raised to their planned height, the foundation of this Church to the Immaculate Conception, would not have been able to bear the weight. In spite of the architect's immense mistake, the New Cathedral of Cuenca stands as a monumental work of faith and the skyline of its domes has become a symbol for the city. Its facade is made of alabaster and local marble, while the floor is covered with pink marble, brought from Carrara. When the Cathedral was first constructed 9,000 out of Cuenca's 10,000 inhabitants could fit in the building.