🇪🇨 Ecuador · Complete Activity Guide
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Things to Do in Ecuador
The Galápagos, the Amazon, the Andes, and wildlife that exists nowhere else on Earth
The Galápagos, the Amazon, the Andes, and wildlife that exists nowhere else on Earth
Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth — a small nation that contains the Galápagos Islands, the Amazon rainforest, the Andes, and the Pacific coast within its borders. The Galápagos alone would justify a trip from anywhere in the world: wildlife that evolved in isolation for millions of years and has no fear of humans whatsoever. Add an active volcano you can summit, the largest indigenous market in South America, and an Amazon jungle lodge, and Ecuador becomes one of the most compelling destinations on the planet.
This guide covers the best things to do in Ecuador in 2026 — eight experiences that capture the full extraordinary range of this country.
The Galápagos penguin is the only penguin species found north of the equator and the only one that lives in the tropics year-round — a biological anomaly made possible by the cold Humboldt and Cromwell currents that bring nutrient-rich water to the islands. Isabela Island has the largest population, and snorkelling alongside them — watching them torpedo through the water at extraordinary speed, torpedo past your mask within centimetres — is one of the great wildlife encounters available anywhere on Earth.
The same snorkelling sessions around Isabela typically also include marine iguanas (the world's only ocean-going lizard, diving to graze on underwater algae), Pacific green sea turtles, Galápagos sea lions, and an array of tropical fish over lava reef. The water is clear, the wildlife is dense, and none of it has any fear of humans whatsoever — the Galápagos animals simply never developed a fear response, having evolved without land predators.
Isabela is reached by a 2-hour speedboat from Santa Cruz, or by a short flight. Most visitors base themselves in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz and take a day trip or stay 2–3 nights on Isabela. Snorkelling tours around Isabela depart daily — book through Viator for English-guided tours with equipment included.
The Galápagos giant tortoise is the largest living species of tortoise on Earth — adults can weigh up to 400kg and live for over 150 years, making some of the individuals you'll encounter in the wild older than any living human being. They were the first animals Darwin observed on his 1835 visit to the islands and were central to his development of the theory of natural selection: tortoises on different islands had evolved different shell shapes in response to different food sources.
The Santa Cruz highlands are home to wild populations that roam the volcanic slopes freely — large enough to require no enclosure and old enough to predate the concept of a zoo. Walking through the highland farms where they graze in the morning mist, standing next to an animal the size of a boulder that is looking back at you with complete equanimity, is an encounter with deep time that no photograph conveys. The Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora houses the breeding programme and is a good first stop for context.
Guided highland tours from Puerto Ayora visit the farms where wild tortoises congregate — El Chato Tortoise Reserve is the most accessible. Morning tours offer the best sightings as tortoises are most active before midday. Book through Viator for English-guided tours with transport from Puerto Ayora.
Ecuador's Amazon — the Oriente — is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world: over 600 species of birds, 150 species of mammals, and more tree species per hectare than almost anywhere else on Earth. Unlike the Brazilian Amazon, the Ecuadorian section is compact and accessible — a 30-minute flight from Quito delivers you to Coca or Tena, where boats take you deep into the river systems of the Napo, a major Amazon tributary.
Staying at a jungle lodge on or near the Napo River gives access to guided experiences that no day trip can replicate: predawn canoe trips for bird and caiman spotting, jungle walks with Kichwa guides who can identify medicinal plants and animal tracks invisible to untrained eyes, night walks through the forest with headlamps, piranha fishing, and the shaman ceremonies of the local communities. The woolly monkeys, giant otters, poison dart frogs, and anacondas are not guaranteed but the density of wildlife makes encounters likely.
The best lodges are on the lower Napo River — Sacha Lodge, Napo Wildlife Center, and Cotococha are all excellent at different price points. Most require a minimum 4-night stay and include all activities and guiding. Book through Viator for packaged lodge experiences, or directly with the lodges. Flights to Coca (Francisco de Orellana) from Quito take 30 minutes.
The Galápagos is one of the top five diving destinations in the world — an intersection of cold Antarctic currents and warm tropical water that creates an extraordinary richness of marine life found nowhere else. Below the surface: scalloped hammerhead sharks in schools of hundreds, whale sharks the length of buses, manta rays, Galápagos sharks, Pacific green sea turtles nesting on sand, marine iguanas grazing on underwater algae, and sea lions that treat divers as playmates — rolling, spiralling, and blowing bubbles in your face.
Snorkelling is excellent from almost every beach on the islands — the wildlife doesn't distinguish between snorkellers and divers. For diving, the advanced sites at Wolf and Darwin Islands in the far north of the archipelago offer the most dramatic pelagic encounters, including the world's highest concentration of whale sharks (June–November). Day dive trips from Santa Cruz or Isabela reach excellent sites without requiring a liveaboard.
Day dive trips operate from Puerto Ayora and Puerto Villamil — 2 dives per day, all equipment included. Liveaboard cruises (7–14 days) access the remote northern islands for the best pelagic encounters. Snorkelling is included in most island tours. Book through Viator for day dive trips, or directly with Galápagos dive operators for liveaboards.
The Otavalo market in the Plaza de Ponchos is the largest indigenous market in South America — a trading tradition that predates the Inca conquest and has operated continuously for centuries. Every Saturday from around 7am the plaza fills with Otavalo vendors in traditional dress selling hand-woven wool and alpaca textiles, embroidered blouses, carved wooden figurines, hand-painted ceramics, silver jewellery, and the full produce of the Andean highlands.
What makes Otavalo extraordinary is its authenticity — this is not a tourist market performing indigenous culture for outsiders. The Otavalo people are one of the most commercially successful indigenous groups in the Americas, trading internationally since the 1970s, and the market reflects a living economic tradition rather than a staged cultural show. The vendors are skilled traders who negotiate in Kichwa first, Spanish second. Arriving at dawn, before the tour groups from Quito, gives access to the market in its most genuine form.
Otavalo is 110km north of Quito — approximately 2 hours by bus (direct buses from the Carcelén terminal) or 1.5 hours by organised tour. Saturday is the main market day; a smaller daily market operates throughout the week in the same plaza. Guided day tours from Quito through Viator include transport and a local guide who provides cultural context.
The blue-footed booby is one of the most extraordinary birds in the world — not because of rarity (they're relatively common in the Galápagos) but because of the feet. Neon turquoise, the colour of a swimming pool, used in elaborate mating dances where the male lifts each foot slowly and deliberately to display their intensity of colour to females. The bluer the feet, the healthier the bird, the better the mate. Evolution producing something that looks designed by a children's illustrator.
North Seymour Island, a 45-minute boat ride from Santa Cruz, has the densest booby colony in the Galápagos — nesting pairs on the ground within touching distance of the walking path, completely unperturbed by human presence. The same island also has magnificent frigatebirds (the males inflate a brilliant red throat pouch the size of a football during mating season), sea lions, and marine iguanas. Genovesa Island in the far north has the largest red-footed booby colony — rarer and worth the extra journey.
North Seymour is a popular day trip from Santa Cruz — book in advance as the daily visitor quota fills quickly. All visits require a licensed naturalist guide. The 2km walking loop takes approximately 2 hours. Combine with snorkelling in the surrounding waters for sea lions and reef fish. Book through Viator for day tours with transport and guide included.
Every evening at Puerto Ayora's small fish market, the day's catch arrives. The fishermen clean their haul on the stone counters as the sun drops over the harbour — and the sea lions know it. Two or three of them have claimed counter space as their own, shouldering forward to snatch fish scraps with complete authority, occasionally knocking a fisherman's hand away with their muzzle. Brown pelicans stand on the roof waiting for their moment. Marine iguanas sun themselves on the dock below.
This is not a staged wildlife experience — it is simply what happens at the fish market every evening in Puerto Ayora, and it has been happening this way for as long as anyone can remember. Locals eat fried fish at the plastic tables while sea lions jostle on the counter two metres away. It costs nothing, requires no booking, and is one of the most purely joyful experiences in the Galápagos — the whole improbable ecosystem of the islands compressed into a single small market.
The fish market is on the waterfront in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island — a 5-minute walk from the main pier. Arrive between 5pm and 6pm for the best activity. Order fresh fried fish and a cold Pilsener at the market tables and stay for the show. No booking, no guide, no fee.
Cotopaxi is one of the world's highest active volcanoes — 5,897 metres above sea level, with a near-perfect snow cone visible from Quito on clear days. The summit was first reached in 1872 and the mountain has erupted numerous times since, most recently in 2015–2016. It is now open again, and summiting it — through high-altitude páramo, across glaciers, in the dark, arriving at the crater rim as dawn breaks over the Andes — is one of the most dramatic climbing experiences in South America.
The standard route is non-technical — no ropes, no previous climbing experience required — but the altitude is serious. The climb begins at the refuge hut (4,800m) at midnight, ascending through snow and ice to the crater rim at 5,897m over 5–6 hours. The physical demand is significant: thin air, steep terrain, and temperatures of -10°C to -20°C at the summit. Acclimatisation of 2–3 days in Quito (2,850m) beforehand is essential, and the climb should only be attempted with a licensed ASEGUIM mountain guide.
Guided climb packages from Quito include transport, refuge accommodation, a licensed guide, and all technical equipment (crampons, ice axe, harness). Acclimatise for at least 2 days in Quito before attempting the summit. Physical fitness is critical — the climb involves 5–6 hours of sustained uphill effort at altitude. Book through Viator for packaged guided climbs with certified ASEGUIM guides.
Ecuador has two distinct seasons — and the Galápagos is excellent year-round with different conditions each season.
