Northern Highlands
Who would have thought the coolest thing you may see in Ecuador would be a cemetery? A maze of cypress trees – sculpted into bulbous, pre-Columbian totems…
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Northern Highlands
Follow the snaking Panamericana past florid Cayambe to the vibrant market town of Otavalo and surrounding indigenous villages. As the spine of the Andes bends north from Quito, volcanic peaks punctuate valleys blanketed by flower farms and sugarcane fields. This is Ecuador’s beating heart and a cradle of Andean culture: artisans produce their wares using methods unaltered for generations, and visitors find some of the country’s best deals here, on everything from leather goods to traditional weavings.
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Must-see attractions
Otavalo
Get an up-close view of Andean condors, as well as eagles, owls, falcons and hawks, at this Dutch-owned foundation, which rehabilitates these and other…
Northern Highlands
The 16,000-hectare Reserva Ecológica El Ángel includes frailejones, rare, otherworldly plants with fuzzy leaves and thick trunks. From El Ángel, take the…
Otavalo
Plaza de Ponchos, the nucleus of the crafts market, is filled every day with vendors selling woolen goods, such as rugs, tapestries, blankets, ponchos,…
Reserva Ecológica Cotacachi-Cayapas
Northern Highlands
This 204,420-hectare reserve is by far the largest protected area of Ecuador’s western Andean habitats. Altitude ranges from about 200m above sea level…
Reserva Ecológica Cayambe-Coca
Northern Highlands
At 4031 sq km, Reserva Ecológica Cayambe-Coca spreads across four provinces, including the Oriente, and includes alpine tundra and rainforest. Volcán…
Northern Highlands
Head 18km west from Cotacachi and you’ll come upon this eerily still, dark lagoon cradled in a collapsed volcanic crater at 3100m. Some 3km wide and 200m…
Tahuantinsuyo Weaving Workshop
Northern Highlands
Jose Rafael Maldonado, Miguel Andrango's son-in-law, now runs the day-to-day operations of this internationally famous weaving family business, in its…
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