The Santa Bárbara Corridor: a Road of Everlasting Traditions

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In the province of Azuay, inside a peculiar area of colorful landscapes by the Santa Bárbara River is found the Santa Bárbara touristic corridor: a region of singular beauty that keeps its traditions alive in the villages of Gualaceo, Sigsig and Chordeleg; a destination that every day gets a larger number of local and international visitors, becoming the region’s most important touristic destination thanks to the support it has received from the state since 2008.

The village of Gualaceo is known for its traditional jerseys or chompas, which are uniquely woven and embroidered in rustic workshops and can be appreciated worn on the local inhabitants as part of their attire. Places such as Bulcay and Bullzhún are handcrafts centers set up for visitors, where you can take a close look at the manufacture of these people, dedicated to the weaving of scarves, blouses, belts, bedspreads, tablecloths and many other products, all of them hand made in bright colors and beautiful designs.

Going forward on the Santa Bárbara corridor is found Chordeleg, a village of unassuming people dedicated to the art of pottery and metalwork. The traditional designs and shapes step out in their ceramic objects, which are decorated with Nature’s elements in blue, green and brown; as well as in the silver and gold products made with the filigree technique, which consists in making jewelry such as earrings, rings and bracelets from very thin gold and silver strings. All of these beautiful objects certainly get the attention of visitors, who will unavoidably purchase one of them at the end of the visit.

Finally, one of the most outstanding and internationally known activities is the weaving of hats and other objects made with a kind of straw called toquilla. This weaving art has been developed by the talented hands of the inhabitants of Sigsig and other rural communities of the region. It is an art that has gone beyond frontiers and time that tourist can even purchase directly from their home countries.

The Santa Bárbara corridor is full of nature and culture; it is a route of discovery and fun. At the end of the day, you will not only have taken a souvenir with you, but also the feeling of having enriched yourself with a different and extraordinary way of life.

Article by:  Diario El Ciudadado
Photo: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores del Ecuador

The Pastaza: A Rafting Adventure from The Andes to The Amazon

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If you think of a volcano that roars endlessly, it would be difficult to imagine that at its feet lays a peaceful place surrounded by rivers and numerous waterfalls, whose geography makes it the perfect spot for adventure tourism lovers. This place is called Baños de Agua Santa, and it is home of the region’s most fast flowing rivers. Baños has been favored with very nice weather due to its proximity to the Amazonian region, and its rivers are the scenery for several ecological adventure sports, such as rafting.

One of the most interesting fast flowing rivers of the region is called the Pastaza River. There, you can get on a rubber dinghy with other adventurous partners and go through some of the most fun routes as you slide fast down these waters, getting filled with adrenaline. Several pauses are done throughout the route, as a nature’s way to compensate your weariness. At these sections, water flows more slowly and you can hear the sounds of the adventurers’ faithful companions: the birds. You will have the chance to observe the exuberant vegetation at both sides of the river as you dip your hands into the calm, crystalline water. Once this section is left behind, the adventure continues. As you move forward, you will notice the water’s temperature rises, as another sign of the contrasts of this place.

When the aquatic adventure is over and you step once again on firm ground, you can keep on exploring by foot on a trip through the exuberant vegetation that you admired from the rubber dinghy at the river, vegetation so beautiful it invites you to discover it and unveil its mystery.

Photo: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores del Ecuador

The Fernandina Island: A Unique Island in an Enchanted Place

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Fernandina (Narborough) is a million years old, and yet it is the youngest of islands. It is considered the Galapagos’s most exotic island. It measures only 642m² (0.4 square miles), it is the farthest west of the archipelago’s islands, and the only one that is not inhabited by humans. This island is home of the biggest colony of marine iguanas and flightless cormorants, and its incomparable beauty makes it one of the world’s most exclusive and unique destinations. 

In Fernandina, the rule is not to alter the ecosystem. This extreme place is definitely a monument to survival. If you watch it from above, you can see that the island is in fact the tip of a volcano partially submerged in the water, a volcano that remains active and is frequently erupting. Fernandina is a place where creatures have managed to survive in such harsh conditions and have made this land of fire their home.

One of the most amazing of these endemic creatures is the marine iguana, who has unexplainably learnt to swim in view of the lack of food in the surface. With an incredible agility, it dives to the bottom of the sea to eat the algae attached to the rocks. As a curious fact, Charles Darwin considered these animals repulsive due to their prehistoric appearance.

Another wonderful creature of the island is the flightless cormorant, the only one of its species who has lost its ability to fly. Nonetheless, this bird has managed to survive by diving to incredible depths to get its food. Having tiny wings useless for flying, the flightless cormorant has developed strong legs that allow him to easily do these dives at high speeds. The island’s conditions in the past may have caused the fish to go deeper into the water, forcing the cormorant to develop that hunting technique.

Fernandina is a highly protected place that people can only get to know in momentary visits to an area called Punta Espinoza. It is a place full of magic and ruled by wildlife. Swimming birds and iguanas are a good sign of adaptation to harsh conditions. If you get lucky, you may see other extreme creatures, like the only cactus in the world that emerges from dry lava, and you can even snorkel with the only penguin species that can survive in tropical temperatures.

Photo: lightmatter

Swim and Slide Through the Cracks of the Millenary Jumandy Caves

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It is hard to believe that inside a touristic resort with pools, sport fields and lodges you would find a naturally formed mysterious place which you can only discover if you venture inside it in the Indiana Jones style, entering an underground world full of adventure and history, swimming in lakes and sliding through cracks, in an absolute darkness.

This place can be found in Ecuador, and it is known as the Jumandy Caves. The caves are located in the province of Napo, 5km (3mi) away from the village of Archidona. They are hidden among an exuberant nature resulting almost imperceptible, something which has made them preserve their mystery the way they have done it for many years throughout history. They were once used by the indigenous chief called Jumandy (which means wise man in Quechua), who protected his tribe from the Spanish invaders by hiding inside them, where they could not be found. Besides being a protection and a refuge for our people, these caves have also been a witness of our Earth’s natural evolution.

The inside of the caves is completely dark, so using a waterproof flashlight is absolutely necessary. If you look at the cave’s ceiling, you can observe the millenary stalactite formations, which are pointy mineral cones produced by the constant dropping of water from the surface; consequently, you can also observe the stalagmites on the ground, resulting from the accumulation of the fallen minerals of the ceiling. Together, stalactites and stalagmites can form big columns of unique and impressive shapes.

The adventure intensifies when you find the underground lakes. The only way to go across them is by swimming with the flashlight held high. Further on, you also get to know some natives that represent the past societies that lived inside the caves for protection. From time to time, you slide through water currents to descend, getting muddy at some places and washed up in others, so this scientifically amazing tour is also lots of fun. The tour’s length varies depending on your choice, the shortest being 45 minutes and the longest being from 7 to 8 hours, depending on the group’s pace and the challenges found on the way. The tours are always guided by a local.

At the end of the tour, perhaps the first thing you will remark is the beautiful sky full of stars. You may decide to camp there and stay over for one night to continue this adventure full of respect for the Amazonian nature, so you come out having known it from the subsoil to the sky.

Photo: catavergara

Mandango: Find out about the Treasure that no one Dares to Search For

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The legend says that in ancient times, when the Incan Empire was destroyed, the emperor held hostage in prison told the Spanish Francisco Pizarro that he would be given a room filled with gold in exchange of his life. Without any doubts and giving into his greed, Pizzarro accepted, and the Emperor kept his words.

Pizarro, looking at the astonishing room that had more gold, silver and precious stones that he would ever imagine, was so amazed and fulfilled with greed that he decided to take over the whole empire. The emperor Atahualpa became aware of Pizarro’s plan, and gave orders to his second in charge to have the treasure translated to Vilcabamba.

The land of Vilcabamba, which means “Sacred Valley” in Quechua, is a synonym for mystery. It is a place where people do not grow old; home of stone gods in charge of protecting the sacred and destroying anyone who tries to desecrate it.

If you travel to this land located in the South of Ecuador, at the province of Loja, you will see one of these gods that inhabitants call by the name of “El Mandango” (Lying God): a great hill that looks like a giant cathedral considered a sacred place. It is said that this protecting god was chosen by Atahualpa to guard the Incan treasure for the eternity. The treasure is known to be existent, but no one has found it.  There is a legend with unknown origins that tells the exact place where it is located, but it also courses whoever dares to look for it.

Knowing this story, it is impossible not to think that maybe their proximity to the gods has made these people of the valley have the world’s longest life expectancy. They live an average of 100 years doing nothing but living their lives normally and drinking from the water that comes down from the stone gods. Looking at these people, a question arises in the mind: are all the stories about the stone gods only a legend or is it really a true story that continues to be reflected into the Vilcabamba landscape and its centenary inhabitants?

Visitors can enjoy these beautiful sacred lands with landscapes that make you fall in love and climb to the Mandango’s peak. At the end of the day, you will have found an exceptional treasure: the Incan god’s wisdom to appreciate and respect the earth in which we live.


Photo: slipszenko

A Bird Paradise that Attracts Photographers from All Over the World

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Imagine a place where all the bird species from the world are gathered together and have made it their home, becoming the world’s region where more bird species live: a place where you can literally have breakfast surrounded by hummingbirds. Every year, photographers and observers from all around the world come to discover this place in the Tandayapa Valley, located in Ecuador’s Occidental Mountain Range, only 30km (18mi) to the west of Quito, at approximately 2000m (6561ft) above the sea level.

Saying that the Tandayapa Valley is only a bird observation site would be an incomplete description of the experience of visiting this place. Think of paradise full of birds, of which a great amount is exotic and even nonexistent anywhere else in the world, that can only be seen if you go further into harsh paths, through an astonishing bright green nature, among the trees and the wind’s whispering, accompanied all along the way by the songs of thousands of birds. Perhaps now you get closer to the feeling of being in Tandayapa.

Before arriving to your destiny, at the Nono-Tandayapa route, you can observe from your car’s windows the beauty of these wonderful creatures. Due to its subtropical climate, the valley has plenty of trees, which has made it a perfect place for the birds to choose to live there. Once you arrive, the hummingbird will become your route’s partner, introducing you to numerous bird species: some of them believed to be nonexistent, some other well known through TV programs; some of them mingling among the trees, others with bright, striking colors; some of them quiet and thoughtful, and others loud and festive. It is a life and survival celebration where some of the world’s most particular birds can be seen all together.

Tandayapa is a place full of life, as many others in Ecuador. It is a piece of earth where our little friends have decided to settle; a place full of peace and tranquility where we, the guests, are invited to witness a song for nature. It is a place that makes us feel attached to nature; that reminds us the urge to meet up again with our origins and go back to the beginning. Certainly, Tandayapa is a valley to enjoy will all your senses.

Photo: Michael Woodruff

The Town Whose Art has drawn the Vatican and Other Entities' Attention

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Among the frozen breeze of the Andes is found a little town called Guano, settled just beside the magnificent Chimborazo Volcano. It is a town as simple as wonderful, with people devoted to the little-known occupation of weaving with sheep wool; a 500 years old art that has survived through time, going from one generation to the next. Nowadays, it is a reason to be proud for the whole country.

Two hands and a wooden loom are the instruments required for the creation of beautiful and astonishing works. In the town’s stores, located along its entrance and extended to its interior, you can find wool products such as quilts, legwarmers, jackets, tapestries and carpets on sale. The carpets are specially known for their Pre-Columbian and modern designs, some of them with very local designs with elements evoking Ecuador’s archaeology, as well as folk and colonial art. The importance that every artisan puts into the making of a carpet, constructing knot by knot a very soft, high-quality, perfect carpet, has made institutions such as the UN, the OEA, the Vatican and some Presidential Palaces have one of them in their rooms and halls.

Guano is a peaceful place, with little old houses and workshops where very warm, friendly people live, dedicated to their art. It is easy to get into a store and come out with a smile on your face, even if you didn’t buy anything. As you walk through this silent town’s streets, the people’s joyfulness and the beauty of the landscape will give you a feeling of peace and tranquility

Photo: edlifeguard09

Hang Gliding Truck Towing in Canoa Beach: Flying up to the Clouds

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To talk about Ecuador’s beaches is to talk about diversity. The beaches can be lonely or crowded; with white sands or dark sands; good for surfing, for swimming or for diving; virgin or touristic: there’s a beach in Ecuador for everyone’s taste.

In this occasion, we will talk about Canoa, a beach of natural beauty located in the province of Manabí, well-known for a sport commonly practiced there: the hang gliding truck towing, simply known as “towing”. As its name says, it is a hang glider pulled by an all-terrain vehicle fast enough to make it rise up to 700 meters (2,296ft) in the sky.

The real adventure starts when the guide lets the hang glider loose from the vehicle: that is the moment when complete freedom can be felt. You can observe everything from high above like bird while you feel the subtle caress of the clouds. You can see the endless, deep blue sea with its waves emerging and breaking into the white sands. The villages, the vegetation, the mountains and the forests expanding to the horizon can be seen all at once. You will have a personal image, a work of art painted in your memory that will always remind you of how small we really are in the immensity of this world.

Finally, you have felt part of the sky and the landscape surrounding you; you have forget your terrestrial condition and felt like a bird in its natural environment. Now, it is time to start the descent. Slowly and safely, like an Andean condor, you go down until you reach the beach with your feet… It is time to take this feeling of freedom down to earth.

Photo: freeform systems

The Story of an Extinct Society Still Alive in This Side of the Planet

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Those who have been at the largest Latin-American indigenous market of Otavalo must have realized that a world completely different from the one we are used to exists. They must have had a taste of that indigenous world, a world full of joy, art, history and pride. You can go further in the discovery of this mythical indigenous culture continuing on the main road to the north, where the village of Peguche is found: a community of proud craftsmen full of wonderful traditions and achievements, settled by a famous ritual waterfall. Peguche is a living testimony of an ancient society surviving in the modern world.

Peguche is only 20 minutes by car from Otavalo. There, inhabitants greet each other with a “ñanda mañachi”, which means “let me use your path” and is used as a sign of respect. Peguche is a village of unassuming people whose life goes around music and traditional handcrafts. From this mixture of occupations, great musicians have come out with a unique ability to create their own instruments. With the passing of time, these instruments have been improved to be perfect in quality and sound. Nowadays, the village produces both Andean and contemporary instruments with a sound so pure that people from all around the world travel all the way to that place just to purchase one of them.

Following by foot a rustic path that goes through corn and guava plantations is found the entrance to the track leading to Peguche’s ritual waterfall. Among legends and real stories, its secrets are hidden behind eucalyptus and other ancient plants, across a long river. The deafening sound shows that you are close to the sacred waters: a magnificent white water veil of 20m (65ft) high.

The Peguche waterfall is a place worth admiring from the viewpoint located on the opposite side of it, but the spiritual experience is even greater if you let the waterfall’s cool, relaxing waters fall over you, just as the indigenous people do. It is said that taking a bath at the Peguche waterfall renews your spirit, getting rid of all negative energies and welcoming all the good ones. On the night before the Inti Raymi Festival, the waterfall is a meeting point for indigenes and shamans who have rituals before the festivities.

A sign written at the entrance to the waterfall’s path may roughly describe the Peguche experience: “Come into my world and discover the beauty of my ethnic group, my art, my culture, my history and my ecology”. Peguche is a village in which there is much more than pure nature. This place, once ruled by the colonizers and currently completely managed by its own indigenous community, represents its people’s struggle for having a fresh start, overcoming the dark history of the past by recovering their traditions and old ways of life, and constructing a new society based on them.

Photo: colleen_taugher

Guayaquil and Santay: An Encounter between Nature and Modernity

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Ecuador’s modern city of Guayaquil and the virginal island of Santay are only separated by a river. Being so close to each other, the resulting contrast is amazing to see: on one side, Guayaquil stands as Ecuador’s most populated city and an icon of the country’s modernity. Only 500 meters (0.3 miles) away, the Santay Island is a virginal place that keeps an intangible record of its history and represents the past and the unknown to the modern world. From the Guayaquil’s famous pier, it takes only a 10 minute boat trip to get to this little natural paradise of 2,214 hectares wide and a population of 233, highly contrasting with the 2,800,000 people living in Guayaquil.

Arriving to the island, you can observe the exotic birds and plants living there and feel the peace of its inhabitants. Different types of tours are available, such as the canoe paddling tour, where you sit on a canoe floating almost as low as the water level and a tourist guide shows you the different bird species appearing among the foliage as you paddle along the river. If you rather take an inland tour, there are various paths to explore the island’s fauna and flora.

In Santay Island, you get to know all the people living there, listen to their stories and learn about their lifestyle while feeling happily welcomed. While you have a cup of hot chocolate, you may hear the story of the times when Simón Bolívar, known as the American Liberator, stayed in the island in 1829 to recover from an illness. You may even want to stay longer than planned, spending the night at the bamboo-made houses where you can comfortably rest after a day of adventures.

Being in the island and looking at the natural preservation of its surroundings feels like time had stopped. As you sit down to enjoy the sunset that kindly illuminates the green landscape full of singing birds, you can understand a way of life that has been preserved for centuries in this island; a way of life that exists only there, although it once was the lifestyle of the entire region including its close and beloved neighbor, Guayaquil.

Photo: Nihilo

Go From Snow to Desert Traveling Less Than 100km (62 Miles)

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Riobamba is a historical city located in the province of Chimborazo, 2,750m (9,022 feet) above the sea level. It is the central point of a road full of contrasts: a road leading to the snowy mountains if you go north; and to the desert, if you head south. Have an amazing journey on this 100km (62mi) road across the best of Ecuador’s Andean landscapes.

Going 38km (23 miles) northeast is found the Chimborazo volcano, the highest volcano in the country, and the world’s highest peak considering it is the farthest point to the center of the planet, due to its slightly flattened surface. Time goes by unnoticed when you see this volcano showing its bright, snowy peak and its astonishing height. Vehicles are left at the first stop, located 4,800m (15,748ft) high, and visitors must continue by foot to get to one of the world’s best viewpoints: the Andes seen from 5,000meters (16,404 feet) high. From this point, the adventure can only be continued by specialized climbers.

Going south, you find an amazing contrast: the cold Palmira Desert, whose name’s origins and its relation to the desert found in Syria are unknown. This is a fantastic spot to take pictures and the only place in the country where you can dream of a mysterious odyssey of the kind of the Saharan stories. It is a small desert 10 hectares wide located 3,150 meters (10,334 feet) above the sea level, in whose sands lies a pine tree forest. Such contrast is due to the forestation carried out by the Palmira inhabitants, who decided to turn the desert into an oasis. To walk among the pine trees, the sand, and a few cactuses while hearing the wind whistling among the trees, is undoubtedly a priceless experience.

The journey from the snows of the impressive Chimborazo to the sands and the pine trees of the cold desert of Palmira is an adventure full of contrasts and colors, a relaxing trip and an invaluable moment: definitely something travelers should not miss!

Photo: adrikar