Ecuador (including the ancient Kingdom of Quito, established by the Shiris) was populated by several mutually antagonistic tribes at the time of the Inca conquest in the mid 15th century. When the Spanish arrived from Peru in the 1530s, they found that while many of the inhabitants were hostile, others hailed them as liberators from Inca repression. Spanish rule lasted until the early 19th century – after suppressing several rebellions, the Spaniards were finally overthrown in 1822, by a force backed by Simon Bolivar, fresh from victory in Colombia. Soon afterwards, in 1828, the country declared war on Peru, whose armies had invaded Gran Colombia. A year later, a peace treaty was signed and Ecuador’s boundaries were permanently established. However, relations between Ecuador and Peru have been tense ever since.
Today, Ecuador remains a multiethnic and multicultural nation, where more than 14 indigenous groups maintain their own traditions and ways of life, to the delight of visitors.
The discovery of oil and the sharp increase in world oil prices in the late and mid 70s should have transformed Ecuador’s economic fortunes. However, the windfall was largely squandered and Ecuador has suffered persistent economic difficulties ever since.
The Minister of Tourism, Maria Isabel Salvador, has put as goal for the short and medium term to turn Ecuador into one of the five best destinations of the American continent. To make tourism a tool that enables the country to surpass poverty, she considers that there must be ample cooperation between the authorities, the public sector and citizens in general.
The country's varied and beautiful landscape should make this goal feasible. Straddling the equator in western South America, Ecuador has territories in both the Northern and the Southern hemispheres. The country is geographically divided into the Amazon, the Highlands, the Coast, and the Galápagos Islands.
Ecuador’s coastal region (the western lowlands) is made up of fertile plains, rolling hills, and sedimentary basins traversed by a plethora of rivers that rush from the heights of the Andes to the Pacific Ocean. All five coastal provinces, encompassing 640km (398 miles) of coastline between them, have attractive beaches and plenty of hotels and resorts for tourists.
The Andes Mountain Range crosses the country from north to south.
The Amazon Region can be geographically divided into two sub regions: the High Amazon and the Amazon Lowlands. The Highlands is comprised of the Andean foothills which slowly descend towards the Amazon River Basin. The Napo, Galeras, Cutucú, and Cóndor ranges are located here. The most impressive elevated regions of this area are in the north and include Volcano Sumaco. The Lowlands, found further to east, are home to some of the nation’s most beautiful and important rivers: the Putumayo, the Napo, and the Pastaza.
The Archipelago of Colón (commonly known as the Galápagos Islands) is made up of 13 main islands, 17 islets, and dozens of ancient rock formation. Apart from its beautiful beaches and unique and varied ecosystems, the Galápagos Islands are home to towering active volcanoes.
Geography
Ecuador is bordered to the north by Colombia, to the east and south by Peru, and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. There are three distinct zones: the Sierra or uplands of the Andes, running from the Colombian border in the north to Peru in the south (of this there are two main ranges - the Eastern and Western Cordilleras, which are divided by a long valley); the Costa, a coastal plain between the Andes and the Pacific with plantations of bananas, cacao, coffee and sugar; and the Oriente, the upper Amazon basin to the east, consisting of tropical jungles threaded by rivers. The latter, although comprising 36% of Ecuador’s land area, contains only 3% of the population. Colonization is, however, increasing in the wake of the oil boom.