With a territory of 276,841 sq km, Ecuador is about the size of Colorado, USA, or about 50 % of the size of France. Compared to many other countries in Latin America. That is ideal for tourism, as most travel distances can done by bus in just a day's ride. Buses are inexpensive and the more up-scale services are comfortable. There are daily flights from Quito to most major cities. Many cities can be traveled by plane within 30-45 minutes, facilitating efficient and comfortable tourism schedules.
The mainland has three very different regions, being the Eastern and Western lowlands, divided by the Andean highlands. As the earth is a somewhat flattened sphere, it is wider along the Equator, and there the distance to the center of the earth is greater than from the poles. With 6,267 m above sea level, the Chimborazo , is further away from the center of the earth than the Mount Everest. The Andes and the Galapagos archipelago have quite a few very active volcanoes.
There are 7 distinct climatic regions in Ecuador, which vary from very humid along the outer Andes mountains to very dry in the south, while temperatures vary from rather hot in the lowlands to cold at the higher elevations. The Central Andes are known for their comfortable spring-like climate.
Advanced indigenous cultures flourished in Ecuador many centuries before the region was conquered by the Incas in the late 15th century. Still about a dozen languages are spoken in addition to the official Spanish language along with the widely spoken Inca language. As most pre-colonial buildings were destroyed by the Spanish conquerors, only Ingapirca remains as a monument to that period. The indigenous population was decimated by disease during the first decades of Spanish rule. Another factor contributing to their decline was that many natives were forced into the "encomienda", the labor system for the Spanish landlords.
Quito was declared the capital or "audiencia" (administrative district) of the northern Spanish colony in 1563. In 1717 it was incorporated in the Vice-royalty of New Granada, which combined the lands of what is now Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. New Granada declared independence in 1822 and took the name Gran Colombia.
Ecuador separated from the Federation in 1830. Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador had a number of border wars with its neighbors, each time losing more territory, while several areas along the borders were disputed. Permanent borders were agreed in 1999 following a war with Peru in 1995. That conflict had set off a round of peace talks headed by Brazil and aided by Argentina, Chile and the USA. Ecuador has been a democracy for the last 4 decades.
Ecuador's has a population of about 15 million inhabitants which was concentrated in the central Andes until a few decades ago. Currently, the population is distributed about equally between the Andes and the coast. Much of the population has moved to the cities which now occupy about 60% of the inhabitants, with Guayaquil - 2,600,000 - and Quito - 1.8 million - being the major metropoles. But in the Amazon region, the "Oriente" (East) the population remains quite low (3%).
The Ecuadorian economy is mostly based on petroleum exploitation, manufacturing - primarily for the domestic market - commerce, and agriculture both for domestic consumption and export. Principal exports are oil, bananas, shrimp, flowers, as well as other primary agricultural products. In 2010, crude and refined oil products accounted for 56% of the total export earnings. Ecuador is the world's largest exporter of bananas and plantains (about $2 billion) as well as a major exporter of shrimp ($800 million) and cacao ($400 million). Exports of non-traditional products are flowers ($600 million), canned fish ($600 million), and cars ($375 million).
Ecuador is rapidly developing into a world-class tourist country with famous destinations being National Park Galapagos, the historic centers of Quito and Cuenca, and National Parks Cuyabeno, Cajas and Cotopaxi and of course the Otavalo Indian market. As Cuyabeno can now be reached in a mere few hours from capital Quito, it has been quickly building a reputation as the best Amazon destination in South America.
The mainland has three very different regions, being the Eastern and Western lowlands, divided by the Andean highlands. As the earth is a somewhat flattened sphere, it is wider along the Equator, and there the distance to the center of the earth is greater than from the poles. With 6,267 m above sea level, the Chimborazo , is further away from the center of the earth than the Mount Everest. The Andes and the Galapagos archipelago have quite a few very active volcanoes.
There are 7 distinct climatic regions in Ecuador, which vary from very humid along the outer Andes mountains to very dry in the south, while temperatures vary from rather hot in the lowlands to cold at the higher elevations. The Central Andes are known for their comfortable spring-like climate.
Advanced indigenous cultures flourished in Ecuador many centuries before the region was conquered by the Incas in the late 15th century. Still about a dozen languages are spoken in addition to the official Spanish language along with the widely spoken Inca language. As most pre-colonial buildings were destroyed by the Spanish conquerors, only Ingapirca remains as a monument to that period. The indigenous population was decimated by disease during the first decades of Spanish rule. Another factor contributing to their decline was that many natives were forced into the "encomienda", the labor system for the Spanish landlords.
Quito was declared the capital or "audiencia" (administrative district) of the northern Spanish colony in 1563. In 1717 it was incorporated in the Vice-royalty of New Granada, which combined the lands of what is now Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. New Granada declared independence in 1822 and took the name Gran Colombia.
Ecuador separated from the Federation in 1830. Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador had a number of border wars with its neighbors, each time losing more territory, while several areas along the borders were disputed. Permanent borders were agreed in 1999 following a war with Peru in 1995. That conflict had set off a round of peace talks headed by Brazil and aided by Argentina, Chile and the USA. Ecuador has been a democracy for the last 4 decades.
Ecuador's has a population of about 15 million inhabitants which was concentrated in the central Andes until a few decades ago. Currently, the population is distributed about equally between the Andes and the coast. Much of the population has moved to the cities which now occupy about 60% of the inhabitants, with Guayaquil - 2,600,000 - and Quito - 1.8 million - being the major metropoles. But in the Amazon region, the "Oriente" (East) the population remains quite low (3%).
The Ecuadorian economy is mostly based on petroleum exploitation, manufacturing - primarily for the domestic market - commerce, and agriculture both for domestic consumption and export. Principal exports are oil, bananas, shrimp, flowers, as well as other primary agricultural products. In 2010, crude and refined oil products accounted for 56% of the total export earnings. Ecuador is the world's largest exporter of bananas and plantains (about $2 billion) as well as a major exporter of shrimp ($800 million) and cacao ($400 million). Exports of non-traditional products are flowers ($600 million), canned fish ($600 million), and cars ($375 million).
Ecuador is rapidly developing into a world-class tourist country with famous destinations being National Park Galapagos, the historic centers of Quito and Cuenca, and National Parks Cuyabeno, Cajas and Cotopaxi and of course the Otavalo Indian market. As Cuyabeno can now be reached in a mere few hours from capital Quito, it has been quickly building a reputation as the best Amazon destination in South America.
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