Ecuador

Ecuador is a country in South America known for straddling the equator.

Review

I visited Ecuador for 12 days and I loved it. Ecuador is one of the most underrated countries in South America, if not the world. If you want to stay, then I recommend the capital Quito. For a day, you can visit the old town (filled with impressive Catholic churches, from a Baroque cathedral looking over a large plaza to a well-designed Gothic basilica) and stand with one foot on both hemispheres at the equator (fun fact: Ecuador was actually named after the equator). For another day, you can ride the teleferico up an active volcano and enjoy the magnificent views of Quito and the surrounding Andes. Maybe you'll see some llamas as well. Another exciting adventure out of Quito would be a tour of Mindo and its surrounding cloud forests. Oh, and did I mention you can feed hummingbirds? There are 152 different species of hummingbird in Ecuador alone (around 40% of all species). Overall, Mindo's cloud forests are incredibly biodiverse (much like the entire country). Even by looking at the different tanagers, you'll easily fall in love.

However, there is the Galápagos Islands. Beware of seals everywhere you look.

Islands aside, I highly recommend visiting Ecuador.