Ecuador information

GENERAL INFORMATION
Ecuador is the smallest of the Andean countries and contains some of the most varied geography in South America.
Area: - 192,279 square miles
The country is divided into four distinct regions:
- the Andes
- the Coast
- the Amazon Basin
- the Galápagos Islands
The capital of Ecuador is Quito.

Population
There are more than 12 million people living in Ecuador. The majority of the population live in the highlands. About 65% of the people are mestizo, followed by Amerindians (25%), black (3%), Spanish and other ethnic groups (7%). Similiar to many developing countries, the majority of Ecuador´s population is under 25%.
Most of the Indian people live in small mountain settlements or in the Amazon regions. Along the coast the mixture is Indian, European and African.

LANGUAGE
The official languages of Ecuador are Spanish and the indigenous language, Quechua. English is spoken in most of the places.

CLIMATE AND CLOTHING
In order to understand why there are so many different types of climates in Ecuador, you need to consider the altitude of each area of the country. Climatic variations depends more on altitude than on the time of year. Further, as a result of Ecuador's "center of the world" location, the typical four seasons are non-existent.
Even though Quito and the central highlands are situated on or near the equator, the altitude is between 7000 and 10000 ft and the weather is surprisingly comfortable all year around.
The driest months are July to October when the temperatures are in the 20s°C during the day and approximately 10°C when the sun goes down.
On the coast the average temperature is 28°C, with the hot, rainy season from November to May and the dry season from June to December. Take along cotton or tropical clothes with shawl, sweater or light jacket for cooler evenings and air conditioned restaurants.

A sun hat and sun glasses are also recommended. Because in the Jungle, the tropical average temperature is around 28°C and rainfall is constant almost all the year round, especially May till November. However, at this time, most of the rivers in the Jungle are navigable.

AIR SERVICES AND TAXES

The International Airport in Quito is “MARISCAL SUCRE” (5 miles far from the downtown) and another one in Guayaquil is “SIMON BOLIVAR” (3 miles far from the city).
Both this airport in Quito and this one in Guayaquil are served by the most important International Airlines.

GO-RUN TRANSPORTATION

The “PAN-AMERICANA” highway stretches from the North to the South passing through Quito, Guayaquil and other towns on the Coast and the Amazon Basin. There is a regular bus service, connecting the main cities and smaller towns.