With Local Tourist Guides
| Brief History of Quito This is the airport in Quito, one of two main entering ports to the country. Quito is the capital of Ecuador. With a rich history since pre-colonial times, in the present is the second biggest city of the country with about three million inhabitants. Before the Spanish conquest, the region was inhabited by indigenous tribes: the Quitus, Caras, and other tribes, created some artificial hills to mark their territory--The kingdom of Quitus. These tribes joined togehter in order to defend themselves from te Inca invasion from the south. Quito was regarded by the pre-incan tribes as the land of the sun and political capital of the confederation. But around the year 1480, the inca Tupac Yupanqui arrived to Quito, bringing with him many people from the south to help him build big storing places and similar to those in Cuzco, Peru. The incas used big stones to build their temples to the sun and chamers where the inca lived and conducted his political affairs. Some remains of such constructions can be seen in cities in nearby provinces of the Andes, such as Cañar, Azuay, Cotopaxi, Imbabura, and ancient buildings in the colonial area of Quito. Places Worth Visiting Depending on your interests when you visit another country, you might enjoy visiting the jungle, or at least the small cities in the eastern side of the country. There are several tourist agencies, some of them owned by foreign people, and a few run by local people. Foreign turist agencies hire Ecuadorian people to work for them as guides. Eco-tourism has become the predominant idea used by tourist agencies and their guides, but it is practiced only partially, since the general population still needs to be educated about nature preservation and the impact of synthetic materials in the natural environments. There are several national parks (PN) and ecological preservation areas in the Provinces of Napo, Sucumbíos, Orellana, Pastaza, Morona Santiago and Zamora. In Napo you can visit Tena, Misahualli, the ecological preserve Antisana, PN Sumaco, PN Cotopaxi, and PN Llanganates. You can also have a trip by canoe starting in Misahualli and down the Napo River all the way to Coca and Lago Agrio. If you decide to go more to the south, you could visit Puyo, the capital of the Province of Pastaza. From Puyo you can go to Arajuno, travel by canoe and visit the Huaorani indigenous tribes, the Achuar, the Quichua (Kichwa), the Zaparos, and Andoas. The next province to the South is Morona Santiago, and the first place of access would be Macas, its capital. From Macas you can visit many Shuar communities, the Sangay National Park, and several wild areas behind the mountain of Cutucú. If you like the Coast best, you could visit the beaches of the Island of Jambelí in the Province of El Oro, the beach of Playas in Guayas, Salinas in Santa Elena, Manta and Bahía de Caraquez in Manabí, Muisne and Atacames in Esmeraldas. If you are planning a trip to Ecuador, and would like to support eco-turism run by local people, instead of foreign investors, please contact me by e-mail or call 704-990-5302 |
 Green-tiger butterfly in an ecological farm. It is located near the Hatun Sacha eco- logical preservation, where as many as 565 different species of birds have been counted. |
