Ecuador

While 40 kilometers is quite long, this trek is not difficult.  The trail is long, wide, well maintained, well marked, and fairly flat if not downhill.  Beginning in Loja's Parque Lineal, this is a true experience of the mountains and Andean life.  Follow rivers, jump over streams, walk through t...

The highlight tour on Cristobal, and possibly the Galapagos, is Kicker Rock (aka Leon Dormido aka The Sleeping Lio). This rock formation rises out of the ocean a 45min boat ride from the main town. It features two giant splits in the rock that have created channels you can snorkel through. There ...

In the south of Ecuador, in the culturally rich Andean mountains, lies the generally overlooked city of Loja.  What it lacks in backpacker hostels and museums it makes up for in culture and endless mountain trails.  Just beyond the southern end of the city is Parque Universitario, a Park used by ...

At the very south of Loja, on the road to Vilcabamba, is Jardín Botánico Reinaldo Espinosa.  "Garden" is too calm of a word to describe this botanical sanctuary.  It is full of native and exotic plant species only generally organized into an Arboretum, Andean Cultivation, Medicinal plants, an Orc...