The weather in Ecuador varies greatly by region, while the temperature remains pretty consistent throughout the year. December through to May is the best time to visit if you plan on lying on the beach, despite it being the rainy season, whereas visiting the Amazon during this period is not ideal as it is often too wet, forcing trails to close. If you're planning a trip to the Galapagos Islands then please click here for our dedicated Galapagos page.
Whenever I ask someone who has been to Ecuador how long they spent in the country, their answers always go something like this, “I was there for three months, but I had initially planned to only stay a week.
Blending lush tropical rainforests and snow-capped mountains, Ecuador is a fantastically diverse and vibrant country located along the Equator in the northwestern part of South America. The country is home to 1,289 named mountains, the highest and most prominent of which is Chimborazo (6,268m/20,564ft).
The eighth-highest mountain in the world is Manaslu, at 26,781 feet. Manaslu is part of the Nepalese Himalayas, and its name translates to mountain of the spirit. The peak was first summited by a group of Japanese explorers in 1956, led by Toshio Imanishi and Gyalzen Norbu. Some consider climbing Manaslu to be more difficult than Everest, as the climb from Camp I to Camp IV is extremely challenging. Climbers may also encounter yaks along their journey.
Coming in just below Cho Oyu at 26,795 feet, Dhaulagiri is number seven on the list of tallest mountains in the world. Dhaulagiri is entirely located within Nepal, making it the tallest peak with its borders within one country. Its name is derived from Sanskrit, meaning dazzling, white, beautiful mountain. Dhaulagiri certainly lives up to its name, with the nearby town of Pokhara being a destination for tourists, photographers, scientists, and mountain climbers.
The sixth-highest mountain in the world is Cho Oyu, standing at 26,864 feet. Its name means turquoise goddess in Tibetan. Surprisingly, this mountain is one of the easiest major peaks to climb. This is because of the mountain’s proximity to a popular trading route for Tibetans and Sherpas, called Nangpa La. With the mountain’s generally moderate slopes, the relatively straightforward ascent of Cho Oyu makes it a popular goalpost for those looking to climb more challenging mountains like Everest one day.
Makalu, like Everest and Lhotse, is located within the Himalayan Mountain Range, 12 miles southeast of Everest, on the China-Nepal border. Its name means Great Black One, due to its black rock formation. Its four-sided, pyramid-like symmetrical shape attracts photographers from around the world. The first to attempt to scale its peak was an American team led by Riley Keegan in 1954, whose team included members of the Sierra Club, but a series of deadly storms pushed them back. In 1955, a French expedition group led by Lionel Terray and Jean Couzy made it to the mountain summit, via the north face and northeast ridge, earning them a place in history.
Lhotse (pronounced ‘low-tsee’) is found within the Himalayan Mountain Range, on the border between Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is connected to Mount Everest by a ridge. Both climbers of Lhotse and Everest follow the same initial route to Camp 3 before their paths diverge. Lhotse has three peaks, each of which presents its own challenges, known as Lhotse Main, Lhotse Middle, and Lhotse Shar. The first to reach the peak of Lhotse Main was a Swiss team led by Ernest Reiss and Fritz Luchsinger in 1956. They scaled the mountain’s West Face, which is now the mountain’s typical route.
Mount Kangchenjunga in the Himalayas (between Nepal and India) is listed in most geographical surveys as one mountain, although it has five peaks. Its name translates to Five Treasures of Snow. Kangchenjunga was once thought to be the highest mountain in the world. However, the mountain’s height of 28,169 feet, first calculated in 1856, makes it the third tallest. The first climbers to make their way to the top were the British explorers Joe Brown and George Band, who stopped just before the summit as requested by Tashi Namgyai, the Chogyal of Sikkim, who considered it to be a holy, sacred site. Local Lhopo people believed the mountain range hid sacred treasures including salt, gold, turquoise, and precious metals.
