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Tropical climate throughout Costa, although variations in temperature and rainfall result from proximity to warm or cool ocean currents. Sierra climate ranges from tropical to frozen, depending on altitude; notable rainfall variations also occur. Tropical climate and abundant rainfall prevail in Oriente. Galápagos climate varies from tropical and desert-like at sea level to cold and wet at highest point.
Ecuador - as the name implies - lies draped across the equator in the northwestern corner of South America. It shares a border with Peru to the south and east, and is bounded by Colombia to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Quito, the national capital, sits centered at the northern end of the country in an Andean valley only 22km (14mi) south of the equator. Guayaquil, Ecuador's other main city (and its only major port), basks on the sweltering southern coast just north of the Peruvian border.
Thanks to its agreeable climate and patchwork of habitats (alpine grasslands, coastal swamps, tropical rainforest), Ecuador is one of the most species-rich nations on earth. Dubbed by ecologists a 'megadiversity hotspot,' it boasts 300 species of mammal alone, including monkeys, sloths, llamas and alpacas. Birdwatchers come from all over to gawk at the famous Andean condor, but there are plenty of other bird species, and about half of the 58 species found on the Galápagos Islands are endemic. Ecuador's freshwater fish are equally exotic, though most visitors prefer to experience from a distance the amazing qualities of electric eels, stingrays, piranhas and the tiny candiru catfish - a little charmer who swims up the human urethra and lodges itself in place with the help of its sharp spines.
The only thing predictable about Ecuador's weather is its unpredictability, and it's not uncommon to run the gamut of 'seasons' in the course of a single day. Generally speaking, Ecuador has two seasons, wet and dry, but local weather patterns vary greatly depending on geography. The mainland coastal areas and the Galápagos Islands are both influenced by ocean currents and are hot and rainy between January and April, an unpleasant time visit.
If you hit the beaches between May and December, it rarely rains and the temperature is a few degrees cooler. In the highlands, the dry season is between June and September and around Christmas, but even the mountains' wet season isn't particularly wet. The central valley is generally springlike all year, with temperatures no higher than 24°C (66°F). The Oriente experiences rain year round; July and August are the wettest months, September through December the driest. It's usually as hot here as it is on the coast. |
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