Ecuador

Ecuador is the ideal candidate for a first trip to South America. An authentic welcome, a diversity of visits and, if you can judge, an incredible range of landscapes and cultures: a tropical coastline, green valleys giving access to high plateaus, volcanoes, a section of the Andes mountain range bristling with snow-capped peaks and a beautiful stretch of Amazonian jungle. Not to mention one of mankind's most fabulous treasures: the Galapagos Islands. The same can be said of the Ecuadorian people, a veritable kaleidoscope of ethnicities, including European settlers, former African slaves, an Asian minority and a large Amerindian population. Their hospitality and delicious culinary traditions will win you over.