TORONTO — Travel professionals learned about all things Ecuador – and had a chance to network too – at a Toronto event last night at the Park Hyatt.

Diego Fernando Andrade Murtinho, Undersecretary, Promotion, for Ecuador Travel, says that while the Galapagos Islands are one of Ecuador’s famously big draws, there’s so much more for travellers to see and enjoy on the continent.

Diego Garcia, BDM of Anakonda Amazon Cruises

Niels Olsen (left), Minster of Republica of Ecuador

“I think Ecuador is the ‘be ready to be amazed country’,” he says. “People want to go to the Galapagos and they have such high expectations. And the Galapagos delivers. But for those lucky people that decide to spend three, four days in the continent of Ecuador, their expectations might go down a little bit, but the continent of Ecuador will blow their mind.”

He adds: “Ecuador is a very small geographic area with four distinct regions. So one morning you can be on the coast having breakfast, then you can be having lunch in the highlands at 3,000 meters above sea level, and then you can have dinner in the Amazon. Internal flights or driving, they’re very short distances. In Brazil, you fly for several hours to get to the rainforest. In Ecuador it is very accessible. So it’s way easier to experience everything in Ecuador because it’s so small and has a diverse offering like culture, gastronomy, beaches, and a lot of nature.”

When people travel, they want to see what they don’t have, he notes. “So Canadians love the Galapagos, rainforest, volcanoes and more.”

And what about the weather? It’s a far cry from what most Canadians are used to. He jokes: “When people from Canada say ‘how’s the weather?’, I tell them we have two seasons: hot and hotter.”

From the U.S., lift to Ecuador includes 84 weekly flights on seven routes. And for domestic connectivity, Ecuador offers 145 weekly flights on eight routes.

From the heights of the Andes to the depths of the Amazon rainforest and the shores of the Pacific coastline – and of course, the Galapagos Islands – visitors to Ecuador are spoiled for choice when it comes to adventure travel. Meanwhile Ecuador’s capital, Quito, boasts a UNESCO World Heritage-listed historic centre, known for its colonial architecture and narrow cobblestone streets.

More information about Ecuador can be found at Ecuador.travel.

Roberto Palacios (right), Galapagos Paradise