Andean Highlands
The Andean Highlands are a very scenic region in Ecuador. At an elevation of over 2,200 m, they offer a breathtaking natural experience. This part of Ecuador preserves much of its original pre-Columbian heritage, which is seen in the food, language, clothes and costumes of many people.| Tap on a place to explore it |
Photo: Michelsberg, CC0.
Essential Destinations
Top destinations include Quito and Chimborazo.
Quito
Quito, the capital of Ecuador, was founded in 1534 on the ruins of an ancient Inca city. Quito's Old City is the largest in the Americas and was one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites, recognized as the largest and most intact colonial city center remaining in the Americas.
Chimborazo
Photo: Dick Culbert, CC BY 2.0.
Chimborazo is an inactive volcano and the highest mountain in Ecuador at just about 6,263 m. It is a popular hiking and mountain climbing location.
Cuenca
Photo: PAULOGARCIA2005, CC BY 3.0.
Cuenca is a vibrant colonial city in southern Ecuador, the third largest in the country, and the capital of Azuay Province. The city is located in a highland valley at about 2,500 m above sea level, and is home to 518,000 people according to the 2010 census.
Destinations to Discover
Explore places such as Cotopaxi and Riobamba.
Cotopaxi
Photo: M Blissett, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Parque Nacional Cotopaxi is a national park in the central Andes of Ecuador about 50 km southeast of central Quito. It is a popular hiking destination which is known for the active Cotopaxi and the dormant Rumiñahui volcanoes.
Riobamba
Riobamba is a city in the Andean highlands of Ecuador. It is known locally as the "Sultan of the Andes". Riobamba sits in a valley surrounded by several large hills and snowcapped mountains.
Ambato
Photo: Laliria2014, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Ambato is a city located in the central Andean valley of Ecuador. Lying on the banks of the Ambato River, the city also sits beneath several tall mountains.
Loja
Photo: Franzpc, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Loja, formerly Loxa and fully City of the Immaculate Conception of Loja, is the capital of Ecuador's Loja Province. It is located in the Cuxibamba valley in the south of the country, sharing borders with the provinces of Zamora-Chinchipe and other cantons of the province of Loja.
Sangay National Park
Photo: Cptnemo, Public domain.
Sangay National Park is in the eastern Andean Highlands of Ecuador. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Ibarra
Photo: Wikimedia, Public domain.
Ibarra is a city in Ecuador. It's a colonial town of 100,000 inhabitants and the capital of Imbabura province, and is halfway to the Ecuador-Colombia border at Tulcán.
Latacunga
Photo: Bbb-Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Latacunga is a city in the Central Andean Highlands region of Ecuador. It is a good starting point for trips to Cotopaxi and the Quilotoa Loop.
Tulcán
Photo: Marrovi, CC BY-SA 2.5 mx.
Tulcán is the capital of the province of Carchi in Ecuador and the seat of Tulcán Canton. The population of the city of Tulcán was 56,719 in the 2022 census.
Guaranda
Guaranda is a city in central Ecuador. It is the capital of Bolívar province located in the Andes Mountains. The city is connected by road with other hubs, including Riobamba, Babahoyo and Ambato.
Baños
Photo: Fmbz, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Baños is a small city in the Andean Highlands of Ecuador under the smoke of volcano Tungurahua. Popular with both foreign and domestic visitors coming for outdoor activities, Baños is known as the adventure capital of Ecuador.
Laguna Quilotoa
Photo: simonmatzinger, CC BY 2.0.
Laguna Quilotoa is the highlight of the Quilotoa Loop, 14 km north of Zumbahua. It's a volcanic crater lake, sitting at an elevation of 3,900 m, with stunning views of both the lake and the mountain ranges surrounding it.
Illiniza
Illiniza is an extinct stratovolcano with two summits; Iliniza Sur and Iliniza Norte. It's in the Andean Highlands about 55 km south of the Ecuadorian capital Quito.
Otavalo
Photo: Rastapopulous, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Otavalo is a city in the North of Ecuador. It has about 50,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the canton of the same name. Otavalo is world-famous for its indigenous population, the Otavalos, many of which are travelling around the world to sell their famous handicrafts or play in Andean Folk music groups.
Mindo
Photo: Ayacop, Public domain.
Mindo is a small town in the Andean foothills of Ecuador. Set in beautiful cloud-forest, it attracts birdwatchers first and foremost, but also has attractions for other tourists.
Laguna Cuicocha
Photo: Bgag, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Cuicocha is a 3 km wide caldera and crater lake at the foot of Cotacachi Volcano in the Cordillera Occidental of the Ecuadorian Andes. Its name comes from the Kichwa indigenous language and means "Lago del Cuy" or Guinea Pig Lake in English.
Alausi
Photo: Ondřej Žváček, CC BY 2.5.
Alausi is a village in the Andean Highlands of Ecuador. It is the closest station to the train ride Naríz del Diablo. Although most of the tourism in Alausí is centered on the Devil's Nose Train, the town, although small, is quite charming and worth a look.
Vilcabamba
Vilcabamba, meaning Sacred Valley, is a quiet, scenic, peaceful town near the Podocarpus National Park in southern Ecuador.
Guano
Photo: David C. S., CC BY-SA 4.0.
Guano is a mountain town of about 9,000 people in Chimborazo Province in Ecuador. The scenic town lies at the foot of the El Altar volcano.
Andean Highlands
- Type: highland
- Description: Cultural and geographic region of Ecuador
- Also known as: “Andean Highlands of Ecuador”, “Andean Region of Ecuador”, “Ecuadorian Andes”, “Highlands of Ecuador”, and “Sierra Region of Ecuador”
- Location: Ecuador, South America
- View on OpenStreetMap
Latitude of center
-1° or 1° southLongitude of center
-79° or 79° westWikidata ID
Q2404229
This page is based on Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikivoyage.
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Satellite Map
Discover Andean Highlands from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
In Other Languages
From Basque to Ukrainian—“Andean Highlands” goes by many names.
- Basque: “Sierra (Ekuador)”
- Basque: “Sierra”
- Dutch: “Sierra”
- Esperanto: “Andaj Altaĵoj”
- French: “Sierra”
- Galician: “Rexión Serra”
- German: “Sierra”
- Hebrew: “אזור הרי האנדים של אקוודור”
- Italian: “Sierra dell’Ecuador”
- Italian: “Sierra”
- Norwegian Bokmål: “La Sierra (region)”
- Norwegian: “La Sierra”
- Persian: “آند، منطقه”
- Russian: “Ла-Сьерра”
- Spanish: “Región andes”
- Spanish: “Región andina”
- Spanish: “Region Interandina del Ecuador”
- Spanish: “Serranía”
- Spanish: “Sierra ecuatoriana”
- Ukrainian: “Сьєрра (Еквадор)”
- Ukrainian: “Сьєрра”
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About Mapcarta. Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikivoyage page “Andean Highlands”. Photo: Michelsberg, CC0.