Ecuador may be small in size, but it is anything but boring.

Name for the equator that runs through it.

This Andean nation packs a serious punch.

There's a reason it inspired Darwin's theory of evolution.

But beyond the name Galapagos, Ecuador is a land of striking contrast from the cobbled streets of Quitos Unesco listed historic center, to the depths of the Amazon, where the Achuar people live in harmony with the jungle.

All right alongside Chagras, in the shadow of Cotopaxi hike to volcanic heights, and wake up in a cloud forest where the jungle hums with life.

With biodiversity around every corner.

Colonial architecture.

Bustling markets and volcanoes.

Almost everywhere you look, Ecuador is wild, diverse and waiting to be explored.

I'm Alice Ford and we're back in Northern Norway.

This is the Garden Island, Kauai, Hawaii.

As you guys can see, it is absolutely beautiful down here.

The views are just already stunning We are on our way to Antarctica.

So right now were having a traditional tea here.

Wow.

In this episode I will be taking a culinary tour of Quito.

Ecuadors capital city.

I'll head deep into the Amazon rainforest to stay with an indigenous tribe and spend several days hiking in the Andes region near Cotopaxi National Park while learning about local Chagra culture on horseback.

Today I'm in the World Heritage city of Quito.

This is Ecuador's capital and one of the most well preserved colonial cities in all of South America.

Strewn across a mountain valley and surrounded by volcanoes.

Quito is a fascinating mélange of cultures and Spanish era architecture.

It's the second highest capital city in the world and was constructed on the foundation of an ancient Incan city.

Its Centro Historico is a Unesco World Heritage Site full of ancient churches.

At the heart of the Unesco zone, you'll find the Plaza de San Francisco, and here you'll also find the Iglesia de San Francisco, one of the oldest and most important religious sites in all of Ecuador.

It was built between 1537 and 1560, and it is an absolutely massive complex with 13 cloisters, three churches, and some of the most important religious art in Ecuador.

And if you come up to its bell tower, you have one of the most fantastic views of the city and the historic zone itself.

Heading around the historic zone on a walking tour, you will see some of the most beautiful churches in Ecuador built throughout the 16th and 17th century.

They blend European, Moorish and indigenous styles.

The most ornate was certainly the Compañía de Jesus, which was built in the 17th century and is full of gold leaf.

Right now we're in an area called La Ronda There are a ton of restaurants in this area.

It's absolutely beautiful.

We are going to go in here and try some very traditional food from the Highlands area of Ecuador, and I can almost guarantee that if you live in America, you haven't tried this.

You maybe had it as a pet as a kid.

It's called Cuy.

Come on.

So Cuy is actually guinea pig, and the indigenous people in the Andes actually started domesticating it hundreds of years ago as a food source.

So this isn't to eat with a knife and fork.

Most Ecuadorians just dive into it.

Kind of like a chicken drumstick.

So here goes.

As you guys can see, it's pretty fatty.

Have you ever had a chicken thigh?

They're a bit fatty, juicier great on the grill.

Well, that's exactly what this tastes And all those spices that he put on down there that are all Ecuadorian things from all over this country, just add to the flavor.

It's a little bit salty, a little bit sweet, but really delicious.

And you should definitely try it If you're coming here to Ecuador.

One place that you have to come here in Quito is La Mariscal Artisan Market.

This place is full of handcrafted goods and truly Ecuadorian things that you're going to love.

One thing you have to look for in the markets and here in Ecuador is a Panama hat.

Now, despite the naming faux pas, these actually have their origin here in Ecuador.

And it goes back more than 500 years.

When the Spanish conquistadors came here, they were amazed by the hats the locals wore, which were woven from pieces of palm.

And they took that.

They add a little flair, and now it's become one of the most popular hats in the world.

Some of the most fine Panama hats take up to six months to make, and youll definitely want to leave with at least one when you come here to Ecuador.

From Quito, I head to the Ecuadorain Highlands, a region of volcanoes, valleys, lakes and forest dotted with ranches, free roaming cattle and the tallest mountain summits in the country.

This region is dotted with small haciendas, where adventurous travelers can be immersed in the beauty of the region, while also learning about the local culture of the Chagra, Here in the Ecuadorian highlands you find a lot of horses and cows.

One of the traditions here is the Chagras, aka the Ecuadorian cowboys.

known for their long history of horsemanship.

The Chagra are known as the spirit of the Highlands.

Descendants of native Ecuadorians and Spaniards.

They have a long history of handling horses and wild bulls that roam freely in this part of the country.

The Chagra are known for their traditional riding gear, which includes chaps made from alpaca fur, ponchos, hats, scarves and boots Horseback riding is offered at almost all the Ecuadorian haciendas around Cotopaxi National Park, where you can head out on a short ride through the open grasslands, or choose to spend a few days camping and riding through the Andes.

I opted for a few hours of riding that took me up to the statues of the Guardians of Cotopaxi, followed by some traditional tea So right now we're having a traditional tea here.

That's really good for the altitude.

Gracias.

De nada.

One of Ecuador's most iconic landmarks is the volcano Cotopaxi.

And have you been following my channel for a while.

Then you know exactly what this means.

Cotopaxi is not only the most active volcano here in Ecuador, it's the second tallest mountain at more than 19,000ft, just a few feet higher than Mount Kilimanjaro, which is the tallest freestanding mountain in the world.

Today is my first acclimatization hike for Cotopaxi, which is hidden in the clouds back there.

But where I'm hiking is right back here.

I'm going to be hiking up to Rumiñahui This is over 15,500ft, so taller than any of the mountains in the lower 48 states.

Just getting started.

About 40 minutes in.

So quite a ways to go up to the top.

Ecuador has 84 volcanoes.

When the Nazca and South America tectonic plates collided 100 million years ago, it gave rise to the backbone of South America, the Andes.

This geologic collision also produced a secondary mountain chain within Ecuador's Andes.

The Cordilleras is the result of which was dozens of lofty volcanoes, several of which remain active to this day.

Luckily, Rumiñahui, the one were hiking today, is not an active volcano, but its neighbor, Cotopaxi, is the most active in the entire country.

Now, when explorer Alexander von Humboldt visited the valley between the two ranges at the beginning of the 19th century.

He coined this area the Avenue of the Volcanoes, and the moniker has stuck ever since.

Hiking in this area of Ecuador is stunning, with wildflowers and craggy crested peaks, snow dotting the summits and whispers of fog dancing in the wind.

We made it to the top of Rumiñahui Just in time for a sleet storm the mountain is being covered right now in fog.

Were going to get out of here.

The next day, I rose early again to hike another nearby mountain named Illiniza Norte.

The road to get there was a bit more of an adventure and so was the hike itself.

The Illinizas, are two divided summits of the same volcano, and I would actually be hiking the north side at over 5100m.

It was another rainy and fog filled day and this hike had a lot more exposure, snow and ice than the day before Cotopaxi is one of the highest active volcanoes in the entire world, and the second highest in Ecuador at 5897m above the sea.

It's snowy cone is one of the most beautiful in the world, and the locals say its name means moon neck, or neck of the moon.

No, you're not hallucinating.

I'm actually wearing a tent.

Yes.

This is not how this hike was supposed to start.

But such as any adventure never starts as planned.

Today were starting our hike up to go to ‘paxi.

We're just going a little bit up this hill to the refuge where we're going to be spending the night or half a night, I should say, eating some dinner and then donning some not normal day hiking gear to head up to the top of Cotopaxi.

Now, this hike is actually pretty short, but the altitude is definitely not.

This mountain, which is actually an active volcano.

It's just a few feet higher than Kilimanjaro.

The hard part is over.

Ha!

We have made it to the refuge.

Only one hour of trekking.

So that was nice.

This is my guide for the climb, Fabian.

We are just enjoying some hot chocolate and some tea.

Now most people that come up here to the refuge are just on a day hike.

They are coming up here to to see Cotopaxi.

It's actually the second most popular tourist destination in all of Ecuador to come here.

And can you guess what number one is?

The Galapagos.

We'll be going there too.

But for now, we're just going to get refueled, rehydrated.

We've got a long summit that starts at midnight tonight.

There are 75 beds here and most people hiking up to Cotopaxi to spend the night here.

A few tips for acclimating to high altitude.

And if you've watch some of my Colorado content.

You already know this, but get plenty of rest, which on a night like this is easier said than done.

Eat and hydrate as much as possible.

Avoid alcohol for a few days prior and take time to acclimate at 10,000ft for at least a few days before hiking any other big mountains.

Big summits aren't a race of speed, but more a practice in patience.

It's 11:45.

Just having a coffee We're about to hit the trail.

It's currently raining, so it's going to be a wet start to the hike today.

The name Cotopaxi is Quichua for neck of the moon and to most tourists.

Cotopaxi and her siblings Chimborazo, Quilotoa and some of the others are just photographic destinations.

But to the Quichua people that call this area home, these geothermal phenomenon are more than just surrounding landmarks.

They are powerful entities that have impacted daily life for generations, with an unpredictable volatility that holds millions of lives in their hands.

Now, centuries ago, Andean locals worshiped Cotopaxi as a rain center and a heavenly body that ensured the lands fertility They also deified her as a sacred mountain, holding firm to the belief that God's weld within her summit.

Because we left at 11:30 at night and didn't reach the summit until around 8:00.

Most of this hike was in complete darkness.

Yes, we had headlamps, but it makes filming something like this pretty difficult with almost zero light.

Right now we're at 5200m, and we're just putting our crampons on and some ropes to continue up a little bit farther.

So far, not too bad.

Feeling pretty good still.

So excited for the next little bit.

Like most hikes, making it to the summit is very dependent on the weather.

And because it had been raining for days, this hike was a little bit more difficult than many.

Thick fog blanketed the peak, and in the absence of sunlight, it seemed as though we were often hiking through a black and white movie.

There was just absolutely no contrast or anything for your eyes to focus on.

We passed crevasses in the darkness.

One of Cotopaxis many dangers, and one of the reasons we hiked on ropes tied together for safety.

Back in 1996, 13 people actually lost their lives on these slopes.

Not due to a volcanic eruption, but rather an avalanche resulting from an earthquake.

Why do we do hard things?

Like really hard things?

Like, for instance, climbing a mountain almost 6000m high in freezing rain and darkness, where the air is so thin your body gets barely enough oxygen and it makes every move uphill feel like walking through quicksand, On days like today, there's no view, no contrast at all.

Nothing to even let you know that you're anywhere at all.

But despite the fog and the darkness and the difficulty, it's these hard things that seem what makes me feel most alive After making it to one of Ecuadors highest peaks, I set off on a different kind of journey, one that would take me deep into the jungle.

I boarded a small plane and set off to be immersed in the Amazon rainforest.

One of the most vital lungs for our planet, and a place I had dreamed of going since I was a young girl.

After an hour in the sky, I landed on a small dirt runway in the heart of the Achuar territory, where I then boarded a small boat and headed down the river to one of the only indigenous owned and operated lodges in the Amazon region of Ecuador.

Welcome to Kapawi Lodge.

This lodge is owned and maintained by the indigenous tribe of the Achuar.

It's one of the only ecolodges that's owned by an indigenous tribe in all of the Amazon.

And over the next few days, Im going to get an inside look into what life is like here Experiencing some of the wildlife, what it's like to boat down this beautiful tributary of the Amazon and see what life is like in their tribe.

The lodge is located on the Pastaza River, a tributary of the Amazon River and full of a large amount of species including anacondas, piranhas and river dolphins too.

And here in the Amazon, there are two species the endangered pink dolphin and the Tuxuci river dolphin, both of them endangered freshwater dolphins.

And it wasn't long after reaching the convergence of the two rivers near the lodge that we saw a dolphin and a baby peeking out of the water.

there are more than 23,000 species of plants and animals that live in Ecuador, and more than 15% of the bird population also calls this country home with much of that biodiversity right here in the Amazon.

Today, I'm going to be heading o with one of the Achuar to learn about some of the medicinal plan here in the forest.

And there's no one better to learn this from than the people have been living in harmony with nature for thousands of years in this area.

this is one of my guides.

for the time I'm here.

¿Como se llama?

Diego.

Diego.

Awesome.

The Achuar wear a traditional face paint everyday made from a local plant called Achiote.

So before our hike, Diego gave me a traditional drawing, placing stars on my cheeks, emblematic of the Achuar calendar, which is based on a constellatio viewable in the night sky most of the year.

The Achuar say the forest is our mother because the forest provide everything, food, medicinal plants material for construction and here also the Achuar they don't need anything That's the idea we respect the forest, we love the forest.

This forest is literally a drug store.

Most of the antibiotics and a lot of the medications that we actually have at our local CVS or Walgreens either come from this forest or the medicines actually originated from plants, animals, and different things within this forest.

So it's so fascinating to learn about the actual trees and plants and funguses that are here within this forest.

Now, Diego was just showing me there's actually treatments in tree bark for malaria.

There are treatments for cuts and scrapes.

And one of the most fascinating things I saw was actually this wild garlic, which is so fragrant.

Smells like garlic, jalapeño, and cilantro all mixed together.

And if you actually macerate this up a bit, you can stick it in your nostrils, breathe it in, and it's actually a treatment for headaches.

My afternoon was full of wonder.

Being taken to a sacred spot in the forest where the Achuar sacred Sabu tree lives.

This tree has been used as a place of ceremony and meditation by the tribe for hundreds of years, and just being in its presence was a wonderful experience.

And today I got a chance to feel its spirit and to sit in its presence, listening to the forest.

It's beautiful to witness a society still so heavily embedded in living in harmony with nature, a dying tradition even here in the Amazon.

After meditation, it was time for a swim with the piranhas, and I was surprised by how strong the current of this river was.

It required a constant stroke to stay in one place, toes still on my feet.

After drying off, I tried my hand at the traditional hunting techniques blow darts, which I made from the date palm, are usually laced with poison to put the animal to sleep before it's killed.

And traditionally, and depending on the season Achuars do eat monkey and other animals in the rainforest.

The forest here doesnt just provide medicine, but food.

And let me start off by saying I've eaten some weird things in my day and age, but that might be the most peculiar.

I actually asked Diego earlier if I could try out some of their traditional foods here, and when we're in the forest, he told me about a bug that lays into larvae and the tops of the date palms, and they actually harvest these.

And tonight we're going to try some.

This is the worm the larva, and it is worm to be used in heart of palm Yeah.

the idea is we take the heart of palm and after that we try to come back to see (inaudible) the worm.

Just one bite or two bites?

Any bites.

Any bites.

Its crunchy.

All of it!

In one bite!

One of the things I know you're going to love about the Amazon is all of the birds.

So don't forget your binoculars.

The Amazon has more than 1300 species of bird, and this morning I was up early to see one of the many species of parrot.

They have a favorite spot down river from the lodge, where they gather in great numbers early in the morning, where they eat clay, which collects on the riverbanks and helps them better digest.

You can hear the parrots before you see them as they blended like camouflage in the thick trees.

These small green parrots were best spotted through binoculars and watching them flying in pairs was such a treat.

The Achuar are one of just over a dozen tribes here in Ecuador, and they believe actually in shamanism, like many of the other indigenous tribes throughout the Amazon region and across the world.

That way of life is changing.

But it's projects just like this here at Kapawi Lodge that are working to preserve that way of life and to share their way of life with the outside world.

And it's just such a beautiful thing to be able to share and preserve that in a way like this.

You know, lots of indigenous groups are left with the choices of either living in the way that they have for centuries, not having any access to the outside world or selling their resources to oil and gas companies or resource development here, the Achuar has really been adamant about not doing that.

So it's projects just like this that help them preserve this way of life and not have to deforest the rainforest around here.

My last activity was visiting the tribe shaman or Suba.

He is both the source for wisdom, medicine and healing for several of the communities up and down the river.

Being a shaman starts in childho and it takes years of training and practice.

Sadly, with the old ways changing and the growing world, no one has yet decided to follow in this shaman's footsteps in this community.

Which means he may be one of the last this community ever has.

Now, this trip has been the colliding of two worlds, a reminder of how little we really need to live a full life.

But our vastly different lifestyles reminded me just how powerful human connection is and how unimportant possessions are.

Ecuador has shown me so much biodiversity, culture and beauty, and I hope it's encouraged you to take the leap and traveling somewhere new to thank so much for coming along on this journey I'll see you on the next one.