slide 1: Fun Interesting Facts
about Ecuador
Check out this awesome list of craziest and most interesting facts about
Ecuador
Are you wondering what are some of the most interesting facts about
Ecuador other than the ones we all know
These are some fun and interesting facts. I have been gathering this
information from my own experiences and accompanied by some research.
And found these to be some fun interesting Ecuador facts and its rich culture.
Before visiting or traveling to Ecuador you might like to check them out
1.-The only country named after an
imaginary line.
Its capital city of Quito as well as its delightful Galapagos islands which
belong to Ecuador are crossed by the Equator Line. And it is the only country
named after an imaginary line.
slide 2: 2.-The country where Panama hat is
genuinely from
Panama hat´s origin is genuinely made in Ecuador and its original name
is “Sombrero de Montecristi” which in late 1800´s werere sent to Panama and
they became popular among the workers due to its lightweight comfortable to
wear and the unique properties of the straw which greatly adapted to tropical
Panama.
In 1906 it was worn by Theodore Roosevelt during his visit to Panama to
check the progress of the canal as a local gift which was an error because it
came from Ecuador since then it started to gain popularity as the Panama
Hat.
Montecrísti is the name of the small town where it is originally hand weaved
it is located in the province of Manabi this is the place where you can find
many weavers especially women at their houses and workshops.
3.- The place where costelations from the two
hemispheres can be seen
Constellations from the south and north hemisphere can be seen in a clear
night between June July and August it is said that pre-Incas and the
following generations until these days where able to see the north and south
constellations from Ecuador since it is located in the world’s belly for
example the Great Bear from the north as well as the Southern Cross crux.
slide 3: 4.- Exactly where the two hemispheres meet
Although the Equator Line crosses many countries Ecuador is quite popular
and proud of its Equator line Monument and solar museum perhaps because
of the fact that this line crosses it´s capital city of Quito towards the north
end becoming very handy to visit it while visiting Quito by taking a Quito
tour driving there or riding a bus an Equator line tour can be very fun and
interesting due to the experiments that are shown at the Solar museum to
demonstrate you are located right at the world´s belly. For example the
famous equator egg balancing experiment.
5.- Ecuador the real Banana Republic
Banana republic 19 of Ecuador´s export products are Bananas the second
largest income after crude oil which was 29 as of 2017. Ecuador is one of
the largest exporters of flavorful quality bananas. And yes the red bananas
exist and are delicious as well this is a banana that is occasionally found
while it does not have a specific time of the year to be found it can be seen at
the open markets twice or the most three times per year. source INEC
6.- Guinea Pig or Cuy an Ecuadorian
delicacy
The guinea pig is an Ecuadorian delicacy while in many countries guinea
pigs are children’s pets and baptized with names in Ecuador these delicious
animals are called lunch it is said that Guinea pig is one of the healthiest
slide 4: meat since they are fed only with alfalfa. This can be roasted fried or grilled
and served with potatoes and peanut sauce.
in Spanish they are called “Cuy” due to the sound they make cuy cuy cuy.
7.- Home to three heritage sites
Three heritage sites despite the size of the country that is awesome Quito old
town Cuenca´s old town and the Galapagos Islands are the 3 heritage sites.
Although Quito has extended hugely towards the north and south with modern
high rises day after day it has managed to continue preserving the beautiful
Quito old town located at the center part of the city.
8.- The only country in South America that
uses the US dollar as an official currency
The only country in South America that uses the US dollar as an official
currency
since the year 2000 Ecuador dropped its currency called Sucre due to a big
financial depression which caused the country to adopt the US dollar as an
official currency.
10.- Home to the highest volcano from the
center of the earth
Home to the highest volcano from the center of the earth and closest place to
the sun
The Chimborazo Volcano since it is close to the Equator it is considered to be
the highest volcano due to the distance from the center of the earth. Since the
earth is wider close to the equator and at the same time and for the same
reason the place closes to the sun.
slide 5: 11.-Considered the most empathetic country
The most empathetic country based in a study by the Michigan state university
in 2016 Ecuador was chosen as the most empathetic country. Michigan state
university MSU used 104365 people aged between 18 and 90 years old and
spread across 63 countries to determine which nation on average contains the
most and least empathetic individuals.
1. Ecuador
2. Saudi Arabia
3. Perú
Source: MSU
12.- Ecuador is home to the Yasuní national
park
Ecuador is home to the Yasuní national park this is a protected area
considered the area with most biodiversity on the planet for its wealth in
amphibians birds mammals plants. This park is the place on earth with most
animal species per square hectare. Located in the far east side of Ecuador.
slide 6: 13.- World finest cacao producers
Ecuador produces the world finest cacao known as the National cacao also
known as the fine aromatic or the Arriba. For a chocolate to be considered a
good quality chocolate at least 12 of its cacao has to be of the fine aromatic
cacao. This cacao is produced in some Ecuadorian provinces as Esmeraldas
Manabi Guayas Los Rios and to the east in the provinces of Napo
Sucumbios and Orellana
14.- Four climatological regions and ninety
ecosystems
Due to so many variations in altitudes in Ecuador there are 4 climatological
regions and 90 ecosystems. Making this country so diverse in every way.
15.- Twelve hours of light all year round
Ecuador has the privilege to have approximately twelve hours of daylight all
year round and almost stable temperatures in every region with just slight
variations. Sunrises at 6 am and sets at 6 pm with an approximate variation of
1o minutes between summer and winter. This sunlight is especially good for
agricultural purposes.
slide 7: 16.- Rose land
If you love roses Ecuador is the place to visit a rose plantation and learn how
they are cultivated roses are one of the products that get the benefit of natural
and perpendicular sunlight all day and all year round making the stem
straight thicker and the size of the rose buttons are bigger. An Ecuadorian
rose lasts an average of 4 weeks from the day they are harvested. Ecuadorian
roses are famous worldwide because of their top quality. The second biggest
rose exporters the closest competitors are Colombia and Kenia
17.-Tricky menu at Ecuadorian restaurants
The menu at an Ecuadorian restaurant can be a little tricky normally you will
read sopa de carne meat soup or empanadas de carne meat empanadas
where if you translate it to English “carne” means “meat” so in this case you
must assume it is talking about beef because all the other types of meat are
pointed out for example sopa de pollo chicken soup or fritada de pollo
chancho pried pork chops or fried chicken chops .
Also a typical Ecuadorian dish called “Seco de chivo” which chivo translated
to English will mean goat it is wrongly called seco de chivo since it is a stew
made with lamb so it is a “Lamb Stew” which will often be in the menu at the
many Ecuadorian restaurants since it is a typical Ecuadorian dish.
slide 8: If you came this far reading and are interested in any of this cultural topics
and would like to learn about them more in depth we offer tours related to
this themes.
Quito old town and Equator line tour
Cotopaxi volcano tour
Quilotoa loop tour
Otavalo market tour
Mindo tour from Quito and chocolate tour
Ecuador Jungle
Quito to Banos tour