OTHER INTERESTING FACTS & UNIQUE ASPECTS OF ECUADOR:

• In Quito, water boils at 90°C (direct effect of altitude);
• Cotopaxi is the highest active volcano in world;
• The Humpback whales (megaptera novaeangliae) migrate from the Antarctic South Pole to tropical waters off the coast of Ecuador (June to September) to mate and give birth to their calves;
• The Galapagos Islands belongs to Ecuador;
• Ecuador has many active volcanoes and also, one of the greatest densities of volcanoes in the world;
• Ecuador is home to ten mountain peaks over 5000 meters (16,000 feet);
• Mount Chimborazo at 6,268 meters (20,565 feet)  is the highest mountain in Ecuador. And because the Earth is not a perfect sphere, but bulges at the Equator, the peak of Chimborazo is also the furthest point from the center of the Earth and the closest to the sun.
• The number of orchid species is calculated at 4100;
• A newly discovered species of gecko, small enough at its full-grown size to rest comfortably on the eraser of a pencil, was discovered in Ecuador;
• The world’s smallest orchid (miniscule orchid – measuring 2.1mm wide) was discovered in Ecuador;
• Country with the world’s highest diversity of hummingbird species (131);
• Home to more than 1600 species of birds, which is more than twice the number found on any one of the entire continents of North America, Europe or Australia;
• Panama hats are of Ecuadorian origin – the world’s finest ‘Panama hats’ are handmade in Montecristi, Ecuador;
• Ecuador is divided into four geographical regions: Pacific Coastal Area (Litoral),  Andean Highlands (Sierra), Amazon Rain Forest (Oriente) and The Galapagos Islands;
• There are three species of vampire bats found in the world; all are found in Ecuador;
• Ecuador exports more bananas than any other country in the world;
• Vilcabamba is called the Valley of Longevity - locals assert that it is not uncommon to see a person reach 100 years of age and it is claimed that many have gotten to 120, even up to 135,which would make it an area with the oldest inhabitants in the world;
• 25 000 species of plants present in the country, which represents approximately 10% of all plants known in the world;
• Ecuador one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border with Brazil;
• Manta, Ecuador claims to be the Tuna Capital of the World;
• Quinine, the first drug used to prevent and treat malaria, is obtained from the bark of the cinchona tree that grows in Ecuador;
• Almost 60 per cent of the world’s high grade “fine cocoa” is produced on farms surrounding the coastal city of Guayaquil – an output that makes it the world’s capital of the sweet delicacy.