Ecuador

Ecuador's capital at 2,850m in the Andes - 2 million people, the first UNESCO World Heritage site (1978), the equator (Mitad del Mundo) 30 km north, and the gateway to the Galápagos, the Amazon, and the Avenue of Volcanoes.

Ecuador's volcanic Pacific archipelago 1000 km from the coast where Darwin observed the unique species that informed his theory of evolution and where wildlife shows no fear of humans.