Ecuador

It is difficult to understand the incredible diversity and contrasts of Ecuador. Jammed between Peru and Colombia, Ecuador contains within its borders an improbable variety of landscape and culture. It is bisected by an epic stretch of the northern Andes, and to the East is the biological mother lode of the Amazonian forest. There are kilometres of Pacific coastline, including the living wonders of the Galapagos Islands. Not only are these regions highly defined, but they are also wonderfully connected. The entire country is about the size of Victoria, and is home to some of the world's most extraordinary national parks.