Where Is Ecuador Located? Map, Regions and the Equator

Ecuador is located on the northwest coast of South America, with Colombia to the north, Peru to the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The equator runs across the north of the country, which is where the name comes from. The capital, Quito, sits at 0°13'S, 78°30'W, about 26 km south of the equator line and 2,850 meters above sea level. The Galapagos Islands belong to Ecuador too, and they lie about 1,000 km off the coast in the Pacific.

We run tours out of Quito, and "wait, where is Ecuador exactly?" comes up in a lot of first emails. Here is the short version with a map in words, the four regions, the time zone, how long the flights take and how big the country really is.

Where Ecuador is on the map

Find the place where the equator meets the Pacific coast of South America. That bulge of land between Colombia and Peru is Ecuador. The country's central point is usually given as 2°S, 77°30'W, so most of the mainland lies just south of the equator, with a thin northern strip in the Northern Hemisphere.

Fact	Answer
Continent	South America (northwest side)
North	Colombia, 708 km of border
East and south	Peru, 1,529 km of border
West	Pacific Ocean, about 2,237 km of coastline
Capital	Quito, 0°13'S 78°30'W, 2,850 m (9,350 ft)
Largest city	Guayaquil, on the coast
Area	283,561 sq km, Galapagos included
Population	16,938,986 at the 2022 census
Galapagos	About 1,000 km west of the coast

The population figure comes from the 2022 national census by INEC, Ecuador's statistics institute. Ecuador does not border Brazil, Venezuela or the Caribbean, which surprises some people. To reach the Atlantic side of the continent you would have to cross Peru or Colombia and then most of Brazil.

Ecuador's four regions

The Andes split the mainland down the middle, and that one fact explains most of the country. West of the mountains is the coast, the mountains themselves are the highlands, and east of them the land drops into the Amazon basin. The Galapagos are a fourth region out at sea.

Region	Where it is	What it is like	Main places
Coast (Costa)	West, from the Pacific shore to the foot of the Andes	Hot and humid lowlands, beaches, mangroves, banana and cacao farms	Guayaquil, Manta, Montañita, Puerto López
Andes (Sierra)	Center, two mountain ranges running north to south	Cool highland valleys, volcanoes, indigenous markets, colonial towns	Quito, Cuenca, Otavalo, Cotopaxi, Baños
Amazon (Oriente)	East, below the Andes toward Peru and Colombia	Rainforest, rivers, lodges reached by canoe, warm and wet most of the year	Tena, Coca, Cuyabeno, Yasuní
Galapagos	Pacific Ocean, about 1,000 km west	Volcanic islands, sea lions, giant tortoises, snorkeling	Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal, Isabela

What makes Ecuador easy to travel is that these regions sit close together. From Quito, Cotopaxi is a day trip, Baños is about three hours by road, and Tena, on the edge of the Amazon, is about five. For more on each one, see our guide to Ecuador beaches, the Ecuador Amazon rainforest guide and our page on the Avenue of the Volcanoes. The highest point is Chimborazo, at about 6,267 m, the volcano whose summit is farther from the center of the Earth than Everest's because of the planet's bulge at the equator.

The equator line and the Mitad del Mundo

The name says it: ecuador is Spanish for equator. The line enters from the Pacific coast, crosses the Andes just north of Quito and continues into the Amazon.

Most visitors see it at the Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World), a monument about 26 km north of central Quito. It marks the line measured by the French Geodesic Mission in the 1700s. GPS later put the true equator about 240 meters north of the monument, close to the small Intiñan Museum, so we usually take people to both. Plan half a day for the visit.

Being on the equator also means the sun rises and sets at about the same time all year, close to 6 in the morning and a bit after 6 in the evening. Weather here changes with altitude far more than with the calendar. If you are deciding when to come, our best time to visit Ecuador guide breaks it down by region.

Time zone

Mainland Ecuador uses UTC-5 year-round, the same as New York and Miami in winter. Ecuador does not change the clocks, so from March to November the US East Coast is one hour ahead of Quito. The Galapagos are on UTC-6, one hour behind the mainland. Remember that when you book a connecting flight or a tour pickup on the islands.

How long it takes to fly to Ecuador

Quito (UIO) and Guayaquil (GYE) are the two main international airports. Nonstop flights from the US come mostly from southern hubs, and from Europe the direct routes come from Madrid and Amsterdam. These are typical scheduled times, and they shift a little with season and winds.

From	To	Typical nonstop time
Miami	Quito	About 4.5 hours
Houston	Quito	5 to 5.5 hours
Atlanta	Quito	5 to 5.5 hours
Madrid	Quito	About 11 hours
Amsterdam	Quito	11 to 12 hours
Quito or Guayaquil	Galapagos	About 2 hours from Guayaquil, about 3 from Quito with the usual stop

From New York, Los Angeles or Chicago you usually connect through one of those hubs or through Bogotá, Panama City or Lima. Count on 8 to 12 hours total. Since Quito is on Eastern time in winter, there is little or no jet lag from the US. Once you land, our guide to getting from the Quito airport to the city center covers the last 45 to 60 minutes. For the islands, read how to get to Galapagos before you buy tickets.

How big is Ecuador?

Ecuador covers 283,561 square kilometers, about 109,500 square miles, and that total includes the Galapagos. In US terms, it is slightly smaller than Nevada (about 110,600 sq mi) and a bit bigger than Colorado (about 104,100 sq mi). It is one of the smaller countries in South America, but the mountains make it feel bigger on the road.

Driving distances are short on paper and slow in practice. The bus from Quito to Cuenca takes around nine hours through the Andes, which is why many travelers fly that leg (see Quito to Cuenca). On a 10-day trip you can cover the highlands, a few nights in the Amazon and either the coast or a short Galapagos add-on. Our Ecuador itinerary page has routes from 7 to 21 days.

Quito's altitude

Quito sits at 2,850 meters (9,350 feet), measured at the Plaza Grande in the Old Town. Only La Paz is a higher capital. Most people feel it on the first day: shortness of breath on stairs, a light headache, poor sleep. Take the first afternoon easy, drink water and go light on alcohol. The full details are in our post on Quito elevation.

Planning a trip from here

Now that the map makes sense, these are the guides we send people next:

• Ecuador travel guide, the overview of the whole country
• Is Ecuador safe?, with the areas to skip and the ones that are fine
• Ecuador visa requirements by passport
• Ecuador currency: the country uses the US dollar
• Things to do in Quito for your first days

If you want help putting the regions together, our Ecuador tours from Quito start at the Mitad del Mundo and go as far as the Amazon and the Galapagos.

Frequently asked questions