Ecuador: behind the scenes of our Best in Travel video

30.10.2023 - 20:19 / lonelyplanet.com

Ecuador, a country known primarily for The Galapagos, has so much more to show off: the Andes, the Amazon, indigenous cultures, cuisine and traditions, rapids and waterfalls and birds and monkeys, and in Quito , the most well-preserved Spanish city in the world.

When Senior Video Producer Matt Paco got the assignment to travel to shoot the videos in Ecuador for Lonely Planet’s annual Best in Travel list, he contacted our Elsewhere by Lonely Planet local expert in Ecuador, María Augusta Ávila Maldonado.

María Augusta was the ideal person to act as fixer, location scout and logistician, her relationships and her passion for her country ensured the crew would get both an authentic and comprehensive shoot, filled with local personalities and one-of-a-kind experiences. With only five days to shoot, Matt and the crew set out to capture as much of what this country has to offer. 

I recently caught up with Matt to find out more about this trip to Ecuador: what they did, where they went and to get his impressions from the breakneck tour. His short time there and the footage they shot are proof positive that Ecuador is more than worthy of its place in Best in Travel 2024. 

“First, let me say at the outset that traveling with the expertise of a local expert has changed the way I thought about booking travel myself. I was surprised, because as a producer with budget constraints, an amazing luxury hotel, let alone a Relais & Chateaux, wouldn’t have been my first pick, but María Augusta and her team knew better. Casa Gangotena had the ideal combination of being affordable, elegant and you can walk to all the sites,” Matt says.  Located in Quito’s Old Town, Casa Gangotena is a perfect example of neoclassical architecture. It also boasts art-deco furnishings, a rooftop terrace and 270-degree views of the city and its surrounding volcanoes, an ideal home base from which to see everything. Quito’s Old Town is a Unesco World Heritage site full of gilded 16th-century sanctuaries, atmospheric monasteries and palm-fringed plazas that draw a mesmerizing cross-section of Ecuadorian society

El Panecillo (the Little Loaf of Bread):  the hill to the south of the Old Town. Topped with a 135 ft-tall aluminum mosaic statue of La Virgen de Quito (Virgin of Quito), with a crown of stars, angelic wings and a chained dragon, Loaf of Bread), at the summit of El Panecillo find breathtaking views of the city and the volcanoes that surround it.

Somos : A sublime Ecuadorian restaurant from chef and founder Alejandra Espinoza, who was born and grew up in Quito. She moved to France at 16 and trained there and the United States, before returning home to craft her global take on classic Ecuadorian dishes . Try her dumplings le Cuy