Ecuador is best known to luxury travelers as the South American country that possesses the Galapagos. But there's a lot more to experience.
Luxury Travel Guest Author Christine Lim recently explored Ecuador's capital, Quito.
The backstory: Hurricane Sandy stranded Christine in Quito. And she's not sorry. She really got to know and love this sky-high colonial capital in the Andes, ringed by volcanoes.
"Quito is one of the New World's oldest cities, and an architectural treasure," says Christine. "Its rich past coexists with an exciting, international urban culture. Quito is absolutely unique."
By the way, those volcanoes? They're sleeping, but still smoking. The best way to see them is on horseback. Christine tells you how to do that.
See why Christine feels that seen-it-all luxury travelers will be thrilled by Quito >>
Photos from top: Quito's central square, Plaza San Francisco, seen from ©Casa Gangotena hotel; Quito street ©Cayambe/Wikimedia Commons; church bells ©Quito Turismo; La Compania gold-leaf chapel ©Quito Turismo; Quito hotel room at ©Hacienda Rumiloma; Cotopaxi Volcano over Quito and local horseback trekking ©Ecuador Tourism.