Ecuador is a small country but it has a great variety of nature and it is home of the world's most diverse collections of flora and fauna life. When you travel to Ecuador, you can visit snowcapped peaks, valleys, rain forests, jungles, islands, mountains, and deserts. There are thousands of unique species of flora and fauna. Ten percent of the world's plant species (around 10,000 species) are found in the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador.

Thanks to the diversity of climate in this region, it is possible to estimate more than 25,000 species of trees, in the Andes there are around 8,200 plant and vegetable species; 2,725 species of orchids have also been identified. In Galapagos it is possible to find a great number of native species of plants (around 600) and 250 species which have been introduced by man.

Around 3,800 species of vertebrates have been identified in Ecuador, as well as 1,640 species of birds, (500 of which are found in the Mindo Nambillo Protected Forest northwest of Quito); 1,550 species of mammals; 350 species of reptiles; 375 species of amphibians; 450 species of salt-water fish; and 800 species of fresh water fish. In Ecuador there are about a million species of insects and 4,500 species of butterflies. Ecuador represents 18 percent of the planet's birds, and15% of the world's endemic bird species are living in Ecuador.

In Ecuador there are ecosystems which go from sea level to an altitude of around 6,400 meters. The total area of the highlands, the coast and the Amazon regions are 14,583,227 hectares. There are 46 ecosystems located in different climate zones, which are made up of paramo, woods, valleys and the Pacific Ocean. The Amazon rain forest is one of the richest ecosystems in biodiversity, there are numerous species of trees and abundance of plants, flowers etc. The vegetation changes remarkably according to the climatic scopes (from some semi-desert places of the coast to the humid equatorial atmosphere in the East).

In the northern coast of Ecuador, grows Tagua nuts (vegetal Ivory) that are used to make buttons; also, we can find the paja toquilla, the fibers necessary to make hats (fiber of famed Panama hats); Ceibos (vegetal wood), rubber trees, banana trees and also endangered mangrove forests.

In the Galapagos Islands we can also find mangroves, cactus, ferns, orchids, pineapple trees, coffee plants, etc. The flanks of the mountain range (until 2,000 ms of altitude) are protected with the forests. Wheat, potato, some fruit trees, maize, etc grows in the tempered inner holes. The deserts are covered with grass and scrubs.

In the East, the mantle of vegetation is not uniform, because there are some dry places with lands flooded next to the course of the rivers. In this place it is possible to find marshy areas, a pluvial forest of vegetation with more than 3,000 species. There are gigantic trees that are used for medicine, industry, rubber, resinous of precious wood.

Fauna varies from the Coast to the East. In the forest (in the marshy zones) there are caimans, and the well known paiche, a big fish (1.5 ms of length).The carnivorous fauna is represented by pumas, wild cats, jaguar (American tiger). In Galapagos there are species unique to the world such as Galapagos reptiles, and many invertebrates. The cloud forest (Andean brow), has a great variety of birds and plants, there are tall trees with orchids, mosses, bromeliads, and epiphytes. Some of the bird species of the cloud forest are Cock of the rock, the toucan Barbet, an abundance of hummingbirds, tanagers, mountain toucans, cotingas, manakins, etc.