Ecuador offers four very different bioregions within it's borders; La Costa, La Sierra, El Oriente, and El Insular.
• La Costa, or the Southern coast, is characterized by a warm climate, beautiful beaches, and miles upon miles of picturesque banana plantations. • La Sierra is located in the middle of the country and follows the backbone of the monumental Andes mountains. It is characterized by the páramo ecosystem, a type of grassland found in South America above the timberline and below the permanent snowline. • El Oriente is the Amazon jungle region of Ecuador, and is located directly east of the Sierra region. Home to national parks and more than 1500 bird species, most of it is still unexplored because of the thick rainforest. • El Insular is another name for the Galápagos Islands, an amazingly biodiverse archipelago that lies 906 km/563 mi off the coast of Ecuador.
