Everything you wanted to know about the inca empire

From pristine colonial centres to Amazonian villages and Andean hill towns, the more you see of Ecuador, the more you realise every bit of it is unique, writes Ilan David

Cuenca’s many layers of history are never more visible than during the winter solstice, writes George Kipouros

It all used to be so simple. The story of how we – that is Homo sapiens, today’s humans – emerged from Africa and spread across what’s become Europe and Asia was a neat, straightforward narrative. It

The capital’s depth and density of sites makes it a cultural star, writes George Kipouros

PERU

From luxury lodges in misty cloud forest to haciendas perched among the Andean peaks, to colonial-era city hideaways built atop pre-Columbian sites, the sheer diversity of Ecuador’s stays reveals just how varied this country can be