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Ecuador

Ecuador

The Top 20 Natural Monuments in Ecuador

Ecuador’s landscape is a beautiful place to explore — something that you can best experience by visiting one of our 20

beautiful natural monuments in Ecuador. To help you find the one for, you can see all the details you need to explore the best natural monuments, and better plan your next outdoor adventure!

Last updated: October 31, 2025

Quilotoa Lagoon

Highlight • Lake

In the afternoon it gets cloudy. Best practice is arriving before noon, or doing a morning hike around the lake.

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Turtle Bay

Highlight (Segment) • Beach

Tortuga Bay is a very beautiful white sand beach. The waves are strong so you should not swim there. In the evening the sea turtles lay their eggs there, which …

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Cuicocha Lagoon Loop Trailhead

Highlight • Trail

Circular hike around the "guinea pig lagoon". The easiest way to get there from Otavalo is by bus to Quiroga and then by taxi from the parque central there ($5)

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Virgin of El Panecillo

Highlight • Monument

The Virgin of El Panecillo, also known as the Virgin of Quito due to the name of the sculpture on which it is inspired, is a monument in the city …

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Tijeretas Hill Lookout

Highlight • Viewpoint

Tijeras is also used to describe frigate birds that open their tails like scissors (Spanish Tijeras) in flight,

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Limpiopungo Lagoon

Highlight • Lake

A beautiful lagoon that you can also walk around from the parking lot. When the weather is nice, you have a good view of the Cotopaxi.

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Laguna Toreadora

Highlight • Lake

Beautiful lake at the Toreadora ranger station. It is just off Ruta 1 or can be viewed from an elevated vantage point next to the station.

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Peguche Waterfall

Highlight • Waterfall

Look for a sacred place with beautifully landscaped hiking trails. At the top you can crawl through narrow caves and discover other smaller waterfalls.

Entrance fees are required.

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Trailhead for Rumiñahui Central and North

Highlight • Trail

When traveling almost half of the path around the lagoon, at this point take the path that is exclusive to go to Rumiñahui Central and North.

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Marine Iguana Observation Point

Highlight • Viewpoint

Marine iguanas frolic here to warm up after their excursions in the sea water.

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Didn’t find what you were looking for?

Find even more amazing natural monuments in Ecuador by checking out the top Highlights region by region:

Bellavista Galápagos Pichincha Cordillera Central Ecuador Cotopaxi Imbabura Parque Nacional Galápagos

Explore more

Extend your search for the best caves by checking out these guides of the top ones in Ecuador:

Argentina Chile Peru Brazil Colombia Bolivia Uruguay

The Top 20 Natural Monuments in Ecuador

Quilotoa Lagoon

Turtle Bay

Cuicocha Lagoon Loop Trailhead

Virgin of El Panecillo

Tijeretas Hill Lookout

Limpiopungo Lagoon

Laguna Toreadora

Peguche Waterfall

Trailhead for Rumiñahui Central and North

Marine Iguana Observation Point

Other adventures in Ecuador

Most popular routes in Ecuador

Most popular attractions in Ecuador

Get inspired with the komoot mobile app

Didn’t find what you were looking for?

Explore more

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