This guide to Ecuador and Galapagos is part of a series of individual country guides on Latin America by the publishers of the "South American Handbook". The country is small enough for a weeks' visit and big enough to keep the traveller exploring for months. This handbook contains information of everything to see and do, with emphasis on the new attractions. For instance, the Pacific coast of Ecuador is being visited for more than its beaches: the Isla de la Plata, with its similarity to the Galapagos; newly uncovered precolumbian coastal cultures in the Machalilla National Park; dry tropical forest; and shrimp farms in mangrove swamps. In addition, the handbook contains details of the main attraction, the Galapagos Islands. It explains how to get there and when to go, and provides tips on the best deals available, which are the best boats, and what to take. Portable and lightweight, the handbook provides detailed coverage of: jungle lodges, wildlife and jungle culture; climbing and trekking on all the main routes and accessible volcanoes; beaches, best surfing and where to fish; where to stay, eat and how to get about; and how to get off the "banana pancake trail" and into more remote, less spoiled places.