Water and Food

Tap water can be drunk in most parts of Ecuador but the chemical content is different in each place. To avoid problems we recommend that you drink only bottled water.

Ecuadorian food in the Andes consists mainly of soup and stews, corn pancakes, rice, eggs and vegetables. Seafood is particularly good, even in the highlands, with ceviche a favourite throughout Ecuador. It consists of uncooked seafood marinated in lemon and served with popcorn and onion. Sounds strange but tastes delicous. Other local specialties include caldo de patas, a soup made from cattle hooves; cuy, whole roasted guinea pig; and lechon, suckling pig. Guayaquil, the heart of the south coast, has the gamut of cuisines. Patacones, fried plantain chips, are a favorite side dish of the coastal dwellers.

Although we recommend you to try the local and international cuisine available in Ecuador, which is known throughout the world as some of the best, we would also say that the main fast food chains also have branches in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca.