www.ecuadors.org

[Xuthus]

i am planning a brief lowbudget trip to equador this januaryor february. i'll spend two or three weeks there and wonder: what are some of the don't miss places to not miss?
thanks

[Fiske]

I spent about 2 months in Ecuador, and there really is a lot to do, depending on what you're into. Checking out the jungle is pretty awesome, I would so highly recoment the Quilatoa Loop, Quito has a lot to see in the Old Town, if you want to go to the coast for a few days to relax and maybe try to surf, Canoa is a pretty sweet place to hang out (try to stay at Hotel Bambu), Banos is a good place to do biking, rafting, hiking etc and Vilcabamba is also a good place to get some hiking in.

[Loring]

It all depends on what kinds of things you want to see or do.
Ecuador has jungle mountains and coastal areas all within a few hours from Quito.
You would need 10-12 days at least for Galapagos so you could do that and a couple of day trips from Quito if you wished. The Quilitoa Loop is well worth it especially if you include the Saquisili market on Thursday. You can buy most of the things that you can at Otavalo as many Otavalians go there to sell things and they have an interesting animal market outside the town which is for earlier in the day.
As I said it all depends on what you want to see or do.