List of World Heritage Sites in Ecuador facts for kids

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) helps protect special places around the world. These places are called World Heritage Sites. They are important for their history, culture, or amazing nature.

Cultural heritage includes old buildings, sculptures, and archaeological sites. Natural heritage means beautiful landscapes, unique rock formations, and homes for rare animals and plants.

Ecuador agreed to protect these sites on June 16, 1975. This meant its special places could be added to the list. Ecuador now has five World Heritage Sites. It also has five more places on a "tentative list," which means they might be added later.

The first two sites listed in Ecuador were the Galápagos Islands and the city of Quito. Both were added in 1978. Three of Ecuador's sites are cultural, and two are natural. One site, the Qhapaq Ñan, is shared with five other countries.

Ecuador's Amazing World Heritage Sites

UNESCO uses ten rules, or "criteria," to decide if a place should be a World Heritage Site. Each site must meet at least one of these rules. Rules one to six are for cultural sites, and rules seven to ten are for natural sites.

  *   Transnational site

World Heritage Sites

Site Name	Picture	Location (Province)	Year Listed	UNESCO Info	What Makes it Special
Galápagos Islands	Panorama with volcanic island and surrounding seas	Galápagos	1978	1bis; vii, viii, ix, x (natural)	These 19 volcanic islands are about 1,000 km off South America. They are in the Pacific Ocean. Because they are so isolated, they have unique plants and animals. You can find marine iguanas, Galápagos tortoises, and Galápagos penguins here. The famous scientist Charles Darwin visited in 1835. His observations helped him develop his theory of evolution.
City of Quito	A church with two bell towers and a staircase leading to the entrance in dark stone	Pichincha	1978	2; ii, iv (cultural)	The Spanish founded Quito in 1534 on top of an old Inca city. Its old town is the best-preserved in Latin America. The buildings mix European and local styles. They were built to handle the high altitude of 2,818 meters in the Andes mountains. Many beautiful churches, like the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, were created here.
Sangay National Park	Snow-covered volcanic peak above green forests	Chimborazo, Morona-Santiago, Tungurahua	1983	260; vii, viii, ix, x (natural)	This park has many different environments. It goes from tropical rainforests to high mountain glaciers. You can also find cloud forests, grasslands, and wetlands. Two active volcanoes, Sangay and Tungurahua, are always changing the landscape. Many rare animals live here, like the mountain tapir, Andean condor, and jaguar.
Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca	A church building with three towers with domes	Azuay	1999	863; ii, iv, v (cultural)	The Spanish founded Cuenca in 1557. It became a place where Spanish and local cultures blended. The city still has its original grid plan, which was a popular idea for city design long ago. Many buildings are from the 18th and 19th centuries. Important buildings include the New Cathedral and the Carmelite Monastery.
Qhapaq Ñan, Andean Road System*	Paved path in the mountains	several sites	2014	1459; ii, iii, iv, vi (cultural)	The Qhapaq Ñan is a huge ancient road system. It stretches over 30,000 km across the Andes mountains. These roads connected high peaks with rainforests, coasts, and deserts. They were like the highways of the Inca Empire. They allowed people to move goods, send messages, and travel. This site includes 273 parts, with 23 of them in Ecuador. It is shared with Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Peru.

Places Ecuador Hopes to Protect: The Tentative List

Countries can suggest new sites for the World Heritage List. These suggestions first go onto a "tentative list." Ecuador has five places on its tentative list. These are places it hopes will become World Heritage Sites in the future.

World Heritage Sites

Site Name	Picture	Location (Province)	Year Listed	UNESCO Criteria	What Makes it Special
Machalilla National Park	Laguna surrounded by palms and other trees	Manabí	1998	(mixed)	This national park is on Ecuador's coast. Much of it is covered by dry tropical forests. It also has old archaeological sites from the Machalilla culture, which existed before Columbus arrived.
Puyango Petrified Forest	Pieces of petrified wood	El Oro, Loja	1998	viii, ix (natural)	This forest is home to fossils that are 70 million years old! You can see petrified wood (wood turned into stone) and ancient sea creatures called ammonites here.
Zaruma mining town	A look at the city from above along a descending path with a decorated fence	El Oro	2016	iv, v (cultural)	People have mined gold in Zaruma since before the Spanish arrived. The town grew a lot in the late 1800s with new mining tools. The wealth brought different cultures together, mixing European and local art styles. The houses are often made of wood with fancy details. The city's design follows the mountains, not a straight grid.
Cultural Itinerary of Ecuador's Trans-Andean Train	A tourist train passing through a city	Chimborazo, Guayas	2016	ii, iv, v (cultural)	This historic railway was built between 1873 and 1908. It connected the highlands and the coast, from Guayaquil to Quito. Building it was very hard because of the tough mountains. One part, called the Devil's Nose near Alausí, was incredibly steep. The railway helped the region grow. It was refurbished in 2007 and now runs as a tourist train.
Mayo Chinchipe - Marañón archaeological landscape	Archaeological site under a modern cover structure and an information board	Zamora	2016	iii, v (cultural)	The Mayo-Chinchipe culture lived here from 5500 BCE to 1700 BCE. They lived in the Amazon region of Ecuador's highlands. They traded with the Valdivia culture on the coast, exchanging things like seashells. They also brought manioc and cacao to the coast. They might have been the first people to grow cacao! The site of Santa Ana (La Florida) shows their old tools, pottery, and ceremonial fireplaces.

Images for kids

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  Panorama with volcanic island and surrounding seas

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  A church with two bell towers and a staircase leading to the entrance in dark stone

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  Snow-covered volcanic peak above green forests

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  A church building with three towers with domes

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  Paved path in the mountains

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  Laguna surrounded by palms and other trees

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  Pieces of petrified wood

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  A look at the city from above along a descending path with a decorated fence

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  A tourist train passing through a city

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  Archaeological site under a modern cover structure and an information board