My favorite trips in Ecuador include a back road of some type or other. If you are going to visit the Illinizas Ecological Reserve (sign off the highway as you are headed from Quito towards Cotopaxi National Park), you are guaranteed to drive some beautiful backroads. The area is full of farms, many of which also provide lodging for the night. Although the road continues into the high paramo, these farms could serve as a destination all their own.
