The canopy tour -- an activity that involves gliding along steel cables between platforms perched high in trees -- was invented in Costa Rica, but has spread to other countries, Ecuador among them. It is estimated that some two-thirds of the tropical rainforest's species live in the canopy (the uppermost, branching layer of the forest), and biologists who pioneered study of that biodiversity developed some of the techniques now used in canopy tours. Nevertheless, the tours are more about adrenaline rushes than about observing or learning about wildlife.
Ecole Travel Ecuador (tel. 02/2231-595; www.ecoletravel-ecuador.com) offers a canopy tour through the treetops of a private reserve 2 hours from Quito. The tour includes an exhilarating flight down a 400m (1,310-ft.) cable strung over a canyon, and a visit to an 85m (280-ft.) waterfall. The price of the tour is $55 (£30) per person, including transportation, breakfast, and lunch, with a two-person minimum.
