Ecuador lies to the north west of South America and is one of only two nations on the continent that has no border with continental powerhouse Brazil. The Spanish conquered the country in the early 16th century and it would take until 1822 before Ecuador gained Independence from Spain.

Even the hemispheres get together and have fun in Ecuador. Just half an hour north of Quito, you can put one foot in the northern hemisphere while the other is in the south.

The city of Quito – San Fransisco del Quito to give it its proper title – was formerly the capital of the Inca Empire. It’s now the capital of Ecuador and it lies on a plateau to the east of the Pichincha volcano and it’s one of the highest capitals in the world, with a population of around one and a half million people. Laid out on a north-south axis, the city measures around 25 miles long by only 3 miles wide and it’s here where four of the eight Ecuadorian golf courses are located.

At the moment, we feature one course – Quito Tenis y Golf Club – which is the only private golf facility in the country. The 18-hole course at Los Cerros Club de Golf and the 9-hole layout at Club Los Chillos are situated to the south of the capital in Los Chillos Valley, whilst the golf facility at Arrayanes Country Club in the Puembo Valley is located a short 45-minute drive away.

Further afield, Guayaquil Country Club and La Costa Country Club lie close to Guayaquil, the largest and most populous city in Ecuador, with the 9-hole course at Cuenca Tenis y Golf Club laid out a further 200 kilometres to the southeast of the city. Montecristi Golf Club & Villas sits the same distance from downtown Guayaquil in the opposite direction, within the coastal province of Manabi.

Two new courses are currently being constructed to the north of Montecristi: a Kris Savignac design named Ceibo Valley at Las Olas, which enjoys expansive ocean views on the back nine, and a 7,600-yard Steve Smyers layout called Costa-Jama, where the fairways are routed through heavily forested terrain and the final three holes are set on the edge of a spectacular cliff, overlooking the Pacific.