The Ecuador Ministry of Tourism has two websites these days:

www.purecuador.com is the newest, which is very attractive but low on details.

www.vivecuador.com is the other, which is more comprehensive in detail, but not as inspirational, and sometimes the English is painfully bad.

The Ministry, as yet, does not fund any overseas offices, so you can't go to an office in a foreign city. Your next best bet is the Ecuadorian embassy or consulate which might have some material to help you.

In Quito, the Ministry is located at the corner of Eloy Alfaro and Carlos Tobar, across from the Parque Carolina. Although you can call them, you probably won't get much sense out of anyone, particularly if your Spanish isn't good. It's best to jump on a bus or in a taxi and go to see them. They have lots of information and there are staff there that speak good English.

For information about Quito and its surroundings, the Quito Visitors' Bureau has an office in the Mariscal district, in Plaza Gabriela Mistral, and in the Old Town, at Garcia Moreno and Mejia (with a nice souvenir store, too). Their website is www.quito.com.ec

An excellent source of unbiased travel information is the South American Explorers ( www.saexplorers.org). They have a welcoming clubhouse in Quito which has tons of information about travelling in Ecuador and the continent, as well as providing postal service and left-luggage. It's a great place to meet other travellers, and they have wireless internet these days, too. It's in the Mariscal district, at Jorge Washington and Plaza.