cuador is a magical place where indigenous cultures mix with colonial European influences, where more that 450 bird species sing overhead and ten kinds of monkeys hang from giant ceiba treetops in the Amazon, where curious blue footed boobies dance around next to 5 foot long land iguanas on the Galapagos Islands. Ecuador will capture your heart and when the day comes to leave, you’ll second guess your decision to get on the plane. Academic Treks College has teamed up with the well known Tiputini Amazon research station and the San Cristobal Galapagos research station of St. Frances University in Quito to offer a unique program focusing on the incredible biodiversity and ecology in Ecuador. You will get to research and study among full time researchers at each location, developing an independent project of your choosing. While living in the eco-lodges at Tiputini, you will learn about Amazon conservation efforts and sustainability and in the Galapagos you get to live with a local Island family, making your study of their precarious environment more meaningful. The Ecuadorian approach to conservation, tourism, and resource management is distinctive and you will have the opportunity to explore their perspective while traveling through three regions of the country, the Andes, the Amazon, and the Coast.