ecuador officially the republic of ecuador literally republic of the equator is a representative democratic republic in south america bordered by colombia on the north by peru on the east and south and by the pacific ocean to the west it is one of only two countries in south america with chile that does not have a border with brazil the country also includes the gal pagos islands in the pacific about west of the mainland ecuador straddles the equator from which it takes its name and has an area of its capital city is quito its largest city is guayaquil history evidence of human cultures in ecuador exists from c b c embassy of ecuador in japan many civilizations rose throughout ecuador such as the valdivia culture and machalilla culture on the coast the quitus near present day quito and the ca ari near present day cuenca each civilization developed its own distinctive architecture pottery and religious interests after years of fiery resistance by the cayambes