26 The Amazon Basin starts in eastern Ecuador on the slopes of the Andes, as rainwater rushes down the mountains and into the rivers and streams that make up the mighty Amazon. This vast ocean of green is home to the most diverse ecosystem on Earth: 10 of all species known to man live in the Amazon, more than any other region. The Ecuadorian Amazon is where youll ? nd comfortable jungle lodges in remote rainforests, where you can visit millenary indigenous communities, spot toucans and monkeys in the treetops and swim with piranhas in the warm rivers. Amazon Parrot and PaƱacocha Lagoon The Amazon Rainforest