Malgraŭ la longa deklivo ni rigardis la pejzaĝon.

Malgraŭ is a preposition meaning despite or in spite of. It introduces a contrast:

• Malgraŭ la longa deklivo = Despite the long slope

So the sentence sets up the idea that the long slope might have made things difficult, but we still looked at the landscape.

Because malgraŭ is a preposition, and in Esperanto prepositions normally take the basic noun form, not the accusative.

So:

• la longa deklivo = correct after malgraŭ
• la longan deklivon = not correct here

Also, the adjective matches the noun:

• deklivo = singular noun
• longa = singular adjective

Neither needs -n here.

Because it is the direct object of rigardis.

In Esperanto, the direct object usually takes -n:

• ni rigardis la pejzaĝon = we looked at the landscape

Here:

• ni = subject
• rigardis = verb
• la pejzaĝon = direct object

So the -n marks what was being looked at.

In Esperanto, rigardi directly takes an object, so you do not need a word for at here.

Compare:

• English: look at the landscape
• Esperanto: rigardi la pejzaĝon

This is a very common thing for English speakers to notice: Esperanto often uses a direct object where English uses a verb + preposition.

Rigardis is the past tense of rigardi (to look at, to watch).

Esperanto verb endings are very regular:

• -as = present
• -is = past
• -os = future
• -us = conditional
• -u = command / volitive
• -i = infinitive

So:

• rigardi = to look at
• rigardas = looks / are looking
• rigardis = looked
• rigardos = will look

Yes, it could be different. Esperanto word order is fairly flexible because the grammar endings show the roles of words.

This sentence begins with the prepositional phrase:

• Malgraŭ la longa deklivo = despite the long slope

That phrase is placed first for emphasis or scene-setting.

A more neutral order could also be:

• Ni rigardis la pejzaĝon malgraŭ la longa deklivo.

Both are grammatical. The original simply highlights the contrast first.

La is the definite article, meaning the.

It is used when the speaker has a specific thing in mind:

• la longa deklivo = the long slope
• la pejzaĝon = the landscape

In many contexts, Esperanto uses la similarly to English. In this sentence, the speaker is probably talking about a particular slope and a particular view.

Deklivo means slope, incline, or descent/gradient, depending on context. It refers to the sloping surface itself, not necessarily a whole hill.

So:

• monteto = hill
• deklivo = slope

A deklivo could be part of a hill, a road, a path, or a mountainside.

In Esperanto, adjectives usually come before the noun they describe, just like here:

• longa deklivo = long slope

Also, adjective endings help:

• longa = adjective
• deklivo = noun

They agree in number and accusative marking when needed. Since deklivo is singular and not accusative here, the adjective is simply longa.

A helpful approximation is:

• pejzaĝon ≈ pey-ZAH-zhon

Key points:

• j sounds like English y
• ĝ sounds like the s in measure or the g in genre
• stress in Esperanto is always on the second-to-last syllable

So:

• pej-ZA-ĝon → stress on ZA

Yes. Malgraŭ can introduce different kinds of expressions, depending on what you want to say.

For example:

• Malgraŭ la pluvo, ni iris eksteren.
  Despite the rain, we went outside.
• Malgraŭ esti laca, li laboris.
  Despite being tired, he worked.

In your sentence, it is followed by a noun phrase:

• malgraŭ la longa deklivo

That is one of the most common patterns.

Yes, three very useful points:

1. Prepositions usually do not take accusative

   • malgraŭ la longa deklivo

2. Direct objects do take accusative

   • la pejzaĝon

3. Some Esperanto verbs use a direct object where English uses a preposition

   • English: look at the landscape
   • Esperanto: rigardi la pejzaĝon

Those three patterns show up constantly in Esperanto.