Amazon Adventures

Ecuador

Galapagos Islands / Jungle Lodges / Active Adventures
Traditional Tours & Hotels

Tucan Multisport

The Tucan is an extraordinary way to see Ecuador in a short period of time. It's packed with challenging and varied physical activity, wonderful meals, and the chance to meet the locals. We hike through virgin Amazon jungle, the mystical Bellavista cloud forest, and the fertile highlands surrounded by 'The Valley of Volcanoes'. We paddle the stunning Río Napo and climb up the waterfalls that feed this mighty river in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon basin. We cycle down Cotapaxi, the world's highest active volcano, and through the lush, green Pastaza river canyon flowing down to the jungle. You'll visit a local rainforest community and try out the wealth of optional adrenaline activities in Baños - a beautiful little town at the foot of the immense Tungurahua Volcano and an outdoor adventure playground.

Sunday - Hike Bellavista Cloud Forest
Our trip begins in Quito, where we'll meet before heading north for a couple of hours to the Bellavista cloud forest. We'll spend the day hiking trails on the steeply-forested slopes of this gorgeous area to look and listen for native birds. Bellavista is a hummingbird paradise and a stunningly beautiful retreat, whether you want to get your heart pumping on the hills or would rather stop and absorb the symphony of sounds in the misty forest. The view from our lodge is so beautiful that you won't want to close your eyes!
ACCOMMODATION: Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge, Bellavista (B,L,D)

Monday - Hike to Peguche Waterfall, visit Otavalo Markets
Today we head north-east to Otavalo, a lovely town surrounded by volcanoes and fertile green hills. After lunch, we'll hike to La Cascada de Peguche, a beautiful waterfall above town. If you'd prefer not to hike today you can spend the afternoon at the famous Otavalo famous street market instead. This is one of the most famous markets in South America, and the economic cornerstone of this proud community which has been exporting its fine textiles to the world for decades.
ACCOMMODATION: Hotel Coraza, Otavalo (B,L,D)

Tuesday - Hiking Cuicocha Lake and life on the ranch
This morning we'll hike around Cuicocha Lake, an extinct volcanic crater known as "The Lake of the Gods". This beautifully-colored lake lies at the foot of the immense Cotacachi volcano, with views that will take your breath away! In the afternoon we'll head for Cotopaxi, one of Ecuador's most spectacular mountains, in the heart of the Valley of the Volcanoes. Here we'll make ourselves at home at Hacienda La Alegria - a typical Ecuadorian ranch. Try your hand at milking the cows, wander around and check out the amazing scenery, or just relax inside this beautiful home and enjoy Patty's incredible cooking!
ACCOMMODATION: Hacienda La Alegria, Cotopaxi (B,L,D)

Wednesday - Cycle Cotopaxi Volcano
This morning we head into Cotopaxi National Park. The centerpiece of the park is the perfect cone-like, snow-capped shape of Cotopaxi (19,347 feet). Here we begin our cycling adventure on the world's highest active volcano! Ride downhill at your own pace through the lunar landscape and beautiful lakes that girdle Cotopaxi, ending your ride at 10,000 feet. The scenery is simply magical. If you're game, we'll hike up to the snowline of this majestic volcano for some of the best views in Ecuador. Later we'll drive to Baños, a beautiful mountain town in the Rio Pastaza Valley.
ACCOMMODATION: Hotel El Marquez Posada, Baños (B,L,D)

Thursday - Free day in Baños
Baños, nestled as it is between the Río Pastaza canyon and Tungurahua volcano, is a playground for adventure activities. There are lots of optional activities here including canyoning, biking, horse riding, and even Salsa dancing lessons! The magnificent, subtropical cloud forest environment of Baños makes for some incredible hikes too, and the town itself is charming. There are hot springs, great cafes, a beautiful town square and lines of little stores where the locals weave melocha (toffee) on the sidewalk.
ACCOMMODATION: Hotel El Marquez Posada (B)

Friday - Cycle the Rio Pastaza Valley, hike Pailon del Diablo Waterfall
Today we head east to the town of Tena. We'll leave Baños on our bikes, riding down the Rio Pastaza Valley. This is some of the most unforgettable cycling you'll ever do. The high cloud forest gives way to lush rainforest, sweeping all the way down the canyon walls into the river below as we descend into Ecuador’s Amazon jungle lowlands. Along the way, we'll stop for a cable car ride over the canyon and hike down to the Pailon del Diablo waterfall. Our day ends at the idyllic Shangri La Jungle Lodge, overlooking the Upper Napo River in the heart of the Amazon rainforest.
ACCOMMODATION: Shangri La Jungle Lodge, Upper Río Napo (B,L,D)

Phil says: “Ecuador isn't exactly crowded with travellers - which is great for us! I can't understand why it isn't renowned as an adventure destination - places like Shangri La lodge offer truly unique activities in an amazing setting, and are a must for any adventure lover!”

Saturday - Caving, river tubing and hike on the Upper Río Napo
This morning we'll launch straight into the action with a hike into pristine virgin jungle, where we’ll venture deep into an elaborate canyon system. These canyons become a series of caves and limestone cliffs. With bats as spectators, we'll hike through this canyon system back to Shangri La Lodge. After lunch, we'll head out on to the Upper Napo for some river tubing. This involves floating down the river on inflated rubber tubes - all you have to do is kick back and enjoy the ride. Using our arms and feet as paddles, we'll float eight miles downriver to the take-out point, which is just a short ride back to the lodge.
ACCOMMODATION: Shangri La Jungle Lodge (B,L,D)

Sunday - Jungle Hiking and reverse canyoning
This morning we'll be using 4x4 trucks to head deeper into the rainforest where we'll take a short hike along a jungle trail to our first waterfall climb. The climb up these waterfalls is a lot of fun, even for absolute beginners at the art of reverse canyoning - which is typically everyone! Once we climb above the waterfalls, we traverse a rainforest ridge to rustic Amarongachi Lodge, where we'll have lunch. Later we'll hike to a beautiful lagoon for a swim
ACCOMMODATION: Shangri La Jungle Lodge (B,L,D)

Monday - Hike to local Amazon community
Today we visit a community of indigenous people living in the rainforest. We take a dugout canoe across the Napo River, then hike two hours into the jungle to the village. This is a real highlight of the trip - you'll learn how these small indigenous communities maintain their traditional ways of life and get some sense of the important role the rainforest plays in their lives. After this unique visit, we'll head to the Amazon frontier town of Tena.
ACCOMMODATION: Hotel Travelers Lodging, Tena (B,L,D)

Tuesday - Raft the Rio Napo
We have another exciting day today, rafting the Río Napo. We leave Tena for a short drive into the jungle to the put-in, where you'll get a familiarization and safety briefing. Then we're off! We'll be descending Grade III and IV rapids, interspersed with calm stretches to catch our breath and take in the scenery. In between paddling the rapids, sit back and take in the magnificent rainforest environment - it's hard to beat.
ACCOMMODATION: Hotel Travelers Lodging (B,L,D)

Wednesday - Return to Quito, depart for home
Today is the last day of your 11-day trip around Ecuador. We'll get back to Quito by lunchtime and if you have time to spare, we're happy to help with some ideas for what you can do here. If you have a flight this evening, we'll make sure to get you back to the airport on time and you'll return home relaxed and refreshed from all the great activities, fine food and friendly people you've met while traveling with us in Ecuador. (B)

ACCOMMODATIONS : The Tucan is an active adventure trip that takes us to some wild and remote areas of Ecuador. We've chosen accommodations for their comfort, cleanliness and charm - not the number of channels available on the television! Although even the remote jungle lodges have private rooms with mosquito nets, a hammock outside and great views!

FITNESS : You must have a reasonable level of fitness to enjoy yourself. You don't have to be young and extremely fit (although if you are, you won't be bored) but you should be in the habit of doing at least some exercise. Age and experience is not important. We've designed our trips to be as challenging as you want them to be. It's all about having fun!

EXPERIENCE : You don't need to have any outdoor experience to do one of our trips. We offer trips that enable you to make the most of South America's awesome outdoor environment, culture and history. Our staff are highly trained and very experienced outdoor guides, and we'll look after you very well! You don't have to carry a pack, be experienced in rafting, or be used to hiking at altitude. You don't need to be a serious cyclist to enjoy our rides either. We have so many options that you don't have to ride at all, if you'd rather hike, shop or laze around! All you need is to be energetic and in reasonable shape - and we guarantee you'll have a wonderful time. On the other hand, if you like a challenge we will certainly give you one! There are some awesome long hikes and bike rides in the Baños area and in the Amazon jungle. We can offer activities to suit people who only do a little exercise and those who have a very high level of fitness. We manage the level of commitment to suit your experience, and we have an impeccable safety record.

FLEXIBILITY : Ecuador is in a developing part of the world, and we can't tell you that everything runs like clock work in South America. What we CAN tell you is that we are experienced adventure travel leaders, and we know how to keep things operating as smoothly as possible, even when conditions are challenging. That's why we are here! If you bring flexibility and a sense of humor you'll find your trip goes even smoother!

PRICE: The trip fare is US$2499

INCLUDED : . The trip fare includes just about everything, specifically:
All guiding services. We always have an experienced trip leader with every trip and will usually have a local guide on most of our excursions for extra local knowledge.
Comfortable accommodation for the entire trip. We can also organize pre and post trip accommodation for you if you let us know.
All your meals, except for lunch and dinner on your free day in Baños where we've found most people like to check out the local restaurants on their own. Alcohol is not included.
All hiking, biking, and jungle activities as described in the itinerary, excluding optional activities as noted. No activities are compulsory, and nor will your trip be less awesome if you stick to the free options.

DATES: Jun 22 08 - Jul 2 08, Jul 13-23 08, Jul 27- Aug 6 08, Aug 10-20 08, Sep 14-24 08, Oct 12-22 08, Nov 16-26 08, Dec 21-31 08, Jan 18-28 09, Mar 1-11 09, Apr 26 - May 6 09, May 24 - Jun 3 09, Jun 28 - Jul 8 09