Discovering the Ecuadorian Andes
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Day 1: ARRIVAL IN QUITO
Arrival to Quito and transfer to your Hotel by your guide and transportation. Check-in and overnight. Depending on the time of arrival, a Panoramic City tour can be done during the afternoon. At dark the architectural facades of Quito’s historical center are beautifully lit and their detailed art deco and neoclassical ornaments are emphasized. At the end you can marvel the illuminated metropolis in all its glory from the panoramic viewpoint of El Panecillo hill. Day 2: QUITO – OTAVALO & SURROUNDINGS – QUITO
We will have a full day in Otavalo. This town in the northern Andean Region is famous for its indigenous market, weaving, ancestral culture and its privileged natural surroundings. After your breakfast in the hotel, your guide will pick you up for a two hour drive to the town of Otavalo (2530mts.), in the northern Andean Region; this town is famous for its indigenous market, weaving, ancestral culture and its privileged natural surroundings. During this day there are multiple activities where can be choose from. The activities which are possible are:
Day 3: QUITO – COTOPAXI NATIONAL PARK – LASSO
You will continue your journey along the “Avenue of Volcanos” to get to the Cotopaxi area. The magic of the Cotopaxi National Park and its surroundings is truly unparalleled. Within the Cotopaxi National Park & Province, you can visit:
Day 4: LASSO - QUILOTOA – RIOBAMBA
Your next stop will be Quilotoa, which is a turquoise colored lagoon formed in a collapsed volcanic caldera. Its summit at 3,850 m above the sea level. Hidden among the scenery is one of the most beautiful natural monuments in Ecuador, the lagoon of Quilotoa. This particular area shows extraordinary features that can only be found here. |
2017 Price per person in double rooms: Tourist - US$1426 Tourist Superior - US$1540 First Class - US$1650 Luxury - $2435 Includes:
Does not include:
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Desert paramos, bizarre mountain shapes and desolate but colorful villages complete this amazing landscape. These small Andean towns full with ancestral traditions preserved until the present days are surrounded by Andean forest and paramo, as announcing the presence of the volcano with its beautiful lagoon. A crater of 3 kilometers in diameter camouflaged among the thick fog contains to this natural attractiveness. Its greens waters and sheer walls let us see the rest of the last cataclysmic eruption and remind us that we are inside the crater of the second most active volcano in the western Andes. Occasional sulfur gas bubbles from the inside of the lake appear filling the air with a bizarre odor. After this wonderful visit we will arrive to Riobamba.
Day 5: RIOBAMBA – DEVIL´S NOSE TRAIN – INGAPIRCA – CUENCA
Today, early in the morning you will enjoy an exhilarating ride on board the Trans-Andean Train: a ride through indigenous Chimborazo communities settled in the beautiful Andean highlands. You’ll pass by typical Andean landscapes, green hills with many patchwork cultivated fields and small communities scattered on the hillsides with colorful dressed Indians and snow-capped volcanoes. After 2 hours we’ll reach the village of Guamote and after another 2 hours we’ll get to Alausi. From here you start descending to the amazing “Devil’s Nose” with an incredible zigzag part to cross.
Today, early in the morning you will enjoy an exhilarating ride on board the Trans-Andean Train: a ride through indigenous Chimborazo communities settled in the beautiful Andean highlands. You’ll pass by typical Andean landscapes, green hills with many patchwork cultivated fields and small communities scattered on the hillsides with colorful dressed Indians and snow-capped volcanoes. After 2 hours we’ll reach the village of Guamote and after another 2 hours we’ll get to Alausi. From here you start descending to the amazing “Devil’s Nose” with an incredible zigzag part to cross.
Afterwards continue to Ingapirca. The local inhabitants of this area are the famous Cañari indigenous, well known for their strong character, colorful clothing and typical hats. Just outside Ingapirca we find the ruin complex of the same name. The guide will lead you around the ruins that date back to pre Inca time. One of the most impressive remains is the Temple of the Sun, built in the famous Cuzquenan style but in a unique form, nowhere else found within the former Inca Empire. After a walk around the ruins you’ll visit the nearby museum, showing local clothing, pottery and other utensils that were found on site. You’ll continue with a short hike to a nearby gorge, where you will admire the “Cara del Inca” (Inca’s face), a natural rock formation with the shape of a Indigenous male face.
After this exhilarating visit, you will be taken to the Colonial City of Cuenca. Overnight.
After this exhilarating visit, you will be taken to the Colonial City of Cuenca. Overnight.
Day 6: HALF DAY CUENCA CITY TOUR
In the morning we’ll pick you up from your hotel to start our city tour through Colonial Cuenca. We’ll walk along the cobble stoned streets and colorful squares with little local markets within the historical center, enjoying the beautiful architecture of this charming city, declared a Cultural Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1999. We’ll visit the impressive New Cathedral on the central square and a local museum, which houses religious art. We continue towards the Tomebamba riverbank with its elegant overhanging buildings. A nearby archeological site of Cañari and Inca ruins will be visited before we drive up to Turi, a great outlook that offers us an amazing view of the whole city. Afterwards we’ll visit one of Cuenca’s Panama hat factories, where we’ll see how these famous straw hats are made before exportation. Return to hotel.
In the morning we’ll pick you up from your hotel to start our city tour through Colonial Cuenca. We’ll walk along the cobble stoned streets and colorful squares with little local markets within the historical center, enjoying the beautiful architecture of this charming city, declared a Cultural Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1999. We’ll visit the impressive New Cathedral on the central square and a local museum, which houses religious art. We continue towards the Tomebamba riverbank with its elegant overhanging buildings. A nearby archeological site of Cañari and Inca ruins will be visited before we drive up to Turi, a great outlook that offers us an amazing view of the whole city. Afterwards we’ll visit one of Cuenca’s Panama hat factories, where we’ll see how these famous straw hats are made before exportation. Return to hotel.
Day 7: CUENCA – EL CAJAS NATIONAL PARK - GUAYAQUIL
A day tour through one of Ecuador’s most impressive paramo areas covered by mysterious lakes and enchanted forests! We pick you up in the morning from your hotel in Cuenca and start with a one-hour drive up to the Cajas NP.
Soon we’ll notice the change of vegetation, leaving the valley of Cuenca and crossing Andean cloud forests which lead us to the high and abandoned paramo with many grasses, crystalline streams and rocky peaks. We’ll start on one of the highest points in the park, above 4000 m., from where we’ll descend through the diverse vegetation with many colorful flowers such as gentians and chuquiraguas. Now and then we’ll be following a muddy trail. Further on we’ll get to a small Polylepis forest extension. The Polylepis tree, with its funny paper-like barks of a red-brownish color, is one of the oldest and highest growing tree species in the world. Once in the forest we’ll have the feeling to be in the middle of fairy tale like surroundings. We’ll continue towards lower elevations where our driver will be waiting to bring us to a nearby restaurant to have lunch (Not Included). Try the local specialty, trout, very delicious! Afterwards we’ll head to Guayaquil where we’ll be dropped off at our hotel.
A day tour through one of Ecuador’s most impressive paramo areas covered by mysterious lakes and enchanted forests! We pick you up in the morning from your hotel in Cuenca and start with a one-hour drive up to the Cajas NP.
Soon we’ll notice the change of vegetation, leaving the valley of Cuenca and crossing Andean cloud forests which lead us to the high and abandoned paramo with many grasses, crystalline streams and rocky peaks. We’ll start on one of the highest points in the park, above 4000 m., from where we’ll descend through the diverse vegetation with many colorful flowers such as gentians and chuquiraguas. Now and then we’ll be following a muddy trail. Further on we’ll get to a small Polylepis forest extension. The Polylepis tree, with its funny paper-like barks of a red-brownish color, is one of the oldest and highest growing tree species in the world. Once in the forest we’ll have the feeling to be in the middle of fairy tale like surroundings. We’ll continue towards lower elevations where our driver will be waiting to bring us to a nearby restaurant to have lunch (Not Included). Try the local specialty, trout, very delicious! Afterwards we’ll head to Guayaquil where we’ll be dropped off at our hotel.
Day 8: GUAYAQUIL
In the morning, after the breakfast your private transfer will take you to Guayaquil airport to take your international flight or your extension to the Galapagos Islands.
In the morning, after the breakfast your private transfer will take you to Guayaquil airport to take your international flight or your extension to the Galapagos Islands.
Sample Hotels (can substitute similar ones)
hotel level |
Quito |
Lasso |
Riobamba |
Cuenca |
Guayaquil |
tourist |
Solera House |
Chuquiragua Lodge |
Rincon Aleman |
Victoria |
Macaw |
tourist superior |
Cafe Cultura |
Chuquiragua Lodge |
Casa Real |
Los Balcones |
Man Ging |
First |
Casona de La Ronda |
Hacienda Hato Verde |
Hacienda Andaluza |
Santa Lucia |
Oro Verde |
luxury |
Casa Gangotena |
Hacienda San Agustin |
Hacienda Andaluza |
Mansion Alcazar |
Hilton Colon |
