From Andes to the Pacific Ocean

Quito Airport - Quito

Reception at the airport by an english-speaking guide (if you are from 1 to 3 persons, your guide will also be your driver).

Private transfer with spanish-speaking driver from Quito airport to your hotel.

You will spend the night at Vieja Cuba hotel in Quito.

Quito Historic Center - Quito - Quitsato - Cayambe - Ibarra

Quito, Ecuador's capital, is a real treasure between the volcanoes of Pichincha, Cayambe and Antisana. At an elevation of 2830 meters, it is the second highest capital in the world.. It was the first city classified by the UNESCO in 1978 and its historic centre is the biggest and best maintained in Latin America.

Departure at 8:30am: to get a good idea of the city, we will firstly go to the Panecillo, a small hill over the city with a statue of the Quito' Virginp, with a splendid 360º view.

You will then have a visit of Quito's colonial centre:

• the church of the Compañia de Jesus
• the church of San Francisco
• the Grand Place where are located the Presidential Palace (Carondelet) and Quito's Cathedral. At 11 am, you will attend the changing of the guard of the Palace.

You will get out of Quito direction to Otavalo, passing through one of the regions where they grow the famous ecuadorian roses and you will appreciate a beautiful landscape made of numerous summits of the northern Andes.

You will stop at the latitude 0º, where a circular platform of 54 meters of diameter materializes a huge sundial and the equator line. The phenomena observed in the place will be explained to you, as well as how the local peoples used to integrate them in their dayly activities. An opporetunity to reconnect with what is an agriculture agenda, and what it means, between the sky and nature.

You will stop for about 2 hours in a plantation of roses. Ecuador is one of the first countries that export roses in all the world, and actually the roses of Ecuador are considered to be the most beautiful of the world. They are produced at 2500 meter of altitude, that's what makes them to have such strong and intense colors. The minerals that come from the Cotopaxi and Cayambe volcanoes make the rosebuds to grow enormously.

You will spend the night at Hacienda Chorlavi in San Antonio.

English-speaking guide in a private transport (if you are from 1 to 3 persons, your guide will also be your driver).

Otavalo - Peguche - Cuicocha Lake - Ibarra

Visit in the morning of the famous Otavalo's Indigenous market, the most significant in the Ecuador's Andes, where you can meet the "Otavaleños" with their espadrilles, their brown felt hat and blue ponchos. They are the wealthiest indians in Ecuador and excellent sellers.

The main market is on Saturdays with the cattle market just outside town. On other days the market is also hold on the Los Ponchos square.

You will visit the village of Peguche, where you will discover the Andean music instrument fabrication workshops. You may attend to a local music session and the weaving process, an old art well established in the area.

Visit of the Cuicocha lake in the ecologic reserve of "Cotacahi - Cayapas" , one of the most beautiful in Ecuador with a shiny blue water.

At the centre of a former crater at 3064 meters, the nature lovers will enjoy a very various vegetation (orchids, "elephants ears"...) with more than 400 species identified there.

Half an hour boat tour on the lake. You will see two vegetation covered island at the centre of this former crater, which had been formed by successive volcanic eruptions. You will learn more about the legends around them.

You will spend the night at Hacienda Chorlavi in San Antonio.

English-speaking guide in a private transport (if you are from 1 to 3 persons, your guide will also be your driver).

Otavalo - Cotopaxi Park - Lasso

You will take the route towards Lasso, along the Avenue of Volcanoes.

Today visit of the Cotopaxi national park with Ecuador's second highest summit at 5897 meters. It is also the highest active volcano in the world although it mainly shows a few fumaroles from its ice covered crater. But sometimes it launches a huge column smoke and ashes right upon its center.

Afterward, you will walk around the Limpiapungo laggon with stunning view on the Cotopaxi. You will appreciate the flora and some fauna, typical of the "paramo", those wide plains swept by the cold winds of the Andes.

After driving up to the car park at 4600 meters you will continue by foot to the José Rivas hut 200 meters higher.

The most motivated can also go and reach the snowline.

Due to the eruptive process of the volcano Cotopaxi initiated on August 14th, 2015, this information can be reviewed at any time, in accordance with the safety requirements of the Ecuadorian Coordination Ministry of National Security and our agency.



Night at La Cienega hotel.

English-speaking guide in a private transport (if you are from 1 to 3 persons, your guide will also be your driver).

Lasso - Quilotoa - Riobamba

Journey to Quilotoa lake through Latacunga and Tigua. Journey on the Panamerican road which used to be called the Volcanoes Avenue by the explorer Alexander Van Humbolt who visited it in 1802. Turning to the West you will reach the small Andean village of Tigua, known for his traditional pintors.

The emerald colored Quilotoa lake (3854m) lays in a still active volcano, its color being due to the presence of sulfur. According to a legend, the Inca Atahualpa had hidden his treasure in the lake... You can go for a 2 hours walk down to the crater and back (option to rent a mule for the trip, for less than 10 u$d) or simply enjoy the view from the top of the crater.

On the way to Riobamba you will stop in the area of Tigua which specialty is the colored painting on sheep leather representing the life in the Andes. Arrival in Riobamba, a peaceful Andean town totally rebuilt after the 1797 earthquake.

You will spend the night at Santa Isabella hotel in Riobamba.

English-speaking guide in a private transport (if you are from 1 to 3 persons, your guide will also be your driver).

Riobamba - Balbanera & Colta - Alausi - Nariz del Diablo - Ingapirca - Cuenca

Trip to the village of Alausi, the departure town for the train to the Nariz del Diablo. On the way you will pass the Colta lake and visit the Balbanera church, the first one in Ecuador, built in 1534.

A journey in the Andes train from the Alausi station to Sibambe. The train is more modern than the former old micheline and the trip is very safe. You will pass by the "Nariz del Diablo" (Devil's nose) with successive Andean landscapes well worth the trip: highlands, forests, deep gorges, locals in their activities... You will be provided breefing about the railway history in Ecuador and the associated adventures.

Return to Alausi and to your vehicle.

Back on the road to travel to Ingapirca.

Ingapirca means "inca stone wall" in the canari language, and indeed a site where the rock is full of legends and history. Ingapirca was founded by the Inca Huayna Capac in the XVth century. The impressive fortress used to contain a temple, sheds and an observatory with amazing exemple of mortar free stone constructions. It was though to be a tambo (relay) along the Inca way from Quito to Cuenca. The locals also see a puma's shape in the ruins. After a visit of the site you will find the Inganahui after walking a bit away. This Inca face rock sculpted by the wind and the rain may had inspired the Incas to found Ingapirca there.

After returning to the main site, you will have the opportunity to visit the museum dedicated to this place discovered by the french scientist La Condamine.

You will travel to the beautiful city of Cuenca by vehicle, following a scenic road in the middle of the Andes with views over the colored fields and the mountains around.

You will spend the night at the Felicia hotel in Cuenca.

English-speaking guide in a private transport (if you are from 1 to 3 persons, your guide will also be your driver).

Cuenca

The city of Cuenca (2 550 m) is undoubtedly as charming as its former name of Guapondelic reveals: "the valley as great as the sky". This colorful and lively city with superb historic buildings was classified as a World Heritage by the UNESCO since 1999. The best way to feel the warm colors of Cuenca is to walk around its paved streets, along the white houses with roman tiled roofs and flourishing wrought iron balconies. Colonial art treasures can also be discovered in Cuenca in the churches and convents from the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries. The visit of the cathedral, the El Turi viewing platform, the flouring spaces, the churches and the covered market will gradually take you closer to the local life. Visit of a Panama hats workshop (except on Sundays) established in Cuenca for more than 60 years where you can observe the different stage of its fabrication, an Ecuador's specialty.

You will spend the night at the Felicia hotel in Cuenca.

English-speaking guide in a private transport (if you are from 1 to 3 persons, your guide will also be your driver).

Cuenca - Cajas Park - Guayaquil

You will follow up Western cordillera to Cajas park from Cuenca where you will enjoy stunning views over the many lakes of this protected area.

You will make a stop in the Cajas National Park, for a short walk around so as to appreciate the andean landscapes.

Journey to get to Guayaquil, Ecuador's biggest city and economical capital.

Down from the mountains you will pass by fertiles lowlands with huge orchards and banana plantations before arriving to Guayaquil.

In Guayaquil you will firstly visit the main streets, the neo gothic cathedral and the Simon Bolivar Park next to it, where you can find a hundred of green iguanas freely wandering around the park, some being a meter long. We will continue the visit to the Malecon 2000 and then reach the colonial area of Las Peñas, to admire there the architecture and the many art galleries. From the Santa Ana fort you will enjoy a scenic view over Guayaquil and the Guayas River.

You will spend the night at Grand Hotel in Guayaquil.

English-speaking guide in a private transport (if you are from 1 to 3 persons, your guide will also be your driver).

Guayaquil - Guayaquil Airport

Departure from your hotel to the airport by private transport with a spanish-speaking driver.

English-speaking guide in a private transport (if you are from 1 to 3 persons, your guide will also be your driver).