Ecuador with your children

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 - Mitad del Mundo - Quito

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 visit the site of the "Mitad del Mundo" where you can put one foot in the Southern hemisphere and the other in the Northern hemisphere! The different buildings corresponds to different aspects of Ecuador, with the French pavilion being dedicated to the Condamine expedition which determinated the site of this imaginary line in 1736.

The visit of the museum is not included because we do not consider it of much interest.

The Inti Nan etnographic museum, near the site of the Mitad del mundo, shows the country's different ethnies with their traditions and clothing. You will have the chance to realise various experiences such as water flowing and eggs balancing, which results are different on the equatorial line than in other places.

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

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

Quito - Otavalo - Cuicocha Lake - San Clemente

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.

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.

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 get to San Clemente autochthonous community, down the Imbabura volcano, where you will spend the night. A family will welcome you and invite you to share not only their house and food, but their customs and way of living. Many surprises await you, as the live-stock farming of guinea pigs or lamas, and the medicinal plants path maintained by their own users.

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

San Clemente - Peguche - Condor Park

You will spend the morning with your hosting family and discover their lifestyle, their culture and traditions. During a hike in the community with your hosts you will learn about San Clemente, its population, its craftmen, field workers, the medicinal plants they largely use, the guinea pigs husbandry, and many other things.

You will visit the village of Peguche, with its sacred fall and its Andean music instrument fabrication workshops. You may see a local music session and the weaving process, an art well established in the area.

Visit of the Condors Park in the upper Otavalo and watch a rapace's flight show. You can get close to the condors, the Andes's emblematic bird.

Flight exhibition: 11.30am and 3.30pm ( the schedule may change regarding the weather)

You will get to San Clemente autochthonous community, down the Imbabura volcano, where you will spend the night. A family will welcome you and invite you to share not only their house and food, but their customs and way of living. Many surprises await you, as the live-stock farming of guinea pigs or lamas, and the medicinal plants path maintained by their own users.

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

Otavalo - Archidona

Departure from Otavalo to go to Oriente. You can enjoy on the way various types of landscapes from a saddle at 4000 meters to the Amazonian basin at an elevation of approximately 900 meters. You will have many opportunities to take photos on the road, over the green valleys and the waterfalls. Arrival to Misahualli, stop for the night. This peaceful village on the Rio Napo is the entrance door to the Amazonian forest. You can watch a monkey colony gathering on the village square in the night, but beware your belongings as they are attracted by all shiny things.

Option 1: HORSEBACK RIDING WITH GUIDE(S)) This unforgettable excursion is suited for both beginners and advanced riders. You go on a very varied trip, that takes about two hours and a half, under professional guidance and with well-cared-for saddle horses. The ride goes through rivers and brooklets, over hilly spots, with beautiful flora. You will enjoy wonderful views along the way. The whole trip takes place on the Hacienda Hakuna Matata property. Option 2: NATURE WALK WITH GUIDE This guided walk of about three hours and a half is quite an experience. A professional guide explains the medicinal properties of plants and trees and talks about insects and age-old customs in an entertaining way. Walking through (private) forest and fields, you become familiar step by step with the specific wisdom that has distinguished natives from non-natives for ages.

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

Archidona

You leave Hakuna Matata early in the morning for a two-hour drive. In a small native community on the shores of the Arajuno River, you go aboard of a motorized tree-trunk canoe. In contrast with the classical tours usually organized in this area, we chose a valuable alternative! This jungle trip offers a wide range of activities. The activities depend on the weather conditions, the number of participants and the specific interests of the group. Your guide will determine the route. A professional English-Spanish guide presents a wide range of flora (primary and secondary rainforest) and fauna (birds, amphibians and insects) during walks, canoe trips and observations. He gives explanation about medicinal plants, herbs and trees and their use by the native population. A lunch is served along the way.You are back at the hacienda at 6 PM. Dinner in Pangaea Restaurant.

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

Archidona - Misahualli - Puyo - Banos

Full breakfast in Pangaea Restaurant. After breakfast: transportation (included) to Archidona.

You will set off for Baños via the city of Puyo. You will take advantage of the incredible change of landscape between the Amazonia and the Andes.

But before hitting the road, children receive as a gift canopy tickets. The guide explains that it was Simon Darwin's favorite activity. The latter wishes that they can live this experience which he greatly appreciates.

In Puyo, you will visit the botanical garden. Of each six species of orchids in the world, one is in ecuador. It is not hard to see that in just one place, you can see so many orchids. It has lasted 30 years to renovate the hectares of tropical forest. This site belongs to Omar Tello, and allows us to have a guided visit of this beautiful place.

On the route you will stop near Puyo, where you will visit a center of rehabilitation for monkeys of the Amazone, "Paseo de los Monos", where you will be in contact with the animals. Six species of monkeys are present, the objective of the center is to help some of them who are sick or isolated with the purpose of liberate them in the future.

You will spend the night at La Floresta hotel, in Banos.

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

Banos - Pailon del Diablo

Journey to the "Waterfalls Road" along the Rio Pastaza gorges.

You will stop in Pailon del Diablo, the country's most famous waterfalls which you will be able to see from closer from a sightseeing platform. Further on the road, following the inca style, you can use a suspended basket called locally tarabita to cross the Pastaza and reach a waterfall called "Manto de la Novia".

You will spend the night at La Floresta hotel, in Banos.

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

Banos - Chimborazo Park - Riobamba

Direction the est side, amazing road who wil bring you to the Chimborazo' parc.

Visit of the Chimborazo natural reserve.

In this "paramo" landscape typical of this Andean area, you are likely to see some vicugnas out of the 2300 specimens reintroduced in 1990. After driving up to the Carrel hut at 4800m you may get closer (optionnal, you can stay at the hut level if you consider not being in the proper cphysical conditions to climb) to the Ecuador's highest summit (6310m) by walking to the second Whymper hut at 5100m, not far from the snowline. Because of the extra earth's diameter on the Equator line, the Chimborazo summit is the most distant to the earth's centre.

Journey to the South and to Riobamba a peaceful Andean town totally rebuilt after the 1797 earthquake.

You will spend the night at Bella Casona 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 Victoria 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.

Visit of the Aboriginal Cultures Museum. This private museum shows the best archeological collection of the city. You will find there jewels and personal ornaments of a great value made with shells and precious metals.

You will spend the night at Victoria 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 - Guayaquil

Journey to the West and the Pacific Ocean to get to Guayaquil, Ecuador's biggest city and economical capital. You will follow up the Western cordillera and cross the Cajas park where you will enjoy stunning views over the many lakes of this protected area.

Back down from the mountains you will then pass by fertile 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 hotel Palace in Guayaquil.

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

Mangrove de Churute - Guayaquil

Course toward the mangrove of Churute.

The ecological reserve of Churute aims at protecting the mangrove swamp, which role is essential to protect the coast from the attacks of the ocean and a large number of fishes and shrimps spend part of their vital cycle there. Finally, this strange universe shelters a crowd of endemic animal species and birds.

The visit will begin with a boat trip in the mangrove to observe the fauna.Then, you will make a small walking of approximately one hour on the path of howler monkeys where you may observe them.

This visit will last approximately three hours.

You will spend the night at hotel Palace 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).