Sports and strong sensations at the zero latitude in Ecuador

Quito Airport - Quito Historic Center

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 San Francisco hotel in Quito.

Quito Historic Center - Quito - Mitad del Mundo - Otavalo

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.

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 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.

You will spend the night at Acoma hotel in Otavalo.

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

Otavalo - Cuicocha Lake

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.

CUICOCHA TREK:

You'll go in the ecological reserve "Cotacachi - Cayapas" to perform a walk (5h) around the lagoon Cuicocha appointment of nature lovers with a variety of flora (orchids, elephant ears ...). You'll start at 2936 m and pass through the viewpoint, the highest point at 3486 meters where you can enjoy a spectacular view of the crystal clear waters before returning to the lake level. On a clear day you can see the snow-capped Cotopaxi and Cayambe volcanoes and craters of volcanoes Cotacachi and Imbabura.

Estimated duration : 4 to 5 hours - Slopes : -550m/+550m - Max altitude : 3486 m

You will spend the night at Acoma hotel in Otavalo.

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

Mojanda - Otavalo - San Clemente

MOJANDA & FUYA FUYA TREK:

You will go to the lake of Mojanda, which is located at 3700 meters of high. From here you will enjoy beautiful views of the valleys around and the landscapes of the Cerro Negro and Fuya Fuya.

Estimated duration : 3 to 4 hours - Slopes: +600m/-600m - Max altitude : 4265 m



You will take the route towards Ibarra.

You will get to San Clemente autochtonous communiy, 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

ASCENSION IMBABURA

Go and climb the Imbabura in the morning and enjoy amazing views over all the Northern part of the Sierra. The feeling is very aerial. The trek starts around 3200 meters in the middle of the paramo and finishes around 4600 meters in a rocky landscape, to walk around the crater and reach the highest point. This 8 hours long ascent requires a good fitness. We can adapt the trek depending of the group's fitness and motivation. So, what are you waiting for!

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 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 - Aloag

You will take the volcanoes Avenue to get to he hacienda La Alegria in Aloag.

You will spend the night at La Alegria hacienda in Aloag. In the morning you will able to choose between passing around in the farm o ride a horse for a 3 to 4 hours visit. You will taste the organic products cultivated in the place during the dinner and lunch included in the visit.

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

Aloag - Bombolí

In the morning we ride west towards the Corazon to 4,000 meters and descend to the cloud forest. At the cloud forest, we can observe a great biodiversity of plants and flowers, including giant guneras, orchids, and birds such as the turkey of the forest (guan). In the afternoon, we arrive for tea at Hacienda Bomboli (3,000 m), relax by the fireplace, enjoying the sunset, and watch the lights of the villages near the coast following a great meal.

Accommodation: Hacienda Bomboli

Riding hours : 6 hours

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

Bombolí - Aloag - Quito

We leave behind the cloud forest and ride the old road that until1960 connected Quito with the coast. From there we can appreciate the green and fertile Machachi Valley and we can also see the routes we will take the next day along the east mountain chain. Crossing extensive pastures and eucalyptus forests we arrive to the valley for a snack

Horseriding : 4 hours

You will return to Quito.

Free time in the ecuadorian capital. You have multiple choices of activities according to what you have already visited and the free time you dispose of:

- handcrafts market in La Mariscal for your last gifts, or on Amazonas street;

- museums, according openning time: Alabado arqueological museum in Historic Center, Modern Artist Guayasamin museum in Bellavista area, Mindalae handcrafts museum in La Mariscal, Weilbauer arqueological museum in the Catholic University;

- Botanic garden in La Carolina Park with its magnificent collection or orchids;

- arqueological sites inside the city as Rumipamba or La Florida;

- a last walk in the Historic Center (ex.: La Ronda street);

- free time for thinking at a terrace of a bar in La Mariscal quarter.

You will spend the night at Fuente de Piedra I 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 - Antisana

Antisana (5705 m) is the fourth highest and one of the most beautiful snow capped volcanoes in Ecuador. It has vast expanses of paramo, or highlands, filled with endemic plants and endangered animals, such as the condor, the national emblem of Ecuador.

The tour starts early with a 7am departure from Quito; then we head east for 45 minutes by jeep, until we reach the town of Pintag. Once in the protected area, we continue for approximately one hour through the plains of the magnificent volcano, finishing at an altitude of 4.000 meters, in the direction of La Mica Lake, to enjoy beautiful surroundings and sights.

In La Mica we start biking back to Pintag for about 30 kilometers. The first 7 kilometers is mostly flat and the last 2 kilometers before reaching the highest point of the pass will be uphill. When we reach the pass there will be an awesome downhill through different landscapes until we reach the park entrance, where the bike tour ends.

We’ll serve a hearty box lunch en route.

There will be some uphill but it will be mainly downhill or plain stretches and always accompanied by a 4-wheel-drive jeep.

The bike ride is approximately 30 km.

We then drive by jeep southwest into the stunning western Cordillera arriving at Quilotoa to spend the night. The night's retreat is a simple but clean inn located at the rim of the crater.

Quilotoa - Urbina

QUILOTOA - URBINA

The next day, we start with an early hike down to the deep, jade-colored Quilotoa Crater Lake. The hike downhill to the laguna takes about 30 minutes, and about twice as long to climb back up.

But, you can hire a mule or donkey for about US $8 to carry you back to the top, where breakfast will be awaiting you to charge your batteries for the day's adventure!

After breakfast we descend on mountain bikes to Zumbahua. Many years ago, an earthquake destroyed this area. The land has transformed into a rugged formation resembling the terrain from another planet.

Lunch is a picnic at a location where we have the opportunity to intermingle with the Quechua Indians or test your artistic skills with the locals painting landscapes of the area.

After lunch, we enjoy a 30-minute drive until we reach 4,200 m (13.400 ft). We switch then to human power and the downhill bike ride begins down a long and winding road all the way back to Latacunga, located at 2400 m. (7,600 ft.). We then continue by jeep to URBINA.

Urbina - Chimborazo Park - Riobamba

URBINA CHIMBORAZO

We drive for just over an hour to Mount Chimborazo (6310m), the highest and most impressive of Ecuador's volcanoes. We park at the lower refuge (4800 m) and continue on foot to the Edgar Whymper Refuge.

Located at 5000 meters this is the highest refuge in the world! From here, it's all downhill-first on foot and then by bike we descend all the way to Ambato (2800m).

This is an amazing bike ride through the highlands, with vicuñas being the sole inhabitants of these wild stretches.

On this tour, cyclists enjoy a breathtaking 70 km ride through varying landscapes in just one day. This trip is by far a customer favorite. Seldom does one have the chance to ride from the snow line of a volcano, through rural Andean patchwork fields, picnic with vicuñas and at the end of the ride arrive in a modern city.

In Ambato, we load up the bikes and return to Quito by jeep.

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 - Banos

The road to Baños follows a fertile and green valley where you can observe recent lavas from the Tungurahua seen beautiful viewing points.

You will enjoy a experience with an accessible canopy tour. The circuit is made of a 6 line circuits and 2000 meters of wire where you will be able to enjoy the biodiversity of the zone. San Antonio de Puntzan is surrounded by a several rivers and waterfalls which make it a priviledged area.

Free time in Banos to wander around this nice small town. The Basilica of "Nuestra Señora de Agua Santa" is worth the visit, as well as a swim in the town's baths. Different sport activities are also available: mountain biking, rafting, canyoneering...

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

The wild rivers of Ecuador attract people worldwide. A good breakfast and then you are ready to go for a half day of adrenaline. After an explanation to understand safety rules and how to maneuver the boat you will go straight into the water for about two to three hours of adventure.

Please note it's a sportive tour in the river which requires good physical conditions, ability to swin and will to follow safety rules.

Hours: 9:00am to 3:00pm.



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 - Quito Airport

Free time in Baños according to your flight schedule. You will then head to Quito Airport.

Transport with your guide to Quito's airport.

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