Complete Ecuador

Arrive in Quito
On arrival at the airport you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel.

Ecuador's capital city, located high in the Andes Mountains, offers a warm, relaxed and traditional Ecuadorian culture with overflowing markets, a vibrant nightlife and sophisticated culinary options on offer. It's an interesting city to visit and the perfect place to stay before you explore some of Ecuador's many amazing destinations.

City Tour
After breakfast, your guide and transportation will pick you up and take you on a comprehensive walking tour of the Colonial District of Quito. On this tour you will visit some of the most famous squares, churches and colonial buildings of the city including the Independence Plaza where you can admire the Cathedral, the Presidential Palace and the Archbishop's Palace. Furthermore, you'll visit the San Francisco Church and the Basilica of Quito, the oldest Church in South America made almost completely out of volcanic stone. Then head to the 'Panecillo Mirador', the most famous hill of Quito, where you can take pictures of both colonial and modern Quito.

While walking through the city your guide will help you appreciate the eventful past of Ecuador including the Inca Empire, the Spanish invasion, and its push towards independence.

Return to your hotel with the afternoon and evening at your leisure.

Breakfast included.

Quito – Otavalo: Markets, Volcanoes, Lakes, Artisans
This morning you will leave Quito with your tour guide, heading to Otavalo, the town famous for its weekly artesian market. En route on the Panamerican Highway we will stop at Calderon, a town where the famous masapan dolls are made, then we'll continue on through Guayllabamba town where you can sample its typical fruit, the cherimoyer. We will also stop on the highway to admire the beautiful landscape and snow-capped mountains in the area.

We'll make a short stop at San Pablo Lake before arriving in Otavalo. Here we will visit the textile market located at the “Plaza of Ponchos”, one of the most famous markets in South America. You will find all kinds of handcrafts including tapestries made on the Spanish weaving loom as well as the indigenous back strap loom. Afterwards you will enjoy some free time for bargaining and buying with the friendly Otavaleños.

Breakfast and Lunch included.

Otavalo to Papallacta, Andes Mountains
We leave Otavalo in the morning and start with a drive up the Eastern Cordillera, passing over a over a 4,065 metre mountain pass. It can be foggy up here, but when the weather is clear you will be amazed by the magnificent views of the Antisana volcano and the surrounding paramo wetlands. Within two hours we will reach Termas de Papallacta, Ecuador's most beautiful thermal hot springs resort and spa, located in between spectacular mountain forests of the Eastern Andes slopes.

Here we will enjoy a very nice morning hike through the surrounding mountain forests and grassy paramo near our resort. This ecological reserve is managed by a local foundation and harbours many peculiar species of flora and fauna (more than 160 bird species, mountain tapirs, spectacled bears and many other species).

In the afternoon you have free time to dip into the amazing hot springs or enjoy some of the optional health and beauty treatments in Termas de Papallacta before enjoying a very tasty meal in the most peaceful of settings.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner included.

Amazon Lodge Stay
Stay 3 days in the remote Amazon lodge, La Casa Del Suizo.
Day 1: Arrival to Amazon Lodge
In the morning we will depart from Papallacta to continue through the lush, green cloud forests. We’ll make a stop at an exceptional cloud forest lodge where we can observe many species of hummingbirds. Moreover, we will have the opportunity to see the famous sword-billed hummingbird, which has a longer beak than its body. If time permits we can also make a short hike before we continue towards the Amazon basin.

At midday we will arrive at , a lovely retreat located on the shores of the Napo River that offers very spacious and comfortable bungalows built in native design.

Lunch and Dinner included.

Day 2: Lodge Activities
After breakfast the group will board a dugout canoe, and navigate 20 minutes down the waters of the scenic Napo River.

The destination is Cosano where during an approximately two hour walk through primary rainforest visitors will have the opportunity to see actual hunting traps which were traditionally used by the local natives in the past. The guides will demonstrate how they work and explain which type of animals was caught in each one. And of course, at all times we will be on the lookout for tropical birds, and point out important aspects of the surrounding vegetation.

Just across the river from La Casa del Suizo is Amazoonico, a rescue centre for wounded and displaced tropical rainforest animals. Here it is possible to see coatis, tapirs, and several species of monkey, snakes, and a variety of birds, many of which wander around freely or if you decided to do other excursion Lunch “The Island”: A one-hour walk along a totally flat river island, where one may observe a great variety of plants and insects.

Later will go to Mariposario (butterfly house) will have the opportunity to see variety butterfly and their metamorphosis.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner included.

Day 3: Amazon Lodge to Banos
This morning we will leave for Baños, stopping in Puyo for a quick tour of a small Balsa wood factory. After Puyo, we will enjoy spectacular views of the surrounding cloud forests, dramatic waterfalls, cliff side farms and untouched scenery of Sangay and Llanganates National Parks. This phenomenal stretch through the Pastaza Corridor has been declared by the WWF as “A Gift to the Earth”. We’ll transition from rainforest to the Andean Mountains in less than fifty kilometres.

At around midday we will reach Baños and arrive at Luna Runtun, the adventure spa located on a hill above Baños within the Sangay National Park. Enjoy the magnificent views of Baños Valley, the active Tungurahua Volcano and the inaccessible surrounding mountains that hide the lost gold of Inca Emperor Atahualpa.

After lunch at Luna Runtun we will have a free afternoon for an optional excursion such as hiking, mountain biking, horse riding. You’ll also have the option to take a massage or other health treatment in your hotel spa, or just relax in its thermal pools whilst admiring the views of the valley.

Breakfast and Lunch included.

Banos – Chimborazo - Riobamba
Today you will enjoy another day full of diversity as we depart Baños and drive along the ‘Avenue of the Volcanoes' on our way towards Riobamba. With clear weather we will be able to see many of Ecuador's fifty-five volcanoes, and before lunch we'll stop at the town of Salasaca, which is home to one of the most distinctively indigenous communities of Ecuador. In addition to their characteristic clothing, the community is known for its tapestry weaving that is sold in the more popular markets of Quito and in Otavalo.

We continue onto the Chimborazo nature reserve where we enjoy lunch at a mountain lodge prior to a tour of the reserve. The reserve's main attraction is Ecuador's highest mountain, Chimborazo (6,268 metres), which is due to Ecuador's equatorial bulge and the fact that it is the Earth's closest point to the sun. This giant volcano is topped with a 20km diameter crater surrounded by thick ice. The park has a lunar-like landscape where it is easy to spot vicunas, alpacas, deer and many other types of fauna.

After admiring the park, we will continue to Riobamba where the evening is at your leisure.

Breakfast and Lunch included.

Riobamba - Quinoa Experience - Incan Ruins - Cuenca
This morning, you will embark on a scenic land journey through the generous valleys of the austral Ecuadorian Andes.

On the route, you will stop for a visit to a small indigenous community where you will learn about the planting and harvesting process of Quinoa, a protein rich grain that has fed Andean people for thousands of years, and has just recently been adopted by global cuisine. The local women will share with you the curiosities of their trade.

Next, you will reach the town of Alausi an indigenous settlement that has not changed much in centuries. Here you will get to a panoramic lookout from where to observe a segment of famous Ecuadorian interregional railroad. Built in 1861 it is considered a masterpiece of railway engineering, commonly named the most difficult railway in the world. Sadly it stopped operating during the pandemic, but here you can admire its complex layout in the rocky cliffs.

The journey continues with an exploration of the Ingapirca archaeological ruins. These date back to the Inca period 500 BC), when such empire (based in Machu Picchu) expanded north and established political control centres in the area where you are standing. The highlight here is the elliptical Temple of the Sun, which crowns a rocky hillock that was considered a sacred place by ancient tribes Mysterious tombs are silent witnesses of the fierce power disputes that occurred here before the final Spanish invasion in the 15th century.

*Please note Ingapirca is closed Mondays & Tuesdays. You will visit Tambo ruins as an alternative Inca site on either of these days.

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 will 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 fabrics, where we’ll see how these famous straw hats are elaborated before exportation.

The tour duration is approximately 3 - 4 hours. Afternoon and evening at leisure.

Cuenca – Cajas National Park – Guayaquil
This morning you will enjoy a guided trip to Cajas National Park, located an hour's drive from Cuenca. With dramatic open rolling land and over 200 lakes, Cajas feels almost like the Scottish Highlands and visitors stand a good chance of seeing wild llamas, hummingbirds, condors and perhaps even the parks more elusive animals such as spectacled bears, pumas, and oncillas. Your naturalist guide will take you on a short walk where you can observe the flora, fauna and bird life before stopping to refuel at a local restaurant for lunch.

Continue onto Guayaquil where we include a brief panoramic tour of the city before dropping you at your hotel where the evening is at your leisure.

*Please note Cajas National Park's altitude spans between 2560m and 4450m above sea level. Please consult us for a recommended packing list to ensure you are well prepared for the excursion.

Breakfast and Lunch included.

Depart Ecuador
Our representative will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to the airport for your departure flight.

Breakfast included.