Arrival at Quito's Mariscal Sucre airport, where after customs formalities, you will meet your guide, and then go to the hotel located in the center of Quito. Free dinner

The tour begins in the Historic Center of Quito (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), where you will get to know the beautiful squares and magnificent churches while strolling through the small alleys. Then you will go to the equatorial monument "Middle of the World". Here you can stand with one foot in the northern hemisphere and the other in the southern hemisphere. Here you will have the opportunity to learn a lot about Ecuadorian cultures in the Inti-Ñan solar museum. In the afternoon, you will continue north to Otavalo. During dinner, they will have the opportunity to get to know each other. Also, the guide will give you an introduction to the rest of your trip.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

In the morning, you will go to the Cuicocha lagoon located at 3200m on the slopes of the Cotacachi Volcano. A 4-5 hour hike leads through the Andean highland flora around the lagoon, alternating open grasslands and small tropical cloud forests. In the town of Cotacachi, after a typical lunch, we visit the small archaeological museum. In the afternoon, you can stroll in the Otavalo market where you can see a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and of course, depending on the season, you can try golden berries, custard apples, yellow dragon fruit and andean berries.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

The first visit is to the community of Cachiviro (San Rafael), where you can witness the processing of Totora, a plant that grows in Lake San Pablo, and is used by many families to make their Handicrafts. Then, you will visit the Peguche waterfall, an essential place for the local population, where you will take a short walk and learn about the importance of this sacred place. To get a deeper insight into the local culture, visit other craft workshops (wool processing, a musical instrument workshop), where you can pick up some souvenirs! To top off the day, immerse yourself in the use of medicinal herbs.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Otavalo is home to the Otavaleños who are known throughout the world for their handicrafts. In the morning, you will have the opportunity to stroll through the streets of this Andean town, visit the market in Plaza de Poncho and get acquainted with the Andean culture of the Otavaleños. You can intervene in the negotiation and trade yourself. There are some lovely souvenirs to take home at this location. It will then pass through an area of the Andes (4,050 m altitude) about 80 kilometers to the east towards an Andean valley at 3,300 m, on the slopes of the Andes mountain range. A short distance from the mountain pass, the hot springs feed the most beautiful spa complex in the country. Embedded in the cloud forest and the strange evergreen paramo vegetation, this facility is an unforgettable experience. In the afternoon, you will finally arrive at Hakuna Matata, a cozy rainforest lodge in the middle of a private forest where you will spend the night.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

This morning you will set off on a hike through the lodge's protected rainforest. The forest Secondary is initially a bit steep, but soon the jungle becomes a primary forest and you can enjoy the wonderful virgin forest. Your naturalist guide points out peculiarities along the way. Then you will go to the small town of Santa Rita where a delicious lunch awaits you in the jungle. For dessert, there is a small event where the Pacari experts show you how the chocolate is made, from local cocoa beans, and of course, you will have the opportunity to make your own chocolate. Back at the lodge, you will have the rest of the afternoon free.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today you must get up early: at 5.30 the naturalist guide will take you to the Arajuno River. During the canoe ride, you will cross an area covered in a lot of vegetation where you can discover many birds such as herons, Kazike, Tanager and more. The objective is to arrive early in the morning at the saladero, where you will be able to observe hundreds of parrots and parakeets (depending on the weather). Then you will go by canoe to the indigenous Quichua community of Santa Bárbara, where 23 families live with a total of about 120 people. You can try a typical jungle buffet in the municipality: Carachama and catfish (both species of catfish), bocachico - a salmon-like fish, yucca, green plantains, heart of palm salad, guayusa tea, fruits and cocoa. All these products come from the chacras (plots of cultivated land) freshly harvested and freshly caught fresh fish (but we also have snacks and fruits for you!). Later you will go to the small town of Misahualli, where you will taste a typical lunch in a small restaurant. After a short walk back to the lodge in the afternoon.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, leave the lodge and head south to Puyo. In the "Yanacocha" rescue center you can see tropical animals such as ocelots, parrots and alligators. With your visit you support the work of these projects and at the same time you can observe some of the most beautiful animals of the rainforest, which are otherwise very difficult to spot in the dense green of the jungle. It then heads east deep into the rainforest to the jungle town of Macas. Here you can end the afternoon in a nice hostel in the rainforest where you will also spend the night.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

A short drive takes you to the area of the Shuar community who live in the Amazon region. It will be received by them. Before you can set out on the trek through the mystical rainforest with your guide, the Shuar will use achiote (a native plant) to provide protection from the evil spirits of the forest. The goal of the trek is a waterfall in the rainforest to perform the Shuar waterfall ceremony there. Then you can cool off with a swim in the waterfall and invigorate yourself with a typical Shuar meal. After your return, you will drive through the eastern mountain ranges from the tropical jungle to the páramo of the Atillo lagoons and, interrupted by one or another photo stop, towards the highlands of the Andes to Guamote.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner, Snacks

Early in the morning you will experience the traditional Andean market of Guamote. Today this market is one of the last authentic markets in the Andes where farmers from the surrounding mountains gather to exchange goods and news. Guamote and the surrounding communities are still 95% inhabited by the indigenous Kichwa population, who are descended from the local Puruhaes tribes. Explore the area around Guamote and visit one of the small towns to get a glimpse of community life. The activities depend on the daily life of the community that day. In the afternoon, you will go to Riobamba surrounded by mountains such as Chimborazo, Carihuairazo, Altar and Tungurahua and is considered the most important agricultural center in the Ecuadorian Andes.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Snacks

Today's trip from Riobamba takes you to the heights of the mighty Chimborazo which is considered the highest in the world measured from the center of the earth. Along the way, you will make a stop at one of the indigenous Kichwa communities that live here at altitudes of over 3,000m. From this place, you will climb the wide plateau to the Hermanos Carrel refuge at 4800m above sea level. If you get used to the altitude, adventurers can continue to the Whymper refuge at an altitude of over 5,000m. The highlight of the trip in the true sense of the word! As you continue through picturesque Andean scenery, stop to gaze at llamas, alpacas, and shy vicuñas; the latter live here in the Chimborazo faunistic reserve. In the late afternoon, you will arrive at the small town of Latacunga.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Snacks

A short drive takes you to the community of La Victoria which is known for its traditional pottery production. This visit will take you to one of the many small art workshops where pottery is made by hand. You will continue to the Andean market of Zumbahua. Experience the noisy and chaotic events of the market before continuing to Quilotoa Crater Lagoon, one of the most beautiful lagoons in Ecuador and South America. A short hike allows you to enjoy the changing views of the lagoon and the surrounding Andes. Depending on the incidence of light, the lagoon glows green, turquoise or blue and offers a beautiful color contrast to the mountains.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

In the morning, you will leave the Cordillera Oriental to visit "La Cienega" a 400 year old Andean estate that welcomes visitors with its colonial nobility. Main building and an old flower garden lined with trees with a colonial chapel that dates back to the past. Enjoy a coffee (or tea) in this nostalgic atmosphere before driving along the Panamericana towards the Cotopaxi National Park to the "Limpiopungo" lagoon located on the wide plateau at about 3800 m. During an easy walk around the lagoon you will get to know the typical vegetation of the Andes, look for native birds such as the Andean condor, casinos and hummingbird, with a bit of luck you will have a fantastic view of the opposite Cotopaxi, one of the active volcanoes 5897m tallest in the world. At the nearby Tambopaxi mountain hut, you can enjoy a hearty lunch with a view of the Sincholagua and Cotopaxi mountains (weather permitting) before heading north back to Quito on the Panamericana. Overnight at the hotel.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

In the morning, free time until your transfer to the airport according to your travel plans.

Meals: Breakfast