Day 1: Arrival in Quito City

Welcome to Quito! Our driver will be waiting for you outside the arrivals area of the airport with a sign with your name on it, he will drive you to your accommodation in Quito for your first night in the city. A short language class will be provided to help you learn basic spanish words so you can interact with locals along the way! After you freshen up, we will go to one of the cities breweries to enjoy a fantastic artisanal beer, and some snacks. 2 drinks included.

Accommodation: Quito Guesthouse or similar.
Meals included: Welcome party.

Day 2: Quito City Tour

Today we will start the day be seeing the best of Quito old town, where you will take a step back in time into a well-preserved neighbourhood that has earned the city a place earned the city a place on UNESCGO’s list of World Heritage sites. Discover Quito’s entracing myths and legends as you explore each street, arriving ultimately at Santo Domingo Plaza, where a stunning view of the Panecillo awaits. Continue on to La Ronda, a pedestrian street where artisans craft their work for all to see. The morning ends with a visit to the local market. In the afternoon, we’ll visit the equator complex “Ciudad Mitad del Mundo”, where we will do unique experiments at the Intinan Museum and then stop by the giant monument that marks the equatorial line. Afterwards, it’s back to your hotel! At the end of the day, you will enjoy a lovely cooking class at your guesthouse.

Accommodation: Quito Guesthouse or similar.
Meals included: Breakfast and dinner.

Day 3: Volunteer Day

Today we have 3 fantastic options for you to join a volunteer project in the city of Quito. You can choose from a Humanitarian project, an environmental project, or a project working with animals.

Accommodation: Quito Guesthouse or Similar
Meals Included: Breakfast.

Day 4: Cotopaxi National Park

We will start the morning with a pick up from your guesthouse in Quito. We will stop along the way to take pictures and enjoy the views, as well as to visit a traditional Indigenous market. Once we arrive at Cotopaxi National Park, we will make a quick stop at the museum and then continue on to Limpiopungo Lake, located 3900 m above sea level. If you’d like, you can do a leisurely walk around this lake, giving you the chance to see various species of Andean birds. Then we continue on to the volcano parking lot and start an amazing hike up to 4800 m above sea level, where we find a refuge and enjoy a hot drink and the amazing views of the Andes.

Accommodation: Papagayo Hosteria
Meals included: Breakfast.

Day 5: Quilotoa Crater Lake

Today we will visit the Pujili market, where is still common the exchange of goods between the people of the community, we start the day with this visit to see the early commerce of the town. Later, you are in for a treat! We will drive through Andean roads to reach the top of the Quilotoa. The huge crater lake houses an emerald lake on the bottom, the view from up there is breathtaking! The lookout point is a great place for photos. After this visit, we will go to the Tigua workshop, to see how the artisans work on this noble material.

Accommodation: Papagayo Hosteria
Meals included: Breakfast

Day 6: Valley of Waterfalls in Baños

Baños is a lovely little town on the edge of the cloud forest, here we will find the valley of waterfalls and we will visit the bigger ones, like The Bride’s Veil. At the end of the road, we will find the Devil’s Cauldron, a massive waterfall that breaks through the walls of rock. After that, we will walk 25 minutes to reach the lookout point and enjoy the loud sound of nature.

Accommodation: Casa Verde Guesthouse or similar.
Meals included: Breakfast.

Day 7: Free day in Baños.

Today you will have a free day in Baños to enjoy all the adventure activities this town can offer you, you can bungee jump, zipline, visit the swing at the end of the world, or relax at a local spa or hot spring.

Accommodation: Casa Verde Guesthouse or similar.
Meals included: Breakfast.

Day 8: Canyoning and visiting the Rainforest

Today we will go a bit deeper into the Amazon Rainforest to get wet! We will do canyoning in one of the most beautiful waterfalls of the area, this is a fantastic experience to enjoy the edge of the rainforest but it will also allow you to learn about the surrounding nature. At the end of the day, a family in the Rainforest will welcome us into their guesthouse.

Accommodation: Amazon Guesthouse
Meals included: Breakfast and dinner.

Day 9: Rafting Down the Jatunyacu River.

We start the day by preparing our gear to paddle the wild waves of the Jatunyacu River, located just a 5-minute drive from the homestay. After a safety briefing from the rafting guides, we will start our class III rafting expedition down the Jatunyacu River, well known for it’s clear waters and awesome rapids. We will have a lot of fun playing some games and also exploring the canyons. The end of the journey offers us a stop for a picnic, prepared by our guides.

Accommodation: Amazon Guesthouse
Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.

Day 10: Visit Guamote Community

The Guamote community has been working on tourism projects for several years now. On this day we will start by visiting the educational center of Inti Sisa, we will see the kindergarten, and the English and computer classes. Depending on time, we can also visit the agricultural college, to learn about the plants of the area. And at the end of the day, we will visit one of the families of the community to learn about their traditions.

Accommodation: Inti Sisa Guesthouse
Meals included: Breakfast.

Day 11: Ride the Devil’s Nose train & visit Ingapirca Ruins.

The world-wide recognized Ecuador Rail and it’s most impressive ride wait for us, from Alausi town, we will ride the train to the town of Simbambe. The ride is very scenic and at the station we will be greeted by a part of the community with a traditional dance. In the afternoon, we will head south to discover the amazing trace of the Incas in Educator. The Ingapirca complex is a place full of pre-spanic history!

Accommodation: Pasada de Ingapirca
Meals included: Breakfast

Day 12: El Cajas National Park & Guayaquil City

We leave Ingapirca and head to El Cajas National Park, one of the most important protected areas of Ecuador. Here we will do a short walk to learn about the ecosystem. The paramo vegetation of the area is beautiful! We will finish the day in Guayaquil city.

*Itinerary and pricing subject to change.