14 days Andean Cultures Ecuador

¡Bienvenidos! Your private guide/driver will be waiting for you at the airport to greet you, help you with your luggage, and lead you to your private transportation. During an approx. 30 to 45-minute drive to your hotel. At 9,350 feet (2,850 m) above sea level, Quito is one of the highest cities in the world. Quito was built on the ashes of the northern Inca capital after the Spanish conquest in 1533. The city is surrounded by majestic Andean peaks, including the restless

The trip starts in the morning with the meeting of the participants. After the luggage is stowed, we will go to the colonial old town of Quito (UNESCO World Heritage Site), where you will walk through the small streets and get to know the beautiful plazas and magnificent churches. Afterwards you will go to the equator monument "Mitad del Mundo". Here you can stand with one foot on the northern hemisphere and the other foot on the southern hemisphere and learn a lot about the cultures on the equator. In the afternoon we continue north to Otavalo. At a common dinner you get to know each other and the tour guide gives an introduction to the trip.

In the morning, we will go up to the Cuicocha crater lagoon, which is located at 3200m on the foothills of Mount Cotacachi. A 4–5-hour hike leads through the flora of the Andean highlands around the lagoon, where open grasslands and small tropical cloud forests alternate. After a typical lunch in the village of Cotacachi, you will visit the small archaeological museum. In the afternoon, they stroll through the variety of fruits and vegetables of the market of Otavalo, and, of course, depending on the season, physalis, chirimoya, pitahaya, and Andean berries can be tasted.

The first excursion today will take you to the community of Kachiviro (San Rafael), where you will witness the process of processing the Tortora plant—this aquatic plant grows on Lake San Pablo and is the main material many families use to make their handicrafts. Afterwards, you will visit the Peguche waterfall, an important place for the local people, where you will take a short walk and be educated about the importance of this sacred place. To get a deeper insight into the local culture, you will then visit other handicraft workshops (e.g. wool processing, musical instrument workshops). Overnight stay in Otavalo.

Otavalo is the home of the Otavaleos, known all over the world for their handicrafts. In the morning, take the opportunity to stroll through the streets of this Andean town; observe the market hustle and bustle in the Plaza de Poncho; and learn about the Andean culture of the Otavaleos. You can simply marvel or join in the haggling and trading yourself. Surely one or another nice souvenir for home is available. Afterwards, we drive about 80 kilometers to the east over an Andean pass (4050m altitude) into an Andean valley at 3300m on the slopes of the Andean Cordillera. A short distance below the pass, thermal springs feed the most beautiful bathing area in the country. Nestled in cloud forests and the bizarre evergreen paramo vegetation, this facility is an unforgettable experience. In the afternoon, you will finally reach Hakuna Matata, the cozy rainforest lodge in the middle of a private protection forest. Overnight stay at the lodge.

This morning you will go on a hike through the protected rainforest surrounding the lodge. At first, you will walk uphill through the secondary forest, but soon the forest changes to the primary forest and you can enjoy the untouched nature of the jungle. Your naturalist guide will point out the special features along the way, from medicinal plants that are still used by the locals to the animals that hide in the dense greenery.
Back at the lodge, you will prepare a typical jungle lunch, the
"Maito de Pescado", a delicious fish dish. But not only here you may help, also with the preparation of the dessert. In the afternoon you will participate in a chocolate presentation and learn about the complete process of processing, from the cacao fruit to the finished chocolate.
Back at the lodge, the rest of the afternoon is at your leisure. Relax with a dip in the pool, unwind in the hammock, or go exploring again on one of the lodge's signposted trails.

Today it's time to get up early: at 5:30 am you will go with your naturalist guide to the small river Arajuno. In the canoe, you will pass the high, densely vegetated banks to discover the many birds; there are herons, caciques, tanagers, and many more. The destination is a salt lick to observe hundreds of parrots and parakeets (weather permitting). We will continue by canoe to the indigenous Quichua community of Santa Barbara, where 23 families, with a total of about 120 people, live. You will be able to taste a lot during a typical jungle buffet of the community: Carachama and Bagre—both catfish species; Bocachico—a salmon-like fish; Yuka roots; Madura bananas; palm heart salad; Guayusa tea; fruits and cacao. Everything is homegrown and freshly caught or harvested (but we'll have sandwiches and fruit for you!). Later, you will drive to the small jungle town of Misahualli, where you will be served a typical "almuerzo" (lunch) in a small restaurant. After a short walk, you will return to the lodge in the afternoon.

After breakfast, you will leave the lodge and drive south to Puyo. In the "Yanacocha" rescue center, you can observe some of the tropical animals, including ocelots, parrots, and caimans. With your visit, you support the important work of these projects, while 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. Afterwards, you will head east, deep into the rainforest, to the jungle town of Macas. Here you can end the afternoon in a nice rainforest hosteria, where you will also spend the night.

A short drive brings you to the botanical garden of Sucua. After a tour, you will continue to the territory of the Shuar, an indigenous people living here in the Amazon lowlands of Ecuador, where you will be welcomed by a Shuar. Before you can leave with your guide for the hike through the mystical rainforest, the Shuar will apply protective signs against the evil spirits of the forest with achiote (indigenous plant). The destination of the hike is a waterfall in the rainforest to perform the waterfall ceremony of the Shuar. Afterwards you can refresh yourself with a bath in the waterfall and have a typical Shuar meal. After returning, you will drive out of the rainforest up the eastern cordillera to the paramo of the Atillo lagoons and, interrupted by one or the other photo stop, into the Andine highlands to Guamote.

In the early morning you will experience the traditional Andean market of Guamote. This market is today one of the last authentic markets in the Andes where the farmers from the surrounding mountains come together to exchange goods and news. Guamote and the surrounding communities are still 95% inhabited by the indigenous Kichwa people, descendants of the local Puruha tribes. You will explore the surroundings of Guamote and visit one of the small villages to gain an insight into the life of the population. The activities will depend on the daily life of the community that day. In the afternoon, you will drive to Riobamba, the provincial capital of Chimborazo, surrounded by the mountains of Chimborazo, Carihuayrazo, Altar and Tungurahua, and considered the most important agricultural center of the Ecuadorian Andes.

Today the journey takes you from Riobamba to the heights of the mighty volcano Chimborazo. Due to the elypse shape of the earth and the location of Chimborazo close to the equator, this mountain is the highest mountain in the world measured from the center of the earth. It goes up over the wide plateau to the mountain hut Hermanos Carrel on 4800m height!

With good altitude acclimatization, adventurous hikers can continue from here to the Whymper Hut to over 5000m - literally the highlight of the trip! As you continue through a picturesque Andean landscape, keep an eye out for llamas, alpacas and the shy vicuñas; the latter live here in the animal reserve on Chimborazo. In the late afternoon you will reach the small town of Latacunga.

Zumbahua Market - Laguna Quilotoa

In the morning you will drive out of the Eastern Cordillera back into the Andine High Basin, first to the approx. 400-year-old Hacienda La Cienega, which takes the visitor back in time with its noble colonial main building and a flower garden lined with ancient trees, and a colonial chapel.

Enjoy a coffee (or tea) in this nostalgic atmosphere before driving over the Panamericana into the Cotopaxi National Park to the lagoon "Limpiopungo", located on the wide plateau at about 3800m.

During an easy hike around the lagoon, you will get to know the typical vegetation of the Andes, look out for native birds like the condor, Andean snipe and the Andean hummingbird and with some weather luck you will have a fantastic view of the opposite Cotopaxi, with 5897m height one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. In the nearby mountain refuge of Tambopaxi, you can enjoy a hearty lunch with views of the Sincholagua and Cotopaxi mountains (weather permitting) before heading north on the Panamericana back to Quito. Overnight stay at the hotel.

In the morning free time until your transfer to the airport according to your travel plans - Buen Viaje!