EN 
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DE 4 Days
Itinerary
Day 1: Day 1: At 23:30 the night before, you will travel from Quito in a tourist bus (together with other Cuyabeno travelers) to the Cuyabeno National Park, where you will arrive early in the morning. From here you will take a motor canoe down the river for about 2.5 hours, where you will be able to see many jungle animals. After settling in at the lodge, you will board the canoe again and head out to the large lagoon where you can swim and enjoy the unique sunset.
Day 2: Together with your English-speaking guide, who knows the jungle like the back of his hand, you will set out on a 3-4 hour hike through the tropical rainforest. The variety of flora and fauna is breathtaking. You will see giant trees, various medicinal plants, and with a little luck, some animals. In the afternoon you will visit the large lagoon again and go in search of the black caimans lying on the banks of the river.
Day 3: Today you will travel to an indigenous village of the Siona community. Here you will learn about the cosmovision and way of life of the locals and how the staple food, casabe bread, is made from manioc. On the way back to the lodge, keep an eye out for river dolphins. After dinner, take a short guided night walk through the jungle to see frogs, glowworms, and other nocturnal animals.
Day 4: Early in the morning, you will take another canoe trip to experience the awakening jungle and with a little luck you will see many parrots, toucans, herons, and other birds. Back at the lodge, breakfast is served before you take the motorized canoe back to the park entrance. Here the tour bus will be waiting to take you back into the Andes to Quito, where you will arrive in the evening after an unforgettable jungle adventure.
Services included:
- Transfer by Tourist Bus Quito – Cuyabeno National Park – Quito.
- English-speaking guide x 4 days
- Transportation in motorized and rowing canoes
- Full board x 3 days
- Breakfast on day 4
Services not included:
- Meals not mentioned
- Siona Village Community Fee 10,- USD
- Tips.
Day 1: You will be picked up at the airport in Manta or Guayaquil and transferred with your private driver to Puerto López to your hotel located on the beach. (Optionally you can book the program without transfers). Enjoy the warm Pacific Ocean, the beach, and the local cuisine, which is known as the best in Ecuador.
Day 2: After breakfast, you will be picked up from your hotel and taken to the dock. You will take a day trip to the “Isla de la Plata”, also known as the Little Galapagos, mainly because of its many boobies (blue-footed, red-footed, and masked boobies). After a land tour with an English-speaking guide, you will have time to explore the underwater world while snorkeling. If you are lucky, you may see rays, turtles, and sharks. Humpback whales can also be seen on the tour between June and September. After a nutritious box lunch, you will return to Puerto López, where you will arrive in the late afternoon.
Day 3: Today’s full-day excursion takes you to the nearby Machalilla National Park and the small village of Agua Blanca with its archaeological museum in the tropical dry forest. Many songbirds, some of them endemic, can often be observed here. You will also visit the dream beach of “Los Frailes”, where you will have time for a swim, and the small bays in the park further north, as well as the fantastic viewpoint. In the afternoon you will visit the small “fish market” right on the beach, where pelicans and frigate birds fight over the leftover fish.
Day 4: This morning is at your leisure. Enjoy the beach and the sea, whose pleasant temperature invites you to swim. Or explore the small fishing village. You will be picked up at the hotel around noon and drive along the “Ruta del Sol” to Manta or Guayaquil to the airport.
Services included:
- Transfers Manta or Guayaquil Airport – Puerto López – Manta or Guayaquil Airport.
- 3 nights accommodation with breakfast in a half double room (cabaña) at Hostería Mandala (Puerto López).
- Day tour to “Isla de la Plata”, with English-speaking guide, including snorkeling equipment and box lunch.
- Day Trip to Machalilla National Park and Agua Blanca, with English-speaking guide, including transportation, entrance fees, and box lunch.
Services not included:
- Meals not mentioned
- Tips.
Day 1: You will be picked up from your hotel in Quito and drive south along the “Avenue of the Volcanoes” for approximately 4 hours to Guamote in the province of Chimborazo. (Optionally you can book the program without transfers). Upon arrival, you will have lunch at the hotel and time to explore the small Andean village on your own before joining a cooking class in the late afternoon to learn how to make quinoa croquettes and empanadas.
Day 2: Today you will take a guided tour of the surrounding indigenous communities. First, you will visit the kindergarten supported by the hotel and then you will go to an agrotourism project where you will learn about traditional agriculture and some medicinal plants. The tour continues to the small village of Chanchan, where you will see how ponchos are made from sheep and alpaca wool. After a box lunch in the community of Chacaza, you will get on your mountain bikes for a mostly downhill ride back to Guamote.
Day 3: After breakfast, you will drive about 2 hours to the first refuge in the Chimborazo Wildlife Reserve. From here you climb almost 250 meters to the Condor Lagoon at almost 5100 m, where there is often snow. At 6268m, Chimborazo is not only the highest mountain in Ecuador but also the place where the earth is closest to the sun. In the wildlife reserve, you will see many vicuñas that have been released into the wild here. On the way back to Guamote you will also visit the oldest Catholic church in Ecuador, La Balbanera, on the shores of Lake Colta.
Day 4: This morning you will visit the traditional, colorful weekly market of Guamote, one of the most original and authentic markets in the Ecuadorian Andes. You can also visit the nearby livestock market where cows, pigs, donkeys, and llamas are sold. You will leave Guamote around noon and be driven to your hotel in Quito in about 4 hours, arriving in the late afternoon.
Notes: The tour must start on Monday or the program must be rearranged so that you do not miss the Thursday market.
Services included:
- Private transfers Quito – Guamote – Quito (optional: without transfers).
- Lunch on Day 1.
- 3 nights accommodation with breakfast and dinner, in a half double room at Intisisa Art Guesthouse.
- Cooking class of traditional dishes.
- Tour to the indigenous communities of the region with an English-speaking guide, incl. transportation, box lunch, mountain bike, and helmet.
- Day tour to Chimborazo Wildlife Reserve with English-speaking guide, incl. transportation, box lunch.
- Entrance fees: Chimborazo Wildlife Reserve.
Services not included:
- Meals not mentioned
- Tips.
Day 1: In the early afternoon your private Driver will pick you up at your Hotel in Quito. In less than four hours you drive along the “avenue of the volcanoes” to the south. Via Ambato you arrive to the small village of “La Candelaria” to your hacienda in the late afternoon, where a warm dinner will be waiting for you.
Day 2: The trek starts early in the morning. After about 1 hour uphill on a dirt road, the actual trail into the Sangay National Park begins. Together with your English-speaking Guide you will hike for almost 12 Km through mostly humid terrain to the Collanes Valley. Mules will carry your main equipment and provisions. In the early afternoon, after several breaks, you will reach the refuge at 3817 m, where you can warm up by the open fire. The nine gigantic snow-capped peaks of the Altar (5319 m) are glowing in the setting sun. The fully equipped kitchen is at your disposal for cooking a hearty dinner together.
Day 3: Today you will hike through a Polylepis forest up into the volcanic crater to the spectacular Laguna Amarilla at 4232 m. Your guide knows the best route. Due to the decreasing sulfur content of the extinct volcano, the lake is more green than yellow. Anyway, you will still have the opportunity to take a refreshing dip in the icy waters. The scenery of this unique place is breathtaking. Some of the snow-covered peaks of the Altar, which the indigenous people call Capac Urcu (The Chief Mountain), remain unconquered to this day. In the early afternoon, you will begin the descent and hike back to the refuge (Total distance approx. 7 Km).
Day 4: After loading your mules, you will hike down the Collanes Valley and leave the Sangay National Park. You will return to your hacienda around noon to say goodbye to the muleteers and to your Guide. Your private driver already is waiting for you to drive you back to Quito, where you arrive in the late afternoon to your hotel.
Notes:
Due to the climatic conditions, the ascent to the altar is usually not possible from March to July.
You need to bring good hiking boots, rain protection, a large backpack and a daypack, headlamp, sleeping bag, hat, gloves, bathing suit, towel, and trekking poles (optional).
With the help of your driver, we will buy your provisions on the way to Hacienda Releche on day 1. You need to buy food for 3 Box lunches, 2 breakfasts, and 2 dinners.
On days 2 and 3, we will cook dinner together. Breakfast on day 3 and 4 will also be prepared together.
A fully equipped kitchen is available for cooking at the Collanes Refuge.
There is plenty of fresh spring water available, but as a precaution, it should be treated with Micropur or similar, or boiled.
The food and your luggage will be carried by mules and must not exceed 18 kilos per person (80 pounds total per mule). If you are overweight, you can hire another mule on the spot; one muleteer will accompany you for every two mules.
Rubber boots are the best choice for the wet and often muddy trail through the Collanes Valley. We will provide rubber boots in sizes up to 43. If you have larger feet, please bring your own.
At the Hacienda and at the Collanes Refuge you will spend the three nights in a shared room with your own sleeping bag. Temperatures can drop below freezing at night.
All garbage must be removed from the National Park. We will take enough garbage bags with us.
Services included:
- Private Driver from Quito (Pickup at your Hotel) to Hacienda Releche and back
- English speaking experienced Guide for three days.
- Overnight at Hacienda Releche in shared dorm room.
- Dinner at day 1.
- Breakfast at day 2.
- National Park Entrance Permit (SIB)
- Mule and Muleteer for the provisions and your big luggage (1 mule for 2 People).
- Overnight in Refugee Collanes in shared dorm room x 2 nights (You have to bring your own sleeping bag).
Services not included:
- Meals not mentioned
- Tips.
