ANDES EXPERIENCE WITH THE LOCALS

ANDES WITH THE LOCAL

overview

Let us introduce you to the Andes Experience. As you know, SOLEQ stands for sustainability. Therefore, look at the pillars of sustainable tourism. Firstly, the environmentally friendly practices reduce, reuse and recycle. Furthermore, there is the need to protect the cultural and natural heritage. In fact, it concludes restoring historic buildings and saving endangered races. Also it is needed to provide social and economic benefits for local communities. Like supporting fair wages. As an ecological-concerned company, we tried to combine those pillars for offering an sustainable itinerary for the Andes Experience. You will stay in restored hotels or with local families. Besides that, you will get the chance to enjoy the eco-friendliest activities. Furthermore, you are going to travel with the “Tren de la Libertad” and visit the Otavalo market. Moreover, you will be fascinated by the diversity in the cloud forest and by the Amazon Rainforest.

TOUR FACTORS

Difficulty 35%
Family friendly 85%
Adventure 45%
Comfort 80%

ITINERARY:

Click to see every day in detail

Flight during the Andes Experience

Upon arrival in Quito you’ll be met and transferred to your lodging for your first night in Ecuador. Hotel La Casona de la Ronda, is de unique Boutique Hotel located in one of the oldest houses, originally built in 1738 in the Historical Center of Quito, is located near the renowned Church and Plaza de San Francisco and is located near the renowned Church and Plaza de San Francisco and certified for its excellent work in the World Luxury Hotel Awards..

Accommodation during the Andes Experience 

 Hotel La Casona de la Ronda (or similar)

Activities during the Andes ExperienceYou start the day’s activities with a visit to Quito’s colonial city center. It is Latin America’s biggest and best conserved historic center. As such, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978. On a walk around the old town, your guide will show you some of the most beautiful buildings and churches.

In the afternoon you visit the social project we support here in Quito. The Refuge of Dreams is a day shelter for children with very difficult family situations. At the Refuge of Dreams they find a loving environment. The staff really cares about them and they get support for their development. Visit the Refuge of Dreams, play with the children, teach them a craft or learn from them. It is a truly wonderful place.

Accommodation during the Andes ExperienceHotel La Casona de la Ronda (or similar)

  Meals included: Breakfast

Today’s destination is Mindo, in the Ecuadorian cloud forest. Cloud forest is a special form of the rainforest. It typically has an altitude between 900 and 2500 meters. Because of these unique characteristics, you will find a huge diversity of wildlife here. The Andes Experience Tour offers you a great chance to discover the great variety of fauna and flora. See the many different plants, birds and other things of interest. Moreover, there are waterfalls, and a variety of hummingbirds to be spotted.

Accommodation during the Andes Experience Sachatamia Lodge (or similar)

 Meals included: Breakfast

Spend another day in Mindo. Visit for example a small, local chocolate factory that shows how chocolate is made during their chocolate tour. A guide will walk you through each step. Beginning with the cacao bean and its origins in South America, all the way to how modern-day artisans make chocolate. Or visit the butterfly farm and be dazzled by their variety of colors and shapes. Furthermore, here you have the opportunity to see all 4 stages of the butterfly life cycle.

Accommodation during the Andes Experience Sachatamia Lodge (or similar)

 Meals included: Breakfast

After breakfast, you leave Mindo and travel to Otavalo. This town is famous for its enormous local market. It is held every day on the Poncho Square. On Saturdays it extends and covers nearly a third of the whole town. You can find many different handicrafts produced in the surrounding villages. From fine woven goods like blankets and hammocks to handmade jewelry. In addition, there are instruments, leather goods and many other things to find.

In the afternoon you will travel to a local community. There your host family welcomes you to your guest room (private bathroom, hot water). They will invite you to participate in their daily activities. As part of the Andes Experience Tour you will learn about their organic gardens and how they use the different crops. Enjoy dinner with them and exchange stories.

Accommodation during the Andes Experience  Stay overnight in a family house (or similar)

  Meals included: Breakfast | Dinner | Lunch

After breakfast, you will explore the Cotacachi Cayapas Nature Reserve. Visit the Cuicocha Lagoon, which is inside the crater of the Cotacachi volcano, at an altitude of 10,040 feet. It is called “Lagoon of the Gods” by the local indigenous people.

Then you will head to the town of Cotacachi is also very nice place and worth seeing. It is known for its leather products, but also because Ecuador’s first indigenous mayor was elected here.   

You spend the night on a historic hacienda in Otavalo.

Accommodation during the Andes Experience  Hacienda Pinsaqui (or similar)

  Meals included: Breakfast 

In the morning, you travel to Papallacta, famous for its hot springs. This is a beautiful place high in the Ecuadorian Paramo. There you can enjoy a bath in a very peaceful environment with absolutely beautiful surroundings. The thermal water is of volcanic origin. Therefore, the water has temperatures between 35ºC (96ºF) and 40ºC (104ºF). Moreover, it has medicinal properties that have been certified by the Ecuadorian medical association.

Besides the thermal baths, Papallacta offers other opportunities to enjoy the beautiful landscape. For example, you can follow a path along the river Loreto-Papallacta. In about one hour you can explore the primary forest. There you’ll find a variety of orchids and waterfalls. Moreover, there are various birds typical of the high paramo. Look out for the carunculated caracara, peregrine falcon and hummingbirds. Maybe you will even see the majestic Andean condor!

Accommodation during the Andes Experience  Termas de Papallacta (or similar)

  Meals included: Breakfast

Today you leave the highlands and travel to the beginning of the Amazon basin. We start our trip to Itamandi EcoLodge. At the Arajuno Bridge, we will take a motorized canoe going upstream for 20 minutes. So begins our great experience in the tropical forest. The zigzag river flows through the jungle like a giant snake. Along the way you can appreciate the magic and beauty of the Ecuadorian Amazon. The river connects to the vein system of the Pacha Mama (Mother Earth).
Once we arrive at the dock area of Itamandi EcoLodge, the resident manager will greet you with a delicious welcome drink. From there we will continue to relax in the bar area and have a snack. A short briefing will inform you about the lodge and activities. This will be provided by one of our naturalist guides.

At 6:30 pm there is a night walk planned (optional). It allows guests to hear the nocturnal sounds and to look for some animals. Like the fishing bats, owls, a variety of insects, tarantulas, toads, frogs and possibly snakes. If the sky is clear, we might have the chance to do some stargazing. A flashlight and camera are the most important tools on this night excursion.

Accommodation during the Andes Experience  Itamandi Ecolodge (or similar)

  Meals included: Breakfast | Dinner

5:45 am – 6:00 am (if the climate permits it): Parrot Clay Lick

A perfect activity for real bird lovers: we take a 15-minute canoe ride upstream early in the morning to visit a parrot clay lick (Saladero). At this unique site parrots and parakeets gather to obtain the minerals that will help them to digest. Hundreds of parrots and parakeets will approach the treetops. Later they come down to the clay bank to eat the soil that is rich in minerals. For the best experience, binoculars are essential.

After an exotic breakfast we head out for a hike through the primary and secondary Rainforest. Along the trail, our expert naturalists will teach you about the ecology and flora and fauna of the Rainforest. You will observe a great variety of insects and a diversity of birds flying around us. If you are lucky, you will find reptiles or monkeys. This activity takes about 2½ – 3 hours.

Back at Itamandi EcoLodge you can enjoy lunch and a siesta.

In the afternoon it is time for a cultural activity. An Amazonian Kichwa community will receive us and we learn about their way of life and the interaction they have with the forest. This encounter will show you that part of the Amazonia that you do not find on the maps: the Amazon people.
Part of our visit to the community involves the demonstration of the famous “Chicha”, a fermented yucca drink. It has become an important part of life in the Amazon, where they use it in everyday life as well as during festivities. We will take part in the preparation of this beverage and also try some of the local cuisine.

The visit ends with a traditional dance performed by the kids of the community. You will also have some time to buy handicrafts, made by the indigenous. This way you can support the indigenous people in their daily life.

Accommodation during the Andes Experience  Itamandi Ecolodge (or similar)

  Meals included: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

After a delicious breakfast buffet, we will make a 40 min canoe trip downriver, to visit the Isla Anaconda. Here we can observe the prehistoric bird Hoatzin and different races of monkeys. We will also visit a family in one of the local communities. There we can learn about their farming habits and medicinal plants. Moreover, they can teach us about their traditional way of hunting, with blowguns and handmade traps.  If this isn’t an Andes Experience?
Afterwards, we will go to AmaZOOnico. This place is not a zoo but it is a rescue center for animals of the Amazon. Where we will can observe a wide variety of animals there. Monkeys, macaws, ocelots, capybara, toucans, parrots and many more animals in their natural habitat at close range.

Return to Itamandi EcoLodge to enjoy the facilities of the hotel.

Accommodation during the Andes Experience  Itamandi Ecolodge (or similar)

  Meals included: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

After breakfast you leave the Amazon and travel back towards Quito. Pass through Misahualli, a small town that is famous for the group of Capuchin monkeys that live on the main square. Back in Quito you spend the night close to the airport, in a beautiful hacienda set in ample gardens. The Andes Experience ends here. Hope you will enjoyed!

Accommodation during the Andes Experience  Hacienda La Jimenita (or similar)

  Meals included: Breakfast

Transfer to the Airport - the Andes Experience endsIn time for your flight, we will take you to the airport.

Meals included: Breakfast

WHAT'S INCLUDED:

starting from

$2235 ,- p.p.

in US DOLLAR

*Please contact us for special offers and child discounts. Prices are subject to change.

 

*Price based on double occupancy.

Alternative Tours

Consider as you reserve:

My own room: 

Single supplement fee: USD $,-p.p.

Not Included:

> International airfare to and from destination
> Community Support USD $5,- p.p.
> Meals not described
> Alcoholic beverages or soft drinks
> Cost of medical immunizations as needed
> Trip cancellation insurance or any other travel insurance
> Cost of optional activities
> Excess baggage charges; airport taxes (if any);
> Optional gratuities to your guides
> Items of personal nature

Travel Insurance:

To protect your travel investment, we highly recommend the purchase of travel insurance. Travel insurance is intended to cover medical expenses, trip interruption and cancellation, theft and other losses incurred while traveling domestically or internationally.

Visa and Entry Requirements

Ecuador requires a valid passport (with a minimum 6 months validity). Contact your local embassy or consulate for the most up-to-date visa requirements.