Explore Ecuador with a rental car

Welcome to Ecuador! You will be picked up from the airport by your English-speaking guide and transferred to the hotel in the heart of Quito’s old town, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. The hotel is close to the Presidential Palace and Independence Square (Plaza de la Independencia) and surrounded by churches, museums and monuments. It is housed in a beautiful colonial building with a quiet, covered courtyard.

For a first overview of the history (the Inca time, the Spanish invasion, the Colonial time, and the Independence) and the present situation of Ecuador and Quito, your guide will take you on a half-day city tour through Quito’s old town. We also recommend visiting the hill “Panecillo” (the bread bun) with the monument “La Vigen de Legarda”, which is located between the northern and the southern parts of the city. The afternoon you have at leisure and you can stroll through the historic center with its winding cobblestone streets and whitewashed colonial houses, for example. It is the best-preserved capital in Latin America. Whole blocks of the Old Town are substantially as they were in the 18th century, when the city was a hotbed of revolutionary ferment. Alternatively, ride the Teleférico, the aerial tramway, from the city center up to Pichincha Volcano. You can enjoy spectacular views from the top, where you will also find restaurants, cafés and a few stores.

Meals: Breakfast

In the morning, an English-speaking representative picks you up and helps you to pick your rental car.  The first drive is towards Mindo, which is located in the cloud forest. The cloud forest is a special type of rain forest at an altitude of  900 to 2.500 meters, with an enormously diverse flora and fauna. Observe many birds and plants on your walk through the forest, visit waterfalls and get enchanted by the variety of hummingbirds you can find there. On the way to Mindo you have the possibility to visit the middle of the world. You find the equator monument, different exhibitions and documentary centers at “Mitad del Mundo” (middle of the world). In the museum “Inti Ñan” you can learn about the effects of the equator first-hand with the help of scientific experiments.

Meals: Breakfast

Today, head to the beautiful Cuicocha Lagoon (Guinea pig lagoon). Laguna de Cuicocha is a 3 km wide crater lake that sits at the foot of the Cotocachi Volcano. Some 3,100 years ago, the volcano erupted and formed the enormous caldera. Today, the highest point of the caldera climbs up to 3,246 meters. Down the sides are native plants, and in the caldera’s basin, you’ll find a highly alkaline lake with two uninhabited islands breaking the surface. It is possible to take a hike along the crater lake.  The trail is a 4-5 hour loop around the entire rim of the lagoon. Afterwards drive to the little town Cotacachi, which is really nice as well and famous for its leather products. It is also the town with the first indigenous mayor in Ecuador. The accommodation for the night is in Otavalo.

The best day for this famous market is on Saturday, but there is also a small market on the Plaza de Ponchos on other days where you can find a big range of colorful souvenirs. The hand-crafted products, such as textiles, jewelry and leather products, are made locally, most often by the indigenous people of Otavalo. In the afternoon, drive to the small Anden village of Papallacta, famous for its healing hot springs, near the natural reserve Cayambe-Coca. Within this well-situated place of the Ecuadorian paramo, you can enjoy a refreshing bath in a harmonious and peaceful surrounding. The thermal water comes from volcanic origin and has a temperature of between 36°C and 40°C.  Its curative character is certificated by the Ecuadorian medical association. Besides the hot springs, Papallacta offers a lot of other options to enjoy the beautiful landscape. Take a hike in this beautiful surrounding. Within 1 hour you see the primary forest, different orchids, waterfalls and birds of the high paramos such as masked mountain tanagers, carunculated caracaras, peregrines, hummingbirds and sometimes even the majestic Andean condor.

Meals: Breakfast

The best day for this famous market is on Saturday, but there is also a small market on the Plaza de Ponchos on other days where you can find a big range of colorful souvenirs. The hand-crafted products, such as textiles, jewelry and leather products, are made locally, most often by the indigenous people of Otavalo.In the afternoon, drive to the small Anden village of Papallacta, famous for its healing hot springs, near the natural reserve Cayambe-Coca. Within this well-situated place of the Ecuadorian paramo, you can enjoy a refreshing bath in a harmonious and peaceful surrounding. The thermal water comes from volcanic origin and has a temperature of between 36°C and 40°C.  Its curative character is certificated by the Ecuadorian medical association. Besides the hot springs, Papallacta offers a lot of other options to enjoy the beautiful landscape. Take a hike in this beautiful surrounding. Within 1 hour you see the primary forest, different orchids, waterfalls and birds of the high paramos such as masked mountain tanagers, carunculated caracaras, peregrines, hummingbirds and sometimes even the majestic Andean condor.

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, 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 begin 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.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

5:45am – 6:00am (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 2 ½ -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. 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 in this 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.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

After another fantastic breakfast, you leave the Amazon and travel to Baños . On the way, you can stop multiple times to take photos. Since you drive through the Pastaza canyon, you come along the biggest waterfall on this road, the “Pailón del Diablo”. It can get adventurous if you decide to take the cable car to cross the canyon.

Meals: Breakfast

Baños is a small town known for its thermal baths and a special sweet (melcocha). This sugar mass is formed in theatrical gestures by throwing it several times over a hook on the door frame. The atmosphere is relaxed, the climate ideal and the tropical rainforest of eastern Ecuador just a few kilometers away! An ideal base for hiking and to see an active volcano, Tungurahua, in action.

Meals: Breakfast

The Chimborazo Wildlife Reserve, located on the slopes of the highest mountain in Ecuador, with an altitude of 6.310 m, is today’s main attraction. Because the earth bulges at the Equator, measurements taken from the center of the earth rather than from sea level prove that the Chimborazo Volcano is the point on Earth closest to the sun. A team of French and Ecuadorian scientists confirmed this measurement in 2016. The drive from the reserve entrance to the Carrel Refuge is part of the adventure. The road traverses high paramo, gaining altitude with every turn – views of the surrounding countryside are stunning on a clear day. Hike to the Edward Whymper Refuge. Although the trail from the Carrel Refuge to the Edward Whymper Refuge is only a few hundred feet in distance and rises only 60 meters in altitude, it is a difficult trek, even for those in good shape. Check out the Polylepis Forest, on the main highway going to Riobamba is a sign directing travelers to the Polylepis Forest. The dirt road is in fair condition and takes you across the desert-like terrain, where herds of wild vicuña (a relative of the llama) often graze on the low ground cover. The hiking trail climbs slightly in altitude, but is well-graded and in good condition, while the views of the surrounding countryside are spectacular, even on cloudy days. Hit the Iceman Trail, the Last Iceman of Chimborazo, Baltazar Ushca Tenesaca, is the last person to harvest ice from the Chimborazo glacier. His weekly route is now a hiking trail that can be accessed from Cuatro Esquinas vía E-35 going into Riobamba. The trail is approximately 10 km long with an elevation gain of almost 1,525 meters. In the late afternoon, you go on through the town of Riobamba, where you spend the night.

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, you will leave Riobamba and will travel further south to the significant Inca ruins of Ingapirca with the sun temple as its most important building. Archaeologists couldn’t find out the exact purpose of this site yet. It is only known that there has been a similar complex of the indigenous Cañaris at the same position in the pre-Inca times. Your journey leads from the pre-Hispanic ruins to Cuenca, where colonial architecture, culture and art meet. With all it has to offer, it’s no surprise that UNESCO declared Cuenca a World Heritage Site in 1999.

Meals: Breakfast

Today, you have plenty of time to explore Cuenca: Head out into this stunning colonial city and visit the Iglesia del Sagrario, known as the “Old Cathedral”, built in 1557, and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the “New Cathedral”, which embodies the grandeur of Cuenca. Stroll through the flower market with all types of roses, orchids and many other specimens,  the lively artisan market at Plaza San Francisco, where stallholders sell the wide, multi-hued and heavily embroidered skirts typically worn by Cuenca’s ‘cholas’ (indigenous women from Ecuador’s Azuay Province, of which Cuenca is the capital) and finish your day with a visit to one of the Panama hat factories or workshops.

Meals: Breakfast

On your last drive from Cuenca down to the Pacific coast to Guayaquil, you can stop at the Cajas National Park on your way. Less than an hour from the city, the park offers a beautiful encounter with nature. The terrain is quite stark, mostly above 4,000m in the páramo (grassy highlands), with many clear lakes. The park’s residents include Andean gulls, black frogs and wild llamas.Afterwards, you travel further to Guayaquil, where you spend the night. The Malecon 2000 in Guayaquil is a spacious promenade with monuments, museums, gardens, fountains, shopping malls, restaurants, bars and viewpoints. An outstandingly beautiful part of Guayaquil is “Las Peñas” – the first residential neighborhood of the old town, which is situated romantically at the “Cerro Santa Ana”, a small hill covered in rainbow-colored homes. The climb to the top with the lighthouse called El Faro, provides excellent views of the Malecón 2000, the center of Guayaquil, and the neighborhood of Las Peñas.

Meals: Breakfast

Depending on your flight time, drive to the airport and hand off the rental car. This is where your tour ends. You also have the opportunity to extend the journey to the Galapagos Islands or our neighbor country Peru.

Meals: Breakfast