The local 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 the 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 certified for its excellent work in the World Luxury Hotel Awards.

You 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.

Meals: 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.

Meals: 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.

Meals: 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.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

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.

Meals: 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!

Meals: 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.

Meals: 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.

Meals: 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? Afterward, 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.

Meals: 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 have enjoyed!

Meals: Breakfast

In time for your flight, we will take you to the airport.

Meals: Breakfast