Magic Ecuador

The besto of Ecuador, visiting cities as Quito, Cuenca, Robamaba, Guayaquil, Cotopaxi National Park, the famous, Devils Nose, Ingapirca Inca Ruins, the histoical areas of Quito and Cuenca. Enjoy the hotels, and local meals, in historic haciendas of the Andes and Otavalo market

Itinerary

Day 1 – Monday: Transfer Airport / Hotel

Day 2 – Tuesday:
Breakfast. Excursion to Otavalo Market Departure from Quito through The Panamericana North Highway. Brief stop at Calderon, a town where the famous “masapan” dolls are made, we will continue passing through Guayllabamba town with its typical fruit cherimoyer, we will stop at the highway point that conduces to Cayambe where we will get the chance to admire and take pictures of the beautiful landscape and snow caped mountains of the zone, crossing the equatorial line at Cayambe we will pass by Guachala (used to be the Middle of the world monument), before we head up to Otavalo we will make a stop at Mira Lago to take pictures of the beautiful San Pablo Lake. The tour then continues to Otavalo here the Otavaleños (natives) set up a market in which a bartering manner of shopping is taken. The market hosts a variety of different handcrafted items. Continuing the trip, we will go to visit the leather shops in Cotacachi before returning to Quito through the Cajas-Tabacundo road.

Day 3 – Wednesday:
Breakfast. City Tour & Equatorial Monument
We start with a panoramic route among the banking and financial areas, shopping malls and La Mariscal neighbourhood, where most of hotels are located. We continue towards the Historic Centre of the City where the following attractions will be visited: “El Panecillo” (entrance included), beautiful place from where a sight of colonial and modern Quito will be taken; San Francisco church, which was built in the XVII century; “La Ronda” , colonial neighbourhood; Plaza de la Independencia (Independence square), walking through the colonial streets we´ll find the Cathedral, the Government’s Palace and La Compañía Church, where adornments and gold altars can be appreciated. Free time for lunch at the Historic Centre. Visit to the Basilica Church, brief explication. (Entrance to churches are not included)
We will continue to the northern part of the city heading up to the “Middle of the World City” (entrance included) where the monument that divides the Northern from the Southern Hemisphere will be visited. It was built during the XVII century when a French Expedition defined the precise location of the equatorial line. The “Intiñan Museum”, known as the Equinox solar Museum, can also be visited (entrance is not included)

Day 4 – Thursday:
Breakfast. Departure from Quito through the ¨Avenue of the Volcanoes¨ admiring the beautiful Andean landscape this is a great opportunity to take pictures, brief stop at the Cotopaxi National Park (entrance is not included), lunch is included, arrival to Riobamba and accommodation in a typical hacienda of the region, dinner.

Day 5 – Friday:
After breakfast departure to the train station located in Alausí. From her we´ll enjoy a train ride towards the famous ¨Devil’s Nose¨ (a magnificent work incrusted in the Andes), return to Alausí (train ride takes aprox 2 hours), box lunch is included. After the train ride visit to the Ingapirca Inca Ruins (entrance is not included), the biggest Inca archaeological complex in Ecuador from the XV and XVI centuries, (ticket to the complex not included) trough the ride you will be to watch the weavers of the famous “Panama Huts” artisans typical from the area. Lunch Included. Arrive to the City of Cuenca to spend the night.

** Train Operation is subject to change

Day 6 – Saturday:
Breakfast. City Tour of Cuenca, we will travel through the city visiting the Calderon Park, the New and the Old Cathedral, the Flower Market, Modern Arts Museum. We continue the tour to the Homero Ortega Panama Hat factory to observe the complete process of manufacturing. We will also observe the “broken bridge” and finally visit the tourist balcony of “Turi” where we can see a panoramic view of the whole city of Cuenca. Free afternoon.

Day 7 – Sunday:
Breakfast. Transfer Cuenca / Guayaquil. We leave from Cuenca to “Cajas National Park” known for its glacial lakes and high mountain vegetation. Here we will walk through this beautiful place to see some of the lakes and primary forest. We will also visit “3 Cruses” which forms the continental water division. We will walk to observe this curious place. From this point we will begin a dramatic decline to reach the coast of Ecuador. Starting we will begin observing the Andean mountain scenery and then ending up seeing totally different vegetation of the Ecuadorian Coast with large plantations of bananas and cocoa beans. A box lunch will be provided on the way. Arrive to Guayaquil.

Day 8 – Monday:
Breakfast. City Tour Guayaquil. Traveling along the main streets and avenues of the city we will visit the Seminario Park, The Guayaquil embankment, La Rotonda; the colonial neighborhood of Las Peñas, where we can admire the magnificent wood architecture. From here we can take a panoramic view of Guayaquil and the Guayas River.

Day 9 – Tuesday:
Breakfast. Transfer Hotel / Airport.

Prices Starting at US$

USD $1,201.00
(Tourist Class Hotels***)

Also see the other hotels categories