To fully appreciate the beauty of the historic center of Quito, the largest and best preserved in Latin America, there is nothing like a sightseeing tour! After breakfast, you will be able to explore the beauty of Old Town in your private bus. During your tour, you will admire the wonders of this UNESCO World Heritage Site, starting with the lively Plaza de la Independencia with its imposing Metropolitan Cathedral and then the impressive Church of La Compañía de Jesús, before observing the place where the Church of San Francisco and its convent are located. During this journey you will appreciate the beauty of the baroque art and the elegance of the church’s altars covered in golden leaf.

You will then leave in the direction of the Mitad del Mundo, on the equinoctial line, and will be able to verify the veracity of the different properties lent to the equator. Try balancing an egg on a nail and ask to have your picture taken with one foot in each hemisphere. You will be able to see the elaboration of sorbet called “Helado de paila” (and taste it!).

Overnight stay at the hotel.

This day will be free, and you will be able to choose what you want to do. You can enjoy the city by yourself or decide to take the Cotopaxi option and discover a famous Ecuadorian attraction.

Day 3 option – approx. travel time 3 hrs15
Full day Cotopaxi (+ 129 AUD / person), lunch included This morning, you will take the "Avenida de los volcanes" to reach the Cotopaxi National Park where one of the highest active volcanoes in the world rises. Within the national park are 4 peaks at more than 4,000 m altitude including the well-known Cotopaxi volcano "neck of the moon" (5,897 m) with a symmetrical cone covered with snow. In its more than 32,000 hectares coexist wild horses, llamas, foxes, deer, spectacled bears, and the majestic condor. You will visit the interpretation center to learn more about the park and its volcano, then you will make a stop to walk around Lake Limpiopungo at the foot of Rumiñahui volcano. You can take a short hike from the car park located at 4,600 m above sea level to the first José Rivas refuge a little over 200 m higher. From here you will enjoy an exceptional view of the surrounding nature. Overnight stay at the hotel.

This day presents a complete change of landscape and is the perfect example to show the great diversity of the country.

Before leaving the Andes, you will take a break to benefit from the many virtues of the thermal waters of the town of Papallacta. Then you will leave the Sierra mountains to reach the exuberant vegetation and the wide rivers of the East, on the edge of the Amazon.

In the afternoon you will arrive at the village of Ahuano and take a motorized canoe back to the lodge. This first trip will be an opportunity to enjoy the panorama and observe the gold diggers in the distance.

You will have the rest of the afternoon to rest, spend some time by the river, take a dip in the pool or even sip a cocktail on the terrace overlooking the forest.

In the evening, aboard a safe boat, you will go out in search of caimans. Your guide will attract the caimans with some meat, so that you can observe up to fifteen individuals, huge adults, and few weeks babies.

Your local guide, an expert in the rainforest and medicinal plants, will suggest activities adapted to your group and the climate so that you can discover the rainforest, bathe in its rivers, walk the paths and reserves of the primary forest, discover the animals, meet the locals, their way of life, gastronomy, crafts, and customs...

You will also see how Amazonian women create delicate vessels from clay found on the riverbanks. You will discover how local communities create and decorate their dishes from forest materials. Of course, you will be able to buy the handicraft that catches your eye.

This morning you will stop near Puyo village to visit a balsa wood craft workshop, and discover the uses of tagua, also known as « vegetable ivory ».

You will then take the « Ruta de las cascadas », bordered by magnificent landscapes, leading to the village of Baños, at the foot of the Tungurahua volcano.

In the afternoon, you will take a path leading to the impressive « Pailón del Diablo » waterfall.

Baños de Agua Santa is a beautiful place on the side of the Tungurahua volcano, which thus offers a spectacular view from its Casa del Arból on this still active volcano. A little less than 20 years ago, after an evacuation, Señor Carlos Sánchez had the Casa del Arból built on the ridge for monitoring the volcano, but it then attracted many visitors despite itself. You can go and enjoy this fabulous view, and the more adventurous can swing above the void for an even more unusual experience.

Then you will reach and visit the village of Baños, where you will be able taste the traditional delicacies that Ecuadorians love.

Located in the middle of train lines, Guamote Market is one of the largest in rural Ecuador. It is not very touristy but very typical, and colorful. Indeed, men have the particularity of wearing very colorful ponchos and women skirts of bright colors. Every Thursday, the streets fill up with buyers and sellers. The vast majority are natives from the surroundings of Guamote, coming to sell their products and animals, one of the most spectacular parts of the market.

After the market, you will meet with the Puruha Razurku community. You will have lunch there and see a demonstration of the artisanal process of sheep’s or alpaca wool from the shear to the elaboration of the craft by the women artisans. You will also get to discover traditional music.

To extend this immersion in the traditional Ecuadorian culture and make it an even more unique experience; you will spend the night in another community called Inti Sisa.

On your way to Cuenca, you will stop to admire the Nariz del Diablo point of view.

You will then continue south to visit the best-preserved archaeological site in Ecuador: Ingapirca.

This ceremonial site was originally built by the Cañaris who inhabited the area long before the arrival of the Incas. Warriors, they fought for a long time against the Incas before submitting via a princely marriage. Usually, these invaders would all destroy crops that they were conquering. Ingapirca is the example that proves that the Incas also knew how to learn from these cultures and absorb them. During your visit you will be able to observe not the domination of Inca architecture over the Cañari architecture, but the mixture of the two styles.

You will then arrive to the beautiful Cuenca and have time to rest and enjoy some time in your hotel.

The day will be dedicated to the superb colonial city of Cuenca. You will discover it from your private bus. Its historic center, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is full of magnificent churches and monuments that the Spaniards built by integrating the remains of the Cañari and Inca cultures.

You will visit a factory of the famous Panama hats. You will discover the process of making the straw hat and will have the opportunity to offer yourself one as a souvenir!

Leaving the Andean region, you will have a breathtaking view of the El Cajas National Park and its unique landscapes, which you will cross to arrive in the coastal plain where banana plantations and rice fields abound. You will make several photo stops at different points of view to fully enjoy one of the most beautiful panoramas of the country especially on the wide expanses of Andean páramo.

By the end of the afternoon you will arrive in Guayaquil, the biggest Ecuadorian city, also named the « Pearl of the Pacific ».

In the morning, your driver will leave you at Guayaquil Airport for your flight to the Galapagos.

At the airport, before you can check-in on the flight, you must register at the office of the "Consejo de Gobierno de Galápagos" to obtain your "Tarjeta de control de tránsito" which you must keep with your passport until your return. Islands. The cost of this document is 43 AUD / person.
Next, you should have your luggage inspected in the Galapagos Biosafety Agency (ABG.) Room to avoid the unintentional introduction of invasive species that threaten the biodiversity of the islands. This same action will be repeated on the docks before any transport between the different islands of the archipelago. Before landing, the aircraft cabin will be fumigated with a product approved by the WHO, in order to eliminate any organisms passed despite the inspections.
Upon arrival in the archipelago, you will need to pay the entrance fee to the national park, AUD 215 / person.

Your local guide will meet you outside Baltra Airport and greet you at the islands. You will board a bus to the Itabaca Canal, which you will cross by ferry to Santa Cruz Island. When you get off the ferry, you will leave for your first site to visit: the upper part of Santa Cruz.

You will enjoy a delicious lunch at a ranch, then head to the 'pozas' where you can see the iconic Galapagos giant tortoises.

You will also visit the Charles Darwin scientific research station, its giant turtle breeding center and its interpretation center. It was once the residence of the famous Lonesome George, the last turtle of the Pinta breed.

To finish the day, you will be taken to your hotel at Puerto Ayora, the main city in the island.

You will take a boat ride in the bay of Puerto Ayora to reach various places to observe local wildlife. You will see, among others, the Playa de los Alemanes, the salt marshes and Las Grietas, a place recommended for swimming and snorkeling due to its crystal clear and shallow waters.

In the afternoon, you will head to your second destination in Galapagos: Isla Isabela. You will take a high-speed boat to reach the island (about 2h and half).

Once there you will be taken to your hotel.

The islet of Las Tintoreras is located south of Puerto Villamil. It has a small bay with completely calm turquoise waters, where you can see sea lions, sea turtles, marine iguanas, rays, etc. This bay is connected to a shallow crevice of crystal-clear waters and during low ties the entrance is thus closed. In this area, you can see blue sharks swimming with other small fish and sea lions. Along the trail you can see many marine iguanas between the rocks or under the mangroves. Las Tintoreras is one of the few places where iguana breeding is successful due to the lack of introduced animals that could kill the juveniles.

After that, a high-speed boat will take you back to Santa Cruz. You will have the rest of the day free to enjoy the city and the beach.

Depending on the schedule of the flight back to the mainland, you will have the opportunity to stroll one last time along the pier and buy some souvenirs in the local craft shops, before being escorted back to the airport. To reach Baltra Airport, you will cross the island by road to the Itabaca Canal, which you will cross by ferry, then board a bus to the airport for your flight to Guayaquil. Once there you will wait for your international flight back home.