The Avenue of the Volcanoes in Ecuador - 9 days

The Avenue of the Volcanoes in Ecuador - 9 days

VOLCANOES, CULTURE AND COLORFUL MARKETS

Discover all the Andean geography from its highest points and dare to cross the mountain range towards the Pacific Ocean.

Scenic Views – Nature & Wildlife – Soft Adventure – Hiking

Itinerary

Day 1: Quito

Pass By: Quito, Quito, Pichincha Province
A friendly local Host will be waiting for you at the Quito Airport. Our representative will give you the necessary information so that you can feel familiar at your arrival. Then, you will be transferred to the hotel, the drives to take you up will be on 40-minute or so. Once at the hotel, you will do the check-in and rest in order to recover your energy to enjoy the next day in this facinating city. Quito is one of the largest cities the country where are living more than two million inhabitants. Besides, Quito is the political and administrative capital of the Ecuadorean Republic.



Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight at Reina Isabel or similar, 3-star hotel

Day 2: Quito - City Tour - Middle of the World - Quito

Stop At: San Antonio de Pichincha, San Antonio de Pichincha, Quito, Pichincha Province
Quito opens its doors to show us up several temples, churches and convents which have an incalculable cultural worth. Most of these churches were built in the XVI century with the effort of indigenous and mestizo people who translate their skill on divers artistic works. Besides, Quito is known as the “Light of the Americas” because in this city started the south America rebellion against the Spaniards in 1809.

At 40-minute drive far from the old town of Quito will find the Middle of the world. Two museums fight over visitors; The middle of the world city and the Intiñan, the first one is a enormous photographic monument built in 1976 and the second one is a museum on-site where accompanied by a local guide you will enjoy more about this tourist attraction.

After visit the most popular highlights is time to back to the hotel to prepare our luggage to the next day of the journey.

Duration: 7 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight at Reina Isabel or similar, 3-star hotel

Day 3: Cotopaxi - Baños

Stop At: Cotopaxi National Park, Ecuador
The Cotopaxi National Park is located one hour and a half -drive on the south of Quito. It was declared the first protected area on Ecuador Mainland after Galapagos National Park in 1975. The park has an area of 33 thousand hectares, the altitude range is from 3500m and 5897m above sea level. It is a freezing zone; the temperatures range from 5 to 15 Celsius degrees (32 to 59 F)

The Cotopaxi eco-system is home to a wide range of flora and fauna including a unique combination of pine vegetation. Wolves, pumas, Andean spectacled bears, southamerican foxes, wild horses, rabbits and the Andean Condor the largest raptor in the world are part of this natural region.

The main attraction of this National Park is the Cotopaxi (5897m – 19347ft asl) the second highest active volcano in Ecuador after the Chimborazo Volcanoe, around the majestic snow-capped volcano are other extinct volcanoes such as Rumiñahui, Sincholagua and Quilindaña. We will continue traveling towards the Province of Tungurahua to spend at Baños city.

Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight at La Floresta or similar, 3-star Hotel

Day 4: Baños - Waterfall Route - Devil´s Cauldron

Stop At: Pailon del Diablo (Devil's Cauldron), Rio Verde - 18Km From Banos, Banos Ecuador
We will do different activities on this day, the first one is visiting “La Casa del Arbol” This attraction is the best place to spot the Tungurahua Volcano, located on at 2660m asl. In addition, the famous swing of the end of the world was set up on this site.

It is a perfect place to enjoy the wonders of the Ecuadorian Andes; a picnic with friends, a family day or can see some landscapes such as the magnificent Mama Tungurahua Volcano and the mountains that surround the city of Baños. Apart, you will do a hiking over the waterfall route. Small villages, tangerine and tree tomato plantations will be seen by the main highway that links Baños with Puyo city. The first stop will be in the “Manto de la Novia” waterfall to cross from one end to the another one by means of a cable car. Then, we travel to visit another nice waterfall known as “The Devil´s Cauldron”. This intimidating place has a noisy waterfall that can be seen from several points at the moment that people are walk-down on the path.

Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight at La Floresta or similar, 3-star hotel

Day 5: Baños - Chimborazo Reserve - Riobamba - Alausi

Stop At: Chimborazo Province, Chimborazo Province
Our next journey will be in the morning for visiting the Faunistic Reserve Chimborazo. El Taita Chimborazo, the highest mountain in Ecuador, is the main highlight of this reserve. The massive volcano is 6210m asl (20,000 feet) and is surrounded by an immense sandy area with a rather dry grassland, different from most. The reserve, however, provides water to the three provinces where it sits: here are the sources that feed the Ambato, Chambo and Chimbo rivers. The waters of the Chimbo end in the great Guayas River, this icon is represented in the National Ecuadorian Shield. The connection between the Chimborazo and the Guayas River is a symbol of the unity between Costa and Sierra. The reserve houses an important population of vicuñas reintroduced from Peru and Chile in 1988. There are also llamas and alpacas, domestic animals native from Ecuador that were used by the ancient inhabitants of the Andes before the Spaniards introduced horses, sheep, cows and donkeys. The reserve was created to protect these animals and their historical heritage, as well as the strange grassland of which they are part. Our stay will be in the Alausi Town.
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight at Europa or similar, 2-star hotel

Day 6: Alausi - Devil´s Nose Train - Ingapirca Ruins - Cuenca

Stop At: Estacion Ferrocarril, Alausi Ecuador
The day will begin with a tasty breakfast, then we continue the activities in Alausi. The Devil´s Nose Train is located on this peaceful town. In this place a very complicated engineering plan took place at the beginning of the XX century, since the mountain had to be drilled in order to set the railroad up. For this reason, the american Ing. Archer Harman who was the Chief of this project had to design and built the railroad like a sig sag track to allow the locomotive loaded with people and commodity, thus, the train can go up and down to arrive in Quito or Guayaquil.

It is time to visit another outstanding place like the Ingapirca. It is one the most significant archeological-sites in Ecuador. This site has been conserved for centuries to the present time. This ruins represent a fusion of Cañari and Inca architecture, since these group of structures were constructed by the Cañari cultural group as a religious and housing centre. Later in the XV century the sovereign ruler of the Inca Empire settled in the Cañari territory and built a ceremonial and religious site.

Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight Casa del Barranco or similar, 2-star hotel

Day 7: Cuenca

Stop At: Cuenca, Cuenca, Azuay Province
Cuenca was declared a cultural patrimony of humanity by the Unesco in 1995. This city is located on the south of Ecuador at 2538m asl. Cuenca is the capital of the Province of the Azuay. The city has 50k inhabitants in the city.

Cuenca possess the largest church in Ecuador. This massive religious structure was designed and constructed by the Brother Redemptorist Juan Bautista Stiehle. The Brother were born in Daechingen, Germany in 1829 and died in Cuenca in 1899. The catholic church has a renaissance gothic style with three domes that were assembled in the roof as a replica of the Basilica of Saint Peter from Rome. The two frontal towers in the beginning also were designed with domes but due to architectural failures they were not built. The cathedral´s construction began in 1885 and ended 90 years later in 1975. It accommodates 8000 people inside and attracts hundreds of catholic worshippers day after day. The city of the four rivers offers other activities that you can discover according with you likes or enthusiasm.

Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight at Casa del Barranco or similar, 2-star hotel

Day 8: Cuenca - Cajas National Park - Guayaquil

Stop At: El Cajas National Park, Cuenca 010219 Ecuador
Now, we head to the west of the city to visit the Cajas National Park. This Park is within the western mountain range which is part the Andes Cordillera. Th altitude range is about 3156m to 4450m asl (10354 to 14600 ft). The extension is 288 km² (28,544 h). In this natural area, we can see, rivers, creeks, ravines and streams. The average temperature is 2°C and 18°C (36°F - 64°F). In the Park, there are several archeological sites such as Capac Ñan (The Andean Inca Trail), which links the coastal area with La Sierra (the mountain region). These sites were part of the Pre-Columbian and Inca period and were used for trading the Spondylus Shell, it is object was considering such as currency for economical transactions. Upon your arrival in Guayaquil, we enjoy the Malecon 2000, known as Malecon Simon Bolivar as well. This boardwalk is visited for Ecuadorians and foreigners. This area comprising a pedestrian Street by 2.5 kilometers along the Guayas River, with well-tended gardens, restaurants, shops, clothing stores and a dock. On this dock, we can see the Morgan Vessel, that works like a museum. The farewell dinner will be the special moment to remember anecdotes that happened on this warm journey and it will be until the next adventure…
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight at Unipark or similar, 3-star hotel

Day 9: Guayaquil - Departure day

Pass By: Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Guayas Province
Departure transfer in the morning. You will be transferred to the airport so that you can take your flight at home or continue your travel around the world. The end.

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.