An Ecuadorian Exploration – 8 Days

You’ll depart on your flight.

You will arrive at the airport in Quito. After clearing immigration and customs, you’ll meet your tour manager outside the airport.

You’ll board your bus with your luggage.

If you arrive with daylight to spare, you will visit the Panecillo Hill for a spectacular 360 degree view of the city and its surrounding neighborhoods.

You’ll have dinner. 

You will arrive at your lodging in Quito and check into your rooms.

You’ll have breakfast at your lodging.

This morning you’ll have an orientation meeting to outline the journey ahead, provide you with safety information and guidelines for cultural immersion, as well as explain the educational objectives of the trip.

Your first official activity will be a walking tour of the Old Town portion of the city of Quito. You’ll visit La Basílica, Plaza Grande, Plaza San Francisco, the San Francisco church, the Metropolitan Cathedral, La Compañía, and Calle La Ronda. 

You’ll begin your drive to your service community.

You will have lunch en route.

You will check into your lodging in Puyo.

In the afternoon, you”ll be welcomed into your service community. The service project, the heart of your program, is an excellent way to bond with the community and your peers.

You’ll then have dinner with a local family or at the animal rescue center.

You’ll have breakfast at your lodging.

You’ll meet at the work site to be briefed on the service project and to meet the local leaders who will be working with your group.

You will have lunch.

You will continue with your service project after lunch, followed by a late afternoon activity with members of your service community.

Some of these activities might include: helping families with traditional daily activities, visiting the local trapiche (where raw sugar cane is transformed in blocks of sugar and other sugar products), traditional cooking lessons, soccer games with local community, or dance lessons with local community.

You will have dinner with a local family or at the animal rescue center.

You’ll have breakfast at your lodging.

You will gather at the work site for the final day of the project.

You will have lunch.

You’ll continue with your service project after lunch, followed by a late afternoon activity with members of your service community.

You will have dinner with a local family or at the animal rescue center to celebrate your time shared together and the completed project.

You’ll have breakfast at your lodging.

After leaving the service community, you’ll stop to explore one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Ecuador, Pailón del Diablo (The Devil’s Cauldron). The waterfall lies in a region where the Andean highlands begin to give way to the amazing climate of the Amazon.

You will have lunch in Baños.

After eating, you’ll visit the local hot springs in Baños this afternoon.

You will arrive at your lodging in Baños and check into your rooms.

You will have dinner.

You’ll have breakfast at your lodging.

Today you’ll embark on a short but challenging hike (an average of thirty minutes) up to the first refuge on Cotopaxi. Cotopaxi is the highest snow-capped active volcano in the world! Here you’ll have the opportunity to learn about the high plateau ecosystem and its flora and fauna. You’ll also have plenty of time to play in the snow and take photos. While on Cotopaxi, you’ll eat a boxed lunch brought from the hotel. You’ll be able to have some hot chocolate from the refuge to warm you up! Then you’ll begin your descent of the volcano.

Afterwards, you’ll drive back to the city of Quito and check into your rooms.

You will have dinner.

You’ll have breakfast at your lodging.

You’ll depart from Quito and make for the Otavalo market.

On the way, you’ll stop for a visit at the equator! Here’s your chance to stand in two hemispheres at the same time! You’ll also explore the Quitsato scientific project, which is located on the equatorial line. There you’ll learn about how early indigenous communities took advantage of astronomy to organize their culture. Once you leave the site, you’ll return to your bus and continue on the way to Otavalo.

Upon arrival to Otavalo, you will stop at a viewpoint to admire some of the surrounding lakes. Then you’ll visit the famous indigenous market – known to be largest in South America! You’ll find traditional handicrafts such as hammocks, bags, ponchos and necklaces, among other more modern souvenirs such as t-shirts and paintings.

Next, you’ll take a weaving workshop to learn about traditional backstrap looms and the challenging process of creating textiles by hand!

You will have lunch in Otavalo.

You’ll board your bus to return to Quito.

For your final dinner of the trip, you’ll enjoy a delicious feast of Ecuadorian delicacies. During the meal you can reminisce about the time you shared together in Ecuador!

You’ll have breakfast at your lodging.

You will arrive at the Guayasamín Museum and La Capilla del Hombre, an art museum and cultural complex created by the artist Oswaldo Guayasamín. Among the collection of artwork is a giant mural illustrating the history of the Latin American people from Pre-Columbian times to the present. 

You will have a packed lunch to take to the airport today.

Your Ecuador adventure comes to a close as you head for the airport for your afternoon flight back to the US.

Your flight will arrive back to your home airport just after midnight.