Ecuador Andes and jungle tour

Welcome to Ecuador!

Upon arrival in Quito your driver will pick you up, holding a sign with your name (in case of delay or any other problem, contact your agent).

Let’s explore this beautiful big city and learn something about its turbulent history! You will get to experience the new section of the city in the North with its many parks and tall modern buildings, the Avenida Rio Amazonas, the Plazas Santo Domingo, Independencia and San Francisco which are in the colonial section in the South of the city. Due to its many historical architectural monuments the UNESCO declared the old part of town a world heritage site in 1978.

From the Panecillo hill in the South of the old part of town, where the high monument of the Virgen of Quito stands at with 43m, you have an impressing prospect. From here you have wonderful views over the red clay tile roofs of the old part of town, the skyline of Quito in the North, as well as the surrounding Andean cordilleras range with its outstanding snow-covered mountain giants. Sit down, relax and take your time to enjoy the fantastic view.

The Mindo Cloud Forest is located at 0 00' 46'' latitude in the cloud forests of northwestern Ecuador on the edge of the Choco bioregion. It is among the most diverse places in the world. Sharp and deeply forested mountains descending to gorges with rushing waterfalls and crystalline streams form the reserve.

The views stretch far away to distant volcanoes. Only two hours from Quito Mindo is the perfect place for adventure, relaxation and discovery of a cloud forest's birds and diversity of plant life. In this area we will meet many mixed swarms of birds including tanagers, flycatchers and several types of toucans.

Due to the fauna diversity it will even be possible to see hummingbirds. The magical place of mist and mystery of Mindo has 170-recorded species of birds and the list continues to grow! After a full day excursion to this wonderful area you will return in the evening to Quito.

We will meet you in the morning at your hotel in Quito and start this tour heading South on the "Avenue of the Volcanoes”. Following the Pan-American Highway for about two hours will bring us the Cotopaxi National Park. We will make a stop at the visitor centre Campamento Mariscal Sucre to visit the natural history museum. After that we drive to the lagoon Limpiopungo crossing the wide high plateau at the slopes of Cotopaxi volcano.

During an easy hike around the lagoon you get to know the typical vegetation of the Andean highlands and watch out for the local birds as the Andean humming bird and the condor. After the hike you continue to the rustic mountain refuge Tambopaxi on the high plateau.

Here you will eat lunch with great sights on the Lahars fields of the Cotopaxi and the wide expansion of the nature park. In the afternoon you drive over the high plain to an old ritual place of the Incas, from which you have an excellent view across the high plain and the surrounding mountains Ruminahui, Sincholagua and of course the Cotopaxi. Later you leave the national park and return back to Quito on the Pan-American Highway.

Termas de Papallacta SPA, Resort and Convention Centre is located 40 miles east of Quito, the capital city of Ecuador in the heart of South America.  Perched on a high Andean valley at the entrance route to the Ecuadorian Amazon jungle, the spa - resort offers its visitors health, recreation, adventure and rest. Whether relaxing in the thermal baths, indulging in pampering spa treatments, or embarking on relaxing walks at the Rancho del Cañón (Canyon Ranch), you are sure to enjoy the Papallacta experience complemented by the restaurants which serve a range of culinary delights to tickle your tastebuds.

The Thermal Club combines beauty treatments with warm and friendly service.  In a private and exclusive environment, you can enjoy a range of different treatments related to health and beauty such as:

• Individual hydro massage baths, body treatments with medicinal Andean mud, baths in the Thermal Cave, Finnish saunas, pressure massages, aromatherapy or therapeutic massages, face and body treatments and more.
• Meditation and rest area
• Beverages counter

The Spa at Termas de Papallacta has a clinic and cafeteria.

At Quito International Airport you will be met by one of the hotel representatives in the National Departure area. Here they will assist you with the check-in process and give you a short briefing about the journey. After a 30 minute commercial flight to Puerto Francisco de Orellana "El Coca", our representative will transfer you by private transportation to the city's main dock at the Napo River.

The next two hours will be on a motorized canoe heading down river on what will be the beginning of an unforgettable experience in the tropical rainforest, the Amazon. At the end of the motorized canoe ride, you will be dropped off the main dock and your first close encounter with the rainforest begins and the final leg of the trip to the lodge will be completed in a paddle canoe.

The only thing you must take care of during this part of the trip is your carry-on and camera equipment, all other luggage will be transported by local staff.

One of the Naturalist Guides will give you basic info about the tropical rainforest, the Amazon, and how the lodge operates.

For travelers choosing the standard/ basic accommodation option for the tour the jungle stay will take place at Cuyabeno Reserve, within Yasuni National Park with only dinner included.

We will take the breakfast and after a 20 minute walk the observation tower comes into sight. This amazing construction will allow you to climb 120 ft above the forest.

Your Naturalist and Native guides will help you spot the colorful birds of the Amazon, maybe even certain primates. On the way back from the tower there is the option of taking the Tucaneta Trail where your Native Guide can show you some of the medicinal plants still in use today and your Naturalist Guide will provide you with interesting info on the ecology and natural history of the Amazon. After lunch will visit the Cahpara Trail and we will have a Night Canoe Ride.

Today you will make your way back to the Napo River and take a motorized canoe ride to the clay licks, one of the most fascinating displays of the wild world. Hundreds of parrots and parakeets gather here to eat the mineral rich soil, an important part of their diet. Binoculars are essential to really capture the moment.

After the clay licks we will take you to experience our Cultural Activity. An Amazonian Kichua woman will welcome you at their community center to share their life of the Kichua's in the Amazon. This is special because it is part of the Amazon you do not find on the maps and provides the special and unique opportunity to really get to learn more about the people of the Amazon and in the afternoon we will visit Coto Trail.

Not all lodges can offer an exotic trip into deep wilderness like where you are headed on this adventure. We will walk through an amazing primary forest for around 3 to 4 hours beginning at our main dock back at the Napo River. In this type of ecosystem there are chances to find some of the biggest mammals of the rainforest, like peccaries or wild pigs, deer or tapir. Eventually we will reach the lagoon of Mandi Cocha.

Here we get into a fiberglass canoe and paddle through the amazing Igapo Forest. This is a temporary flooded black water forest. Here we might see different species of birds and some of our guests, who are extra lucky, may encounter the elusive giant otter. During the night we will have nocturnal walk.

In accordance to your briefing the night before, you will have an early wake up call, breakfast and departure from the lodge. The lodge staff will assist you with your checked luggage and the motorized canoe ride will head upstream back to Coca, where our representatives will take you to the airport to help you with your checked luggage and boarding passes.

Early this morning, we travel north along the Pan-American Highway through astonishing mountain scenery to visit the Otavalo Indian Market. For centuries, regional markets have played an important role in Indian life, providing regular gathering places for trade and socializing. The colourful local markets of the Andean Valleys are famous for their fine handicrafts. The Otavalo Indian market dates back to pre-Inca times and is famous for its textiles woven on back strap and shuttle looms. Otavalo is South America’s most famous Indian fair.

Here Otavaleños barter in silence, in marked contrast to the raucous noise of other markets. You will have time to visit the famous market and stroll along the narrow cobblestone streets filled with Otavalo Indians wearing blue ponchos, white trousers and long braided hair. After lunch we continue the travel visiting the waterfall of Peguche and on to the San Pablo lake. This area around the lake below the Imbabura volcano is the home of the Otavalo Indians. Following the ridge of the lake on an old cobblestone road through pastureland and fruitful fields we pass small villages still with Adobe houses inhabited by Indio farmers and art craftsmen.

Clear mountain air and the wonderful sights on the landscape with the many small bird-rich side valleys as well as the enormous Cayambe in the background make this ride a genuine experience.

Transfer out to the airport.