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Arrive Quito and check into hotel.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
We begin with a walking tour of Quito, Ecuador’s mountain capital and the second highest capital in Latin America. Quito is one of South America’s most beautiful cities lying in a narrow valley at the foot of Pichincha volcano surrounded by snow capped mountains and extinct volcanoes. This fascinating city has a blend of colonial architecture, with imposing churches and busy local markets. We will visit some of the main sites including Plaza de la Independencia, La Compañía church with its gilded altars, walls and ceilings, and San Francisco church, Quito’s largest. We also climb to the top of Cerro Panecillo for fantastic views of the city and the Andes. In the afternoon, we drive to Mindo.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+) Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Mindo is an excellent place to do some bird watching which we will enjoy this morning. Next we drive via ‘the Middle of the World’, the point where the Equator cuts through Ecuador. Stopping here we visit the interesting Solar Museum ‘Inti nan’ with fascinating exhibits and explanations of the importance of Ecuador’s geographical location. We continue on to Otavalo, a small market town situated in a fertile valley surrounded by imposing sacred mountains.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+) Included meals: Breakfast
Today we have a full day to explore the environs around the town of Otavalo. We intend to visit the colonial town of Ibarra, and drive around Imbabura Mountain passing the traditional haciendas of Zuleta and Angochagua. Near San Pablo Lake we plan a gentle walk to take in the surrounding countryside (1.5 hrs) with a stop for lunch en-route. Near the lake we may get an opportunity to visit a bird rescue centre that particularly looks after Condors – the largest bird in the Andes. Later in the afternoon we return to Otavalo.
This morning we visit Cuicocha crater lake (3,100m) and walk (1.5 hrs) through the alpine vegetation, surrounding a tranquil turquoise lake. Here we hope to see the ‘King of the Andes’, the wide-winged condor in graceful flight. Back in Otavalo, we shall visit the colourful craft market, where we can wander around the stalls and we might be able to pick up some textiles, many made with natural plant dies. This is probably the best place to do some souvenir hunting, perhaps buying a locally made poncho to take home. Then we leave for the village of Peguche. Its local families are famous for their traditional Andean music, played using several types of hand-made panpipe. We may have an opportunity to visit one of these musical families, before continuing our journey via the dramatic Guayllabamba canyon to our night stop near the settlement of Machachi, where we stay in a atmospheric family-run hosteria.
Overnight Hosteria (H+) Included meals: Breakfast
Today we will drive into Cotopaxi National Park where we can see one of the world’s highest active volcanoes – Cotopaxi 5897m. We plan to take a walk around Limpiopungo (1.5 hrs), a glacial lake surrounded by flora and fauna of the páramo (high-altitude Andean grasslands). Then we head to Patate.
Overnight Hosteria (H+)
Depending on the activity of the Tungurahua volcano we may or may not be able to visit the town of Banos and it's thermal baths en route. We will also visit the Pailon del Diablo waterfall. If the volcano is erupting we will take an alternative route avoiding Banos. Then we take the bus to Riobamba where we spend the night.
Leaving early this morning we take the bus to Alausí and then the Autoferro on to Sibambe, inaccessible by road. The Autoferro is basically like a bus body mounted on rail wheels – this is currently the only way of travelling on the ‘Devil’s Nose’ route. This famous railway is a triumph of engineering. From Alausí the track drops 800m down a ridge and into the gorge of the Río Chanchán. This almost sheer descent, known as the ‘Devil’s Nose’, was achieved by building a series of switch backs, making it one of the most exciting train rides in the world. The Autoferro returns to Alausí where we rejoin our bus. Driving to Guayaquil, we follow the course of the gorge and then the terrain starts to level off into the plain of the fertile Guayas Valley. Here are fields of coffee, mangoes, bananas, cocoa, rice, sugar cane, pineapples and wetlands dotted with stilt houses. Finally we arrive at Guayaquil in the late afternoon. Should the train not operate, our journey to Guayaquil will be entirely by road.
This morning we fly from Guayaquil to Baltra Airport before transferring, by ferry, to the Galapagos island of Santa Cruz where we board our vessel at Puerto Avora after spending some time in the highlands. Over the next week our charter vessel will travel from island to island, accompanied by a National Park guide. We sleep on board and mostly sail between islands at night, thus maximising the time on the islands. This evening we will be sailing overnight to Española. We plan to explore in a number of different ways both on foot and by road and have time to swim and snorkel in some small sheltered bays. We spend a lot of time out in the sun so high factor sunscreen and a sunhat are essential; remember to keep your swimming costume and a towel handy. During the day we can stay out on deck, an ideal place to watch dolphins frolicking. Please note: this itinerary is subject to change depending on Galapagos Park Authorities.
Overnight Accommodation on Boat (U) Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Visit Punta Suárez blowhole and Bahia Gardner; overnight sail to San Cristobal Island
On San Cristobal, visit interpretation centre and Lobos Island
Visit Mosquera Island then sail to Baltra Island. Visit Bachas beach in the afternoon. Overnight sail to Bartolome
Visit Bartolome island, ascent of volcano on Santiago Island, snorkelling at Sullivan Bay; overnight sail to Genovesa Island
Visits on Genovesa Island, Price Steps, Darwin Bay and snorkelling in the caldera; overnight sail to Santa Fe
Visits and snorkelling on Santa Fe and Plazas Islands
We spend some time on San Cristobal before boarding the flight back to the mainland. We transfer to our hotel in town for our last night.
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