Tours in Quito

Day 1  

  

Arrival in Quito, which is the perfect place to begin exploring Ecuador. We pick you up from the airport and take you into the luxury hotel. After a short break you get to explore the Quito city. Starting with Guapulo church. Visit many churches like La Compañia with its golden altars; San Francisco Monastery (Jesuits), the Cathedral, the Presidential Palace. Then a visit to "El Panecillo Hill" with the statue of the Virgin Mary where you can appreciate the view of the entire city.

 

Day 2

 

Today we make a trip to the national park of Pasochoa, this mountain forest reserve is located 30 km South of Quito and is an old, heavily eroded and extinct volcano with its own special environment. It boasts of many different plants and birds and has well-kept paths inside the forest and into the higher paramo region. As the altitude does not pass 4200m, it is perfect for that first hike in the Andes and to get well acclimatized for future higher climbs. We return to Quito In the late afternoon. Overnight accommodation in the hotel.

 

Day 3

 

Driving north through the village of Guayllabamba where you will see avocados and the chirimoya fruit growing, along the high street we come to the small village of Calderon. This town is known for its small dough ornaments. The cultivated fruits from Guayllabamba are used as offerings at the Laguna de Cuicocha. The beautiful lagoon is in the crater of the extinct Cotacachi volcano (4.939m) at the edge of Reserva Ecologica Cotacachi Cayapas, which is a protected area at 3.200m. It will take us about 3-4 hours to walk around the lake and we will get to see a lot of pretty flora. After this we drive to the Hacienda Chorlavi, where we spend the night.

 

Day 4

 

A trek over the area El Angel takes us through a beautiful mountain landscape at an altitude of 4.000m. Here there are wonderful lagoons in the cloud forest and hummingbirds populate the area. The endemic Frailejones Giants is particularly famous, achieving a height of over 3 metres. Overnight accommodation in the Hacienda Chorlavi.

 

Day 5

 

Mojanda is a complex of three lakes Caricocha (male lake) or big lake, Huarmicocha (female lake) or small lake and Yanacocha or black lake. The three of them are connected by different paramo paths and defended by two mountains the Fuya-Fuya to the East and the Yanahurco or Black Mountain to the west. Everything is around the 3 714 meters. From here we drive on bumpy roads to the village of Cayambe and further to the refuge on the southwest flanks of the Cayambe (5.790 m). As the equator runs crosswise through the Cayambe, it is not only the highest point on the Equator, but also the only place at this altitude that has snow. Overnight accommodation in the Refuge.

 

Day 6

 

Cayambe, a massive extinct volcano, is located about 65 km northeast of Quito and is both Ecuador's third highest peak and the third highest peak in the Americas North of the equator. It has the distinction of being the highest point on the earth's surface through which the equator directly passes. We begin our ascent to the peak at midnight. On a course that takes around 7-8 hours, we will pass over stunning snow and ice fields to reach the top. The return journey will be roughly four hours. When get back we will drive to the Hacienda Guachala where we stay for the night.

 

Day 7

 

Otavalo is an Indian town located in a beautiful mountain region, north of Quito on the Pan-American Highway. The Indians of this region are famous for the weaving of textiles, which has a history of 4000 years and the town boasts of a great market, where you can buy or admire their work. We drive south, pass Quito and continue our way on the so-called "Street of the volcanoes", which got its name by the German explorer Alexander Von Humboldt. While on this street we will pass the Antisana, Pichinchas, the Pasochoa, Corazon, Rumiñahi, Sincholagua, the Illinizas and the Cotopaxi until we get to the 400 years old Hacienda la Cienega the Hacienda particularly impresses with the luxurious colonial main building, its flowering gardens with stunning old trees and a small colonial chapel. In this nostalgic atmosphere we will enjoy our dinner and stay for the night.

 

Day 8

 

Arrive at the Cotopaxi National Park, it is the country's most visited mainland park and has around 33,390 hectares although during weekdays is maybe traffic free and in quiet solitude. The serene pine forest leads us up to a paramo plateau and the Limpiopungo Lagoon at 3.800m. From here we drive on zig zags-roads up to 4.600m and go by foot 200m up to the José Ribas Refuge, which is at 4.800m. We will spend the night here.

 

Day 9

 

We rise before midnight and after a light breakfast start the ascent to the Cotopaxi volcano. After about 45 minutes we reach the glacier where we rope up and start using the crampons and ice axe. During the ascent we cross several crevasses. It takes about 6 hours climbing to reach the summit (5897 m. / 19.348 ft.). Depending on the physical conditions of the participants, this journey takes about seven hours. At the summit there are spectacular views over the Antisana, the Illinizas and our next target, the Chimborazo. In an approx. three hours descent we are back again at the refuge and in the afternoon we drive to the Hacienda Leito by Patate valley.

 

Day 10

 

The Hacienda is on the edge of the Llanganates Nature Reserve and here there are facilities for riding, walking in the park or simply doing nothing. Enjoy the spectacular view of the Tungurahua and surrounding corn and tree tomato fields.

 

Day 11

 

Today we drive via Ambato to the highest mountain in Ecuador, the Chimborazo (6.310m). We will pass the Carihuayrazo on our way to the beautiful highlands at the foot of the Chimborazo and we will drive through beautiful landscapes on curved roads, which are winded through ravines. There are many llamas, which are still used by the locals on their farms. There are also animals such as vicuñas and alpacas. We drive up to the Hermanos Carrel hut; the lower of two refuges and ascend from here to the Edward Whymper hut at approx. 5.000m. The hut was named after the first climber of the Chimborazo, Edward Whymper and his name has also been given to the normal route up the mountain and the highest summit of the Chimborazo.

 

Day 12

 

Shortly after midnight we start the ascent to the summit of the Chimborazo volcano, which is the furthest point from the centre of the earth. First the ascent is quite tough over loose rubble, but soon we reach a small rock latch plate, cross a slope and reach a glacier flank. From here we ascend steeply over a waffle pattern formed glacier, a large column and later a flatter area and arrive after approximately 9-10 hours over the veintimilla summit to the Whymper summit (6.310m). In approximately 4 hours we descend again to the hut and drive to Riobamba to celebrate our mountain experience. Overnight accommodation in the Hosteria Abraspungo.

 

Day 13

 

From the province capital Riobamba we drive from the Turi plateau at 2.754m height in an adventurous course travelling down to Chanchan at approx. 1.800m height. On our journey we pass by the famous devil nose (Nariz del Diablo), a distance that is so steep that it can be mastered only on a tightly winding railroad. From Chanchan we drive back to Quito hotel.

 

Includes

 

* Round Trip Transportation

* Bilingual Guide

* Accommodation

* All meals

* All excursions according to program

* English speaking guides

* Mountain guides

* National park entrance fee.

 

Not Included

* Gratuities (Optional), Individual excursions, Personal expenses