Ecuador Active Explorer

Day 1 Quito

Upon arrival (most international arrivals will be late at night) you’ll be met at the airport by a Knowmad Adventures representative and taken to your accommodations centrally located in a historic Quito neighborhood.

• No Meals – El Relicario del Carmen

Day 2 Cotopaxi Volcano Mountain Biking

Depart early after a filling breakfast and head north through the striking Avenue of the Volcanoes. Arriving to the Incan ruins Pucara del Salitre you’ll gear up, hop on mountain bikes, and enjoy a beautiful ride through the countryside with views to the Cotopaxi and other Volcanoes. Your ride ends at Hacienda Porvenir where you’ll have a filling highland lunch and learn of chagra (Ecuadorian cowboy) culture. In the afternoon choose to relax at your rejuvenating hacienda accommodations with views to Cotopaxi, or explore highland culture visiting small villages home to leatherworkers and other artisans.

*For those who prefer, horseback riding (alternate route to Ruminahui Volcano) in the morning rather than biking is possible for a small additional cost.

• B, L – Hacienda Porvenir

Day 3 Antisana Volcano Ice Hiking

Setting out by van in the morning you’ll head from the Cotopaxi Volcano to the Antisana. From the foot of the volcano you’ll hike to the tree line. From here continue another hour and arrive to the glacier’s edge. After a snack and being fitted for crampons, ice picks, and ropes you will embark with a specialized ice climbing guide atop the glacier (suitable for those without experience). After an exciting hike in this surreal setting enjoy a gourmet lunch at Mucki’s, a charming and rustic German-Ecuadorian style restaurant, that is the perfect end to a great day. By van head back north and spend the evening at an over-200-years-old converted hacienda.

• B, L – La Carriona Hacienda 

Day 4 Otavalo

Following breakfast you will continue north and after a short drive arrive to Otavalo. En route stop at a historic hacienda and an adjacent rose plantation learning of their cultivation and worldwide exportation. Arriving to Otavalo, enjoy a traditional lunch at Hacienda Pinsaqui. Following lunch continue on to the Otavalo Market, the biggest and most important indigenous market in all Latin America. The colorful main handicraft and textile market spills into the streets from the central Plaza de Ponchos, the colorful produce market impresses by sheer number, and the cacophony of the animal market comes from the outskirts of town. The friendly Otavalenos are more than happy to talk about their crafts and traditions.

• B, L – La Palmeras Inn

Day 5 Amazon Jungle – Napo Wildlife Center

Getting an early start to the day, after a hearty countryside breakfast you will be taken to the Quito airport for a short flight (by jet) to Yasuni National Park in the Amazon Basin. After a short drive to the dock, board a large, motorized canoe for a scenic two-hour trip downriver. Transfer to smaller dugout canoes and be paddled up the black water creek to the Napo Wildlife Center – an environmentally friendly lodge that offers an exciting and rejuvenating experience deep in an isolated setting perfect for spotting the flora and fauna the Amazon is famous for. Along the way it’s possible to see a variety of monkey species as well as large birds like toucans, parrots and macaws. After an hour or so the creek opens to an overwhelming view of the Anangu Lake where the Napo Wildlife Center is perched along the banks. Enjoy a welcome drink and briefing while your luggage is transferred to your private jungle cottage. After dinner you may choose to go on an excursion around the lake to spot caimans.

Your stay at the lodge includes gourmet meals and a variety of excursions to choose from according to your interests and preferences. The following is a sample itinerary.

• B, box L, D – Napo Wildlife Center

Day 6 Amazon Jungle – Napo Wildlife Center

Rise early to reach Ecaudor’s best and easiest-access parrot clay licks. A total of 11 species of parrots, parakeets and macaws can be seen at the naturally created feeding ground. Later, hike along a forest trail to visit the Kichwa community of Anangu meeting villagers and learning of their culture, customs and traditions. Return to the creek and hike through the forest for half hour until arriving to the second parrot clay lick where you can find different bird species. Enjoy a tasty picnic lunch at the observatory before a late-afternoon return to the lodge.

• B, box L, D – Napo Wildlife Center

Day 7 Amazon Jungle – Napo Wildlife Center

Following an early breakfast hike 20 minutes on a jungle trail arriving to a 120-foot canopy tower. Ascending the tower you pass through different levels of the forest emerging on top of a huge ceiba tree. Cross onto a platform built into the tree and view the Amazon as only the birds do. Flocks of colorful tanagers pass right through the canopy, blue and yellow macaws soar past, spicer monkeys search for fruit in nearby trees, two species of toucans make regular early-morning visits, and the life of the forest canopy opens before you. Birds virtually impossible to see from the forest floor are suddenly right beside you, oblivious to your presence. Have a gourmet lunch full of fresh local products back at the lodge, and enjoy an afternoon hike through primary forest watching for a variety of lizards and amphibians, colorful manakins and endemic golden mantle tamarin monkeys. Explore the lake and creeks by dugout canoe with great possibilities of seeing a giant otter (an extremely endangered species) and take in an Amazonian sunset.

• B, L, D – Napo Wildlife Center

Day 8 Amazon Jungle – Quito – Home

Watch for giant otters, monk saki monkeys and a variety of other rare birds while canoeing through the lake and black water creek to the Napo River. After using the restrooms return by motorized canoe and onward to the Coca airport for your flight back to Quito and onward home.

• B