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| ECUADOR FROM
NORTH TO SOUTH IN 22 DAYS |
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| Discovering Ecuador from Quito,
Cuenca, and Guayaquil, sailing along the Galapagos |
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Quito
Reception at Quito airport and transfer to
the hotel |
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Colonial Quito
and Middle of the World
Breakfast at the hotel. We will visit
the colonial city center, Colonial Quito
and the most important churches; Compañía
de Jesús and San Francisco. Then
we will descend from El Panecillo Hill
while enjoying a stunning panoramic view
of Quito.
Then we will head for
the exact place where the Equator line
is drawn, and visit the interesting Middle
of the World monument. This is the equinoctial
line that marks the centre of the earth:
0°-0'-0" Latitude, and divides
the northern and southern hemisphere.
There we can visit the Ethnographic Museum
to learn about the Ecuador cultures. Also
we can have lunch in a typical restaurant
to taste some traditional Ecuador food.
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Mindo Cloud Forest
Breakfast at the hotel. This magical place
will lead us to the Mindo Cloud Forest,
where there is about 500 species of birds.
To the northwest of the capital, near
the Andes and the Pacific Ocean coast,
there is a geographic area which forms
an ecosystem ideal for the habitat of
many species of birds: The Mindo Cloud
Forest.
Here we will find hummingbirds, tangaras,
fly-catchers and many kinds of mammals,
reptiles and insects. This region is plentiful
in orchids. All those who love the bird
watching and wildlife cannot miss this
almost unique place in the world.
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The
Magnificent Views of Antisana Volcano
Breakfast at the hotel. Antisana Volcano
is the fourth highest snow-covered volcano
in Ecuador with an altitude of 5,753m. This
is the best place to see the majestic Andean
bird: the Condor.
You can see a great flow
of lava and an important number of cliffs
where condors spend the night. Going up,
we will find La Mica Lagoon. The mountain
with the same name has great glaciers, whose
melted water runs into lakes and rivers
and favors a sustainable wildlife throughout
the region.
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Rosas Colonial Estates and
Indigenous Market
We will go through the Andean valleys
to visit the colonial estates, see their
ancient production methods, and the
great plantation of roses, one of the
most important export products of Ecuador.
Then we will go to Otavalo market to
do some shopping in the colorful fair.
In the afternoon, we will visit different
towns of the area such as Peguche, Cotacachi,
San Antonio de Ibarra, and finally,
we will go back to Quito.
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Quito
Breakfast at the hotel. Free day.
Museums and Galleries of Art (Optional)
Breakfast at the hotel. We will start
our visit in the Central Bank Museum,
which has an archeological exhibition
from 10,000 years B.C. Then we will see
the work of Oswaldo Guayasamin, the most
famous Ecuadorian artist in the 20th century,
in his private museum where we will see
his posthumous work: La Capilla del Hombre
(Chapel of the Man).
If we have enough time, we will also
visit the City Museum, which shows an
exceptional panorama of the local customs
and manners of Quito.
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Quito – Cotopaxi - Riobamba
Breakfast at the hotel. Taking the Avenue
of the Volcanoes, we will get to know
the world’s highest active volcano,
Cotopaxi, as well as other grand and imposing
mountains like Ilinizas, Tungurahua, Chimborazo,
Carihuairazo and Altar.
We will get to Baños, gateway
to the Amazon. In the afternoon, we will
head for Riobamba and go on a brief city
tour around the city.
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Riobamba -Alausí
- Ingapirca - Cuenca
Breakfast at the hotel. We will go towards
Alausi from Riobamba train station; en route,
we will pass indigenous towns and communities
such as Cajabamba, Santiago de Quito, Guamote,
Tixan, etc.
We will see outstanding
places and landscapes such as Colta Lagoon,
Balbanera Church, and Palmira desert. As
soon as we arrive at Alausi, we will go
towards the Devil’s Nose, one of the
unique and most spectacular rail trips around
the world. In the afternoon, we will head
for the Inca-Cañari ruins of Ingapirca
to appreciate this archeological work. We
will go back to Cuenca.
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Cuenca
Breakfast at the hotel. We will visit
Cuenca, the city chosen by many people
for being the most picturesque of all
the Ecuadorian cities. Its paving stone
streets and colonial style houses with
balconies and wrought iron rails make
Cuenca a city with a special charm.
We will go to see the Cathedral with
its three domes, its marble interiors,
and magnificent stained-glass windows;
then we will stop at the flower market.
The markets and handicrafts are a testimony
of the region as well as its indigenous
and craft heritage.
We will get to know the Tomebamba River
with its typical hanging houses. Then
we will stop at Turi viewpoint to see
the city in perspective. We will visit
an export company of toquilla straw
hats.
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The Inca Ruins – Cañari
of Ingapirca
Breakfast at the hotel. We will go to
the north of Cuenca to see Ingapirca fortress.
It is a complex built by the Incas over
the old foundations of Cañari town,
being the most important monument of the
Inca Empire in Ecuador.
We will learn about the Incas’
unknown construction techniques and we
will enjoy the pleasant natural environment,
where the fortress and sacred temple in
honor of the Sun were built.
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Cuenca - El Cajas - Guayaquil
Breakfast at the hotel. We will go down
along the road towards the Pacific coast
up to Guayaquil. We will go through El
Cajas National Park. This park is known
for having a paramo landscape with about
200 lagoons of glacier origin scattered
through a large area like the famous lagoon
La Toreadora, where we can watch a variety
of native flora and fauna.
If we have enough time, we will go to
the Polylepis or Paper Tree Forest. The
road from the Andes reaches an altitude
of 4,000m, from where we will descend
to the coast up to the sea level watching
different habitats: paramo, scrub oaks,
Andean forest, cloud forest, subtropical
forest and tropical forest. Once we reach
the coastal plains, we will find the largest
banana plantations around the world. We
will also see sugarcane, coffee, cacao
and rice plantations.
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Guayaquil and the Historical
Park
We will start our trip going to Guayaquil
downtown; then we will visit the old neighborhood
Las Peñas, the lighthouse of Santa
Ana Hill, walk around the beautiful Malecon
2000 and visit one of the best botanical
garden with 50 hectares of gardens.
It is 60 meters above sea level. We will
appreciate different kinds of palm trees,
orchids, heliconeas, bromeliads and cactus.
It is an ideal place for lovers of flowers,
butterflies and birds. Then we will visit
the Historical Park, it is the latest
example of sustainable ecotourism management
in Guayaquil.
We can appreciate the autochthonous wildlife
such as caimans, crocodiles, iguanas,
harpy eagles, parrots and other species
living in semi captivity, apart from beautiful
areas of mangrove swamps.
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Tropical Estate
We will leave from Guayaquil, going through
coastal towns and landscapes up to a typical
coastal estate in Ecuador. We will witness
the agricultural production (tropical fruits:
sugarcane, banana, coffee and cocoa) and
cattle rising. We will enjoy a rural lunch
in the beautiful house of the estate or
in its amazing gardens.
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Galapagos –
Baltra Airport
We will set out from Quito or Guayaquil
to Baltra airport in Galapagos. Then we
will head for Itabaca channel to cross Santa
Cruz Island to get to Puerto Ayora.
Santa Cruz (High Part)
We will visit the high part of Santa Cruz,
where we will see the two volcanic depressions
called Los Gemelos (the twins), and also
El Chato (the flat) Hill. Finally, we will
go along a tunnel formed by lava.
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Española (Punta Suarez)
We will have a dry landing at Punta Suarez.
We will listen to an introduction about
inactive lava holes. This area is famous
for the sea lion rookeries, and is one
of the most important places to watch
many species of animals: Nazca and blue-footed
boobies, tropical birds, marine iguanas,
lava lizards and colorful zayapas.
We will also find Galapagos pigeons,
sparrow hawks and split-tail seagulls.
This is a nesting area; the nest can even
be seen on the path itself. After leaving
the breeding area, we will visit one of
the albatross nesting rookeries; there
are about 15,000 of them around the island.
From May to December, the albatross
mating ritual is something we cannot miss.
We will see the prompter, where the water
stream goes up to 23 meters.
Española (Gardner Bay)
In the afternoon, we will visit Gardner
Bay; we will have a wet landing on a very
white-sanded beach, which is organic and
formed by corals, shells and fossils of
sea animals. Along the low part of the
Beach, we will find sea lions rookeries,
in which the female remains next to the
young and the males protect their territory.
On the high part of the beach, formed
by sand dunes, there are big holes where
turtles lay their eggs. Here we will see
the Galápagos sparrow hawk, brown
pelican, Galapagos pigeon, hood mockingbird,
Darwin’s finch, lava iguana and
marine iguana. This bay is ideal for swimming
and snorkeling in its turquoise waters.
The skilled swimmers can go to Roca Tortuga
(Turtle Rock), very near the bay, where
then will find starfish, tropical fish
of diverse colors and shapes such as the
angelfish, surgeonfish or parrotfish,
and also manta rays, white-pointer sharks,
among others.
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Floreana (Punta Cormorant)
We will have a wet landing on a green
beach formed by olivine crystal. We will
go along a well-signaled path, right passing
the mangrove swamp of different species,
and will take us to a lagoon where is
one of the biggest flamingo rookeries
of Galapagos.
Floreana Island is famous for its endemic
fauna; for example, lecocarpus, lignum
vitae and scalecia villosa. At the end
of the path, there is a white-sanded beach
where we can find turtles, which come
every year to lay their eggs; we can see
that by the footprints on the sand, and
their nests. At the green beach, we can
do snorkeling accompanied by sea lions.
Here is one of the most visited places
to do this activity: The Devil’s
Crown.
Floreana (Post Office)
Floreana is one of the most interesting
islands due to its history. In 1793, North
American and European whalers came here
with the aim of obtaining water and turtle
meat. To contact their relatives, they
put their letters into a barrel which
was carried by the ships that sailed back
to their country of origin.
This is still a custom nowadays; the
travelers write letters that are taken
by others. We will find a tunnel, formed
by streams of lava, where we have to be
very careful when descending. In this
path, we will see the hood mockingbird,
Darwin's finch, Marias canary and lava
lizard. After sailing on a motor boat,
we will have a dry landing to visit the
viewpoint and enjoy a beautiful landscape
surrounded by sea birds.
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North Seymour
After the dry landing on North Seymour
Island, we will have the opportunity to
see seagulls and sea lions which are plentiful
around the island.
This island is famous for the breeding
of blue-footed boobies that takes place
here, and for having the biggest rookery
of magnificent frigate birds. Then we
will watch sea animals and endemic iguana
species.We will disembark at Baltra Island
to go by bus to the airport and fly to
Quito or Guayaquil.
We will set out from Quito or Guayaquil
to Baltra airport in Galapagos. Then we
will head for the quay to get on the M/V
Galapagos Coral.
Santa Cruz (Dragon Hill)
We will visit Dragon Hill. After a dry
landing, we will visit the salt-water
lagoon, situated near the beach which
is often visited by pink flamingoes. We
will cross a lignum vitae forest to walk
along a path to the top of Dragon Hill,
where we can appreciate the unique view
of the whole bay. In this area, the land
iguanas are bred; this species was introduced
by Charles Darwin Scientific Station.
Santa Cruz (Venecia)
We will sail on boat along the coast of
Santa Cruz Island. The land iguanas that
live in Venecia have been protected against
wild dogs which live in Santa Cruz Island.
On Santa Cruz, we will have the opportunity
to see the vegetation and sea animals
such as the red mullet, eagle ray, gold
ray, white pointer shark and turtle that
live in the calm waters of coves and channels.
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Rabida (Jarvis)
We will have a wet landing on a red-sanded
beach; this color is due to the oxidation
of iron, element that is plentiful in the
island. Rabida Beach is visited by sea lions
and blue-footed boobies. We will go through
a path that will take us to a salt-water
lagoon with mangrove swamps, and where we
will see flamingoes very occasionally. From
July to September, the brown pelican nest
in the salt mountains. During the trekking,
we will have the opportunity to see Darwin's
finches; when we get back to the beach,
we can do some snorkeling activities.
Santiago (Puerto Egas)
Puerto Egas is situated in the north of
Santiago Island; there we will have a wet
landing on a black beach formed by the erosion
of volcanic lava. At the end of 1950s and
beginning of 1960s, Hector Egas, who was
born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, lived in this
place to extract salt from a mine located
at 3km from the beach. Today we can see
the remains of Egas' old factory; they had
to leave the island because they went bankrupt.
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Fernandina (Punta Espinoza)
After disembarking at Punta Espinoza,
we will go to see the rookeries of the
biggest marine iguanas of the archipelago,
besides watching red crabs or zayapas
(Grapsus grapsus), which are colorful
crabs.
We will watch not flying cormorants,
Galapagos penguins and sparrow hawks,
and sea lions. Here we can see volcanic
formations such as Brachycereus cactus
and lava formations such as pa-hoe-hoe
and AA lava. And finally we will see the
mangrove swamps.
Isabela (Tagus Cove)
We will have a dry landing on the biggest
island in Galapagos. We will learn about
the 5 volcanoes that formed this island.
We will go along the path that will take
us to the Darwin salt-water lagoon, where
we will enjoy a spectacular view of the
volcanic formations. Here we can watch
Galapagos penguins.
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Bartolome
We will have a dry landing. On the island,
we will watch volcanic lava bombs and volcanic
ash cones. At the top, we can enjoy a wonderful
view of the neighboring islands; we can
also see the eroded rock Pinaculo.
When descending, we will find lava lizards
and autochthonous plants such as tiquilla
and local cactus. We will have the opportunity
to swim under water (snorkeling) and watch
Galapagos penguins, turtles and white
pointer sharks.
Santa Cruz (Black Turtle Cove)
We will visit Black Turtle Cove, which
is near Las Bachas beach to the north
of Santa Cruz Island. We will sail on
a motor boat through the mangrove swamps,
where pelicans and herons nest; we will
turn the motor off so we can watch the
turtles, white-pointer sharks, eagle rays
and gold rays.
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Santa Cruz (Charles Darwin Station)
Charles Darwin Station is formed by scientists
from around the world that do biological
research and projects on species preservation.
An example of this is the program on the
breeding in captivity of giant turtles
and their offspring.
On the island, we can see giant cactus
and land birds. After visiting the station,
we will stroll around the town. We will
disembark at Baltra Island to go by bus
to the airport and fly to Quito or Guayaquil.
NOTE: This cruise through Galapagos Island
can depart from Santa Cruz Island on Sunday
and arrive at Darwin Station the following
Sunday or depart from North Seymour Island
on Wednesday to Floreana Island. Departures
on Sundays and Wednesdays.
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Guayaquil
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the Guayaquil
airport. |
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