Welcome to Quito! The biggest, best-preserved colonial city of America was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. The city is considered the Cultural Capital of South America and the second most important city of the old Inca Empire.

Depending on your arrival time, you can spend your day exploring the old town of Quito and the surrounding area. Adventure Journeys can help you to organize a day trip. In the evening, one of our trip leaders will meet you at the hotel for a welcome briefing and there will be plenty of time to discuss details and answer any questions you may have regarding the adventure. Our first day is an informational and acclimation day.

In the morning we will drive north of Quito into the dry valley of Guayllabamba, this area is full of plantations of avocados and chirimoya; a delicious fruit, we will have the chance to taste. Later we will continue and stop at the look out of Mira Lago, from here we will appreciate an amazing view of the San Pablo Lake and the Imbabura Volcano. After a few minutes, we finally will arrive at the Otavalo Indigenous market, which is very well-known for its Andean native people and the handicrafts they make from alpaca and sheep wool. In this town they also manufacture music instruments, and local men will be happy to share one or two songs with you! After enjoying a traditional lunch we will continue going to the nearby small village of Peguche so we can see and learn how the indigenous people use their skills for making the amazing tapestries and embroideries.

We will spend a couple of hours here and later we will go to Zuleta Hacienda.

Today we will explore the beautiful property of the Hacienda. Our local guide will lead us to the cheese factory, and later we will go for a short walk trying to spot a condor. This is one of the largest birds on earth and also Ecuador’s National bird, here the hacienda has been working for a long time to protect this endangered species.

In the afternoon, it is optional to ride a horse around the Hacienda or just relax reading a book in front of the fireplace.

In the morning, after breakfast and taking the last pics of this beautiful hacienda, we will drive for 1 hour to the Equator line. Here you can stand on both hemispheres at the same time. This is a very interesting outdoor museum, where you will learn about the relationship between the Equator and the old Andean civilizations.

Later we will drive to Papallacta hot spring so you can relax soaking in the volcanic waters or taking a massage at the spa.

This is a fantastic morning because we will go to the nearby cloud forest reserve to view the most amazing hummingbird species while drinking hot chocolate. Later we will continue driving through the avenue of volcanoes till we will get to Cotopaxi National Park; in the park we will hike for 2 hours around the Limpiopungo lagoon to spot wild horses and bulls, some little birds and with some luck the majestic condor.

In the late afternoon we will tell stories in front of a bonfire.

In the morning we will enjoy breakfast with an amazing view of Cotopaxi Volcano. With over than 19.000 feet it is considered as the highest active volcano on earth. Later we will get on our mountain bikes and ride on flat terrain on a road and a single track, for about 15 km. You will have the most amazing landscape of the Andes and the ride will end in a very charming Hacienda where we will spend this night.

After a very healthy breakfast, we will drive to Santa Rita Cloud Forest reserve and hike to the first line of the canopy. Here we will learn from our guide about the flora and fauna that exists in this area while enjoying the zip line adventure.

Today our trip will end and you will have your International departures. Take with you your memories and photos and leave a piece of your heart, as you will want to return to Ecuador soon to experience more of this enchanted land. We wish you a “buen viaje”!