Arrive into Quito at anytime. Our guides will greet you at the airport and take you to your hotel for some much-needed rest. Join the group for a welcome dinner, relax and rest as your body adjusts to the altitude.

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Start your day with the Teleferico cable car ride from the edge of Quito, one of the highest aerial lifts in the world, to the east side of the Pichincha Volcano at 13,000 feet. After enjoying the phenomenal views and mountain air, head back down into the city for a visit to the local artisan market, el mercado artesenal, followed by lunch and a tour of the historic center of Quito, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Enjoy a free evening to relax or explore more.

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This morning we hop on our private shuttle for a nice drive out of Quito towards Nono via roads less traveled that wind up into the lush green mountains. At the highest point in Nono, we stop, and the adventurers amongst us strap on their helmets and enjoy the next two hours riding downhill to Tandapaya on back roads with a rushing river by their side. For those who prefer the van, they can enjoy the scenic ride in comfort.

Our next stop is the Bellavista Bird Sanctuary up in the clouds, where you’ll get up close and personal with hummingbirds and several other species, followed by an afternoon lunch and a guided walk through their nature trails. We continue on to Mindo where we spend the night in the cloudforest.  (B/L)

Wear something you don’t mind getting wet today! We’ll take a cable car to the entrance of the Seven Waterfalls area, and then another one across the top of the forest canopy. Hike to seven different waterfalls, and swim and bathe in as many of them as your heart desires! We’ll come back into Mindo town for lunch, then visit a butterfly conservatory and see how many different butterflies you can get sitting on your hands.

Ecuador has the best cocoa beans in the world, and no visit here is complete without a chocolate tour to end our day. After the tour, spend your evening relaxing at our comfortable lodge and enjoying all the amenities on offer. (B/L)

Head back south, and get ready to take steps like a giant, with a visit to Mitad del Mundo, the center of the world, where you can stand on the equator with a foot in each hemisphere. Learn some amazing facts about the country, the equator, and the effects of geomagnetic fields and gravity with interactive sessions with expert local guides.

Our journey continues as we travel to our hacienda (working ranch) at the doors of Cotopaxi National Park, where we spend the evening. Today we spend some time offsetting our carbon footprint and helping the environment with the Go Epic Earth program. Join the local hands to participate in a reforesting and treeplanting activity, in your name, sponsored by Go Epic. Reward yourself with a short hike to a nearby waterfall, or just enjoy yourself at the ranch, the spa and the whirlpools.

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Put on your cowboy hats and rubber boots! Rise early to help milk the cows. Then go to the fields where the horses roam to round them up and bring them to the hacienda. While the handlers tend to the animals you can have your breakfast. Then meet your guide, a local chagra (cowboy farmer), who will get you fitted in cowboy chaps, a traditional warm poncho, and a riding helmet, for a horseback ride up the wild side of the mountain where los toros bravos (fighting bulls) and cows graze freely.

Return for lunch, and then make empanadas in a cooking class late in the afternoon. Cap off the day at the spa, or just relaxing at the ranch.

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Today is a day of contrasts of epic proportions. The time has finally come to get up close and personal with Cotopaxi, the legendary volcano, revered by all in it’s shadow. We’ll drive into Cotopaxi National Park and park at base of the volcano at 15,000 feet. Then we’ll hike to the Refugio José Rivas, the volcano’s base camp, which should take about 45 minutes and take us to 16,000 feet, where we can go inside the hut to relax and have a warm drink, and enjoy the brilliant view of the Cotopaxi Glacier just another 300 feet away. Take a final deep breath of what will be the highest point of your visit to Ecuador and then head back to the car.

We’ll buckle in and start our descent, stopping on the way for lunch, and enjoying a spectacular scenic drive that winds through lush green mountains and valleys, passing by more volcanoes, and then gradually descending into the Amazon. (B/L/D)

Get ready to get wet and get wild, with the jungle trek of your life. Trek into the jungle, using ropes and hands and feet to climb up and up till you reach the top of the highest waterfall. Keep your eyes and ears sharp on the way to spot birds and other wildlife, and after a safety briefing, prepare to descend down all the way down, with rappelling, jumping, canyoning and wading back and forth across the gushing streams and pools.

If you just read all that and went “oh no”, no worries – you can opt for the visit to the Amazoonica Animal Rescue Center via a canoe ride, to participate in conservation activities and interact with a variety of animal species such as macaws, parrots, coatis, toucans, turtles, tapirs, caiman, and several species of monkeys, maybe even see a puma. Have the evening free to explore Tena. (B/L)

Today is a day of more of everything. More excitement, more nature, more wildlife and more water! Choose to either go white water rafting in the Amazon, or a gentle canoe ride into a lagoon filled with wildlife. After lunch, we’ll visit one of the local indigenous Amazon communities, to experience hands on their traditions and see their way of life, while learning of all the secrets that are handed down from generation to generation. Learn how chocolate is made, learn about the different medicinal plants and understand the story of the deep connection these people have with nature.

Try not to cry as you depart the Amazon region today. A congratulations is in order. You’ve conquered mountains, volcanoes, jungles, waterfalls, cloud forest and rain forest! Today we’ll give our weary bones and bodies their own retreat. We’ll head to the Papallacta Hot Springs, nestled amongst the mountains, at the base of a volcano where the springs are naturally heated by the geothermal activity. Soak yourself in all the different pools, before continuing towards Quito, where we’ll have a farewell dinner before heading to our comfy hotel for the night.

Alas, we’re at the end of this adventure. Wave your teary goodbyes, and get transported to the airport as you bid farewell. The best cure for the going home blues? Start planning your next adventure. See you then! 

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