Down to earth holidays

Description

This is the perfect holiday if you want a rural escape and relaxation in truly stunning natural surroundings. It also brings you close to the gentle yet vibrant culture of the Ecuadorian Andes, so you’ll enjoy warm welcomes and plenty of fun too.

You begin with two nights in Quito, which gives you a free afternoon to recover from the flight and get used to the altitude, then you can join a shared city tour the next morning. There is lots to see in Quito, from La Ronda neighborhood in the colonial centre, excellent museums, churches and the great lookout point of El Panecilla, to fantastic shopping.

Your Andean escape begins when you head south along the Avenue of Volcanoes towards Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano in the world. We will take you to a traditional rustic hacienda made of wood, sun-dried bricks with straw roofs and woven reed mat inner walls, all locally made. There is a living room with roaring fire, and the dining room is the focus in the evening, as the food is local, homemade and tasty. The views from here are just stunning.  You have two nights here to take a guided hike in Cotopaxi National Park (included in price), and the hacienda also offers horse riding, other hikes, bird watching and cultural experiences which you can enjoy while you’re here.

After two nights here, you head south east to another Andean mountain destination. It is very beautiful and very remote, with a gorgeous crater lake, tiny villages, high grasslands, cloudforest, rivers and even an old Inca site (no stonework).  This is all on what is known as the Quilatoa Loop. A remote road which takes in some breathtaking scenery, the home of the native Tigua painters, and remote Andean villages. On the way here, we’ll stop so that you can enjoy an Andean market if there is one on that day.
Enjoy three nights in simple but comfortable locally-owned accommodation in Chugchilan, from where you can head out each day to explore, and return each evening for a hearty meal.

This holiday combines very well with a Galapagos cruise or a visit to the rainforest.

Detailed Itinerary

1. DAY 1: Arrive in Quito. You will be met on arrival and transferred to your guest house. Free afternoon to recover from the flight and get used to the altitude.
   
   
2. DAY 2: This morning you join a shared 3-hour Quito city tour, which will include taking you to the old town, to see churches, up to El Panecillo look-out point, and other sites of interestnbsp;Your afternoon is free so you can explore other sights you’re interested in, perhaps a museum, or just enjoy the shops. B.
   
   
3. DAY 3: Your private driver/guide will pick you up from your hotel after breakfast. It is about a 2 hour drive down the Avenue of Volcanoes to your hacienda near Cotopaxi. You can choose how to spend your time today and the hacienda staff will help you decide by suggesting different activities you can do enjoy – perhaps horse riding, walking, birdwatching. Your rustic hacienda is in fabulous, dramatic scenery. FB.
   
   
4. DAY 4: Today one of the hacienda’s guides will take you on a guided hike in Cotopaxi National Park. FB.
   
   
5. DAY 5: Your driver will collect you after breakfast and you head southwest. Before travelling to the Quilotoa Loop, you can make a short detour to Saquisili market if it is a Thursday (we suggest an early start as the market is mostly over by 1pm). It is then about a three hour drive to Chugchilan village which is in the midst of fabulous Andean scenery. B,D
   
   
6. DAY S 6-7: For the next few days you can enjoy exploring this incredibly diverse and dramatic landscape on walks and maybe even horse rides or bike rides. The local villagers, especially your helpful host, will suggest local walks or excursions. You may want to hike to the emerald Crater Lake, stride out across the high paramo (grasslands), visit the Tigua painters in a nearby village, explore the cloudforest …. This is wild, remote and beautiful Ecuador. A side that most visitors will never see as it s definitely off the beaten track.  B,D
   
   
7. DAY 8: You will be transferred back to Quito today, probably arriving late afternoon. B

Is it for you?

This holiday is suitable for all ages and levels of fitness, though the altitude may affect some people. All the accommodation is small, clean, and simple. The emphasis is on enjoying the Andean scenery on foot.

Best times to go

The driest season for the Andean regions is from about May to October, but we can organise this trip at any time for you. Saquisili market day is a Thursday, so if you want to include this on the journey from Cotopaxi to Chugchilan, you will need Day 1 of this itinerary to be a Sunday.

Getting there

You will need to fly in and out of Quito. For the purposed of this tour, it has been assumed that you will get an afternoon flight out of Quito on the last day. Should this not be the case, we can arrange another night in Quito for you (about £50 pp). if you are combining this trip with the Galapagos Islands, you may prefer to fly to Guayaquil on one leg. Please ask for advice from us if you are unsure about this. We can book for your flights for you.

Responsible Travel

How your holiday helps:
This holiday is using small local places to stay and is basically staying in very rural areas of Ecuador where you will have direct contact with the local people, and where tourism income feeds directly back to the local communities.
Our Cotopaxi hacienda is made sustainably with local materials such as wood, straw and reed. It employs local guides, and it also works with Fundacion Paramo to offer community service programmes.
The accommodation in Chugchilan is owned and run by a local family, and local people are employed throughout. Tasty meals are made from mainly locally-produced food. The hostal plants nearby land with indigenous plants and trees.

Carbon Offsetting :
For every client we take on holiday we plant 10 indigenous tree saplings. This is used as a poverty alleviation and biodiversity scheme as well as helping with carbon offsetting. Click for more details …

Giving to grassroots projects:
Our registered charity, The Tribes Foundation, is currently raising funds for a project in Ecuador. The kindness of strangers can make a big difference, so if you’re a travel philanthropist considering donating to a worthwhile charity, please consider backing this excellent community project.

Conservation in Action is an Ecuadorian charity which was set up with the aim of contributing to the protection of the threatened cultures and natural environment of the Amazon region. It supports those communities already working to defend their cultural and environmental integrity. They work towards this goal through political, technical and economic assistance designed to strengthen and demonstrate respect for indigenous culture, conserve biodiversity and contribute to community-managed sustainable development programs.

We will shortly have a page with photos of the school on www.the-tribes-foundation.org.

Shop ethically:
If you support buying fair trade, ethical and organic goods, please take a look at our online ethical shop for books, maps, travel gadgets, first aid kits etc before you travel. This is also a great place to find organic goodies and handmade crafts, many made in the countries and areas that we visit.

FOR MORE GENERAL DETAILS ABOUT OUR RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL PRINCIPLES, CLICK HERE.

Comments

Trip Code: EC2

Validity: 1-3-09 to 31-12-09

Individual Trip Dates & Prices

2+ people can take this holiday on most days of the year, subject to availability. Please call us to check availability.

1 Feb to 31 December 09 : from £780 pp.

• Prices are based on twin share, excluding flights.
• Please ask about child rates (if available) and single supplements.
• Exchange rate fluctuations may affect these prices (see our Booking Conditions).

Duration: 8 days

Included
Airport meet & greet, private transfer to Cotopaxi, Cotopaxi guided hike, accommodation on twin share basis (2 nights FB near Cotopaxi, 3 nights half board in Chugchilan, 2 nights B&B), private transfer from Cotopaxi to Chugchilan (via Saquisili Andean market if available that day), private transfer from Chugchilan to Quito.

Not Included
Flights, tips, insurance, visas, items of a personal nature, entrance & national park fees.