DAY 1

ARRIVE TO QUITO

Arrive in Quito. Meet and greet with your bilingual guide; then transfer to the Patio Andaluz hotel. Two nights, in double room, including breakfast, hotel tax and service charge.

Equator Tour

DAY 2

QUITO CITY AND EQUATOR TOUR

This interesting and renovated city tour starts with a visit of the Itchimbia neighborhood, which is a place that offers a spectacular view of the old and new city. Then you will visit the old colonial Quito starting in Santo Domingo Plaza walking through one of the oldest streets in the town “La Ronda Street” where you will see how the colonial houses were built and how the Quiteños lived in the 17^th century. Your walk takes you through the city museum to San Francisco Plaza, making a quick stop to try the typical sweets of Quito. San Francisco is the oldest church in Quito and it is full of history and legends.

Finally, you will tour the main square where the presidential palace, the main cathedral and some other important buildings can be appreciated. La Compañía de Jesus church is one of the most beautiful churches in South America, or perhaps, in the world. This is the last treasure to be visited in our program before your guide takes you to the equator. Once there, you will visit a very interesting museum, INTI NAN, where you will learn about the different cultures in Ecuador and some interesting facts about the Equator.

DAY 3

COTOPAXI FULL DAY TOUR & BANOS

This day you will cross the Pan-American Highway – also named the Avenue of the Volcanoes by Alexander Von Humboldt, to the Cotopaxi National Park, an ecological sanctuary of 88,920 acres, which is home to the magnificent Cotopaxi Volcano, which rises 5897 meters (19,347 feet) above sea level, and is considered the highest active volcano in the world! You will have an opportunity to take short hikes and learn about the flora and fauna of the Paramo region (moorland). Lunch is at Tambopaxi base camp with a fantastic view of this most scenic volcano. In the afternoon, you will head south to Baños, which is a small town in the middle of the mountains. You will be staying at Sangay Hotel, one night one room (double occupancy) including Breakfast & local taxes

DAY 4

BANOS FULL DAY AND RIOBAMBA

After breakfast, take a spectacular route along the gorge of the Pastaza River to the town of Baños, right at the foot of Tungurahua Volcano, from where the thermal waters that gave it its name emerge.  Drive along the Route of the Cascades to El Pailón del Diablo (the Devil’s Cauldron) where the most adventurous will descend (medium difficulty) to observe the impressive cascade up close, surrounded by subtropical vegetation.  The force and sound of the waters can also be appreciated from a lookout point without descending.  Lunch is served at an hacienda / hostel in the surroundings, and in the afternoon you will enjoy a short stroll along Baños, a town with an international pulse, full of people from all over the world as well as many locals who take pilgrimages to the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Holy Water.

From here, the route to Riobamba climbs up the mountain, to where the clouds can be touched, alongside the massive Chimborazo, the highest mountain of Ecuador, on the high paramo where vicuñas graze and scamper – this is a protected Fauna Preserve.  On the hillsides, where the land is worked beneath the plow, one might think the farmer’s true objective was to paint the hills in fascinating patterns, not just to till the dark, fertile soil. Great photo ops on this route!  Arrive to Riobamba and check into the Abraspungo Hotel. One night, one room (double occupancy), including breakfast, hotel tax and service charge.