Your Ecuador holiday begins in Otavalo, a small town in the highlands of northern Ecuador famous for its crafts market. Then head south via the Avenue of Volcanoes to Cotopaxi National Park and the highest active volcano in the world. After visiting the National Park your exploration of the Ecuadorian Andes continues with a stay in a lovely hacienda 45 minutes from the town of Banos.
After returning to Quito for the night your Ecuador holiday continues with a visit to the area known locally as the Oriente, a vast rainforest region of the upper Amazon basin. This is a huge area of rainforest, the great majority of which is pristine primary forest. Your base for the next 3 nights is Napo Wildlife Centre, a comfortable ecolodge in Amazonian Ecuador. In addition to hikes on the many trails, you can paddle in dugout canoes, swim, take night hikes, use the 35m tower to view the tree canopy, bird watch, and visit the nearby parrot and parakeet clay licks.
Your Ecuador holiday finishes with a 7 night cruise around the Galapagos Islands, one of the world's greatest wildlife experiences. Your home for the next week is a prestige class yacht and you will have the opportunity to explore some of the islands on foot and also go swimming and snorkelling, perhaps even being joined by sea lions.
Included
Transfers, ground transport, local guides at Napo Wildlife Centre, and on cruise, Quito-Coca-Quito and Quito-GPS-Quito flights.
Not included
US$110 Galapagos national park tax and transit card is not included.
For you
This is an easy trip, but be prepared for hot humid conditions in the rainforest.
Best time
The Galapagos Islands are a year round destination. The driest season for the Andean regions is from about late May to early October.
Getting there
You will need international flights to/from Quito. Prices from the UK start from around £675.
