Ecuador - Andes, Amazon and Galapagos Islands
Ecuador - Andes, Amazon and Galapagos Islands
Ecuador - Andes, Amazon and Galapagos Islands
16 Days
Visiting: United Kingdom, Quito, Otavalo, Parque Nacional Yasuní, Santiago, Santa Cruz, Isabela Island
Tour operator:
Tour code:
TTECU
Guide Type:
Fully Guided
Physical rating:
Faster
Trip Styles:
Interests:
Activities:
From:
$7323 (USD) including Flights from the UKTour Overview
Nowhere are the wonders of the natural world more accessible than Ecuador. A small country with staggering diversity - we journey from the circling condors of the snow-capped Andes, into the rustling rainforests of the Amazon and wildlife-filled islands of the Galapagos. The archipelago that launched evolutionary theories and changed how we view the natural world, we spend a whole week in the Galapagos - snorkelling with playful sealion, walking amongst giant tortoise and side-stepping sunbathing iguanas on the beach outside our hotel.
Highlights
Itinerary
Day 1
Location: United Kingdom
Titan’s VIP door-to-door travel service collects you from home for your flight to Quito.
Day 2
Location: Quito
We start our day with a guided tour of the second highest capital city in the world - Quito. Built on an old Inca city, the UNESCO-listed old town is the jewel in Quito’s crown. Surrounded by distant snow-flecked peaks, it has some of the finest Spanish architecture in South America. We explore handsome cobbled plazas lined with white churches and coloured colonial houses, stopping to admire architectural treasures such as the Presidential Palace and Plaza de San Francisco.
Ever watchful over the city, we drive to the top of El Panecillo and the 45m-high statue of the Madonna that rises above Quito. The panoramic views across the capital and the ridge of volcanoes that flank it, are breathtaking. After chocolate tasting in the artisan neighbourhood of La Floresta to sweeten the journey, we drive to the small Andean town of Otavalo.
Day 3
Location: Otavalo
Spreading across three of the town’s plazas in a sea of coloured Andean textiles, alpaca-knitted ponchos, hand-woven carpets, dreamcatchers and jewellery - this morning we explore Otavalo’s bustling market. Afterwards we head up to the cute colonial town of Cotacachi - the centre of Ecuador’s leather industry.
Today is a working lunch, where we join a Pachamanca cookery class - an ancestral technique that involves cooking over volcanic stones before burying the pots in the ground. The earth is then adorned with flowers as a thanks to indigenous gods. After lunch, it’s a short drive to Lake Cuicocha, a 3km-wide sapphire-blue crater lake studded with forest-covered islands and surrounded by fertile volcanic slopes and endemic flora and fauna.
Day 4
Location: Otavalo
After breakfast, we visit a family-run workshop that makes panpipes and charangos - a small, traditional stringed instrument similar to a lute. We drive up into the highlands to Parque del Condor - a non-profit refuge for rescued owls, eagles and endangered Andean condors. On our way back to Quito, we stop to walk the line of the equator - taking photos of the 30m-high Quitsato Equatorial Monument.
Day 5
Location: Quito
From the Andes to the Amazon, we board a flight to Coca - the gateway to the Ecuadorian Amazon. We transfer onto a motorboat to continue our journey deeper into the humming heart of the jungle and our riverfront eco-lodge.
Yasuni National Park is thought to be one of the most biologically diverse places on the planet. Dense rainforest, wide meandering rivers and mist-cloaked mountains provide a lost world habitat for millions of species of plant, mammal, reptile and bird. The park is also home to many indigenous tribes, two of which live in voluntary isolation from the outside world. This afternoon, hike along the ‘Playas’ trail in search of Amazon wildlife, and perhaps try kayaking on the river as the sun sets.
Day 6
Location: Parque Nacional Yasuní
Up with the birds, we take a boat trip along the river to two clay licks - where hundreds of colourful parrots, macaws and parakeets gather to supplement their daily diet with rich sodium from the clay. We then carry on to Kuri Muyu Intercultural Centre - a centre managed by women from the Añangu Kichwa community who teach us about native culture, customs and how they use the natural resources of the rainforest.
After lunch at the lodge and time to soak up the peace and tranquillity from your balcony, we climb up to a 36m-high observation tower for incredible views across the forest canopy.
Day 7
Location: Parque Nacional Yasuní
This morning, we visit a sustainable community project run by the Añangu, before a guided walk along the Mama Kuna trail, keeping an eye out for toucan, tapir and treefrogs. After lunch we cruise along the Añangu creek, a blackwater ecosystem that’s home to caiman and giant river otter. Following a traditional Amazonian dinner, we join a night walk around the lodge hoping to catch the reflective eyes of nocturnal mammals and reptiles in our torchlight.
Day 8
Location: Parque Nacional Yasuní
Much of the rainforest are early risers, so we paddle out from the lodge in canoes on our final wildlife-spotting trip. Travelling by boat back to Coca, a quick flight lands us back in Quito where we drive up to Papallacta. A tiny village in the Andean Highlands famous for its thermal springs, it’s the perfect place to submerge in the therapeutic waters after three days in the wilderness.
Day 9
Location: Quito
We start our journey to the magical Galapagos Islands, by driving to Quito for a flight to Baltra and continue by boat to the island of Santa Cruz. On the way to our hotel, we tour the island - first visiting Los Gemelos (Twin Craters). The fertile slopes of these volcanic sinkholes are home to bizarre broccoli-shaped trees, exotic orchids, flycatchers, mockingbirds and rare Darwin finches - the feathered friends responsible for Darwin forming his theories on evolution.
Winding our way up into the highlands, we look out for the island’s famous residents - the endangered giant tortoise. Weighing in at up to 300kg and living for up to 200 years, seeing these gentle giants in their natural habitat is a rare and humbling sight. Afterwards, we get to grips with the fragility of this astounding archipelago at the Charles Darwin Research Station.
Day 10
Location: Santiago
Today we explore two unpopulated islands by boat - Santiago and Bartolomé. Sculpted by twin volcanoes, Santiago’s lava flows and eruptions have carved out natural pools where sealions and fur seals gather on the rocks. Stepping ashore at Sullivan Bay, we walk along the 1.5km path of the lava flow - a lunar landscape of giant crazy paving where molten lava bubbled, solidified and cracked.
Proving that the best things come in small packages, tiny Bartolomé just off Santiago is one of the youngest and smallest islands in the Galapagos. Despite its size, its waters host some of the richest marine life - including a small colony of Galapagos penguin, green sea turtle, sealion, whitetip reef shark and rays. Some of which we’ll see from the water with snorkels if the timings and conditions are right. With sweeps of golden sand and cerulean waters - it’s also one of the most photographed islands.
Day 11
Location: Santa Cruz
Today we move islands to Isabela - the largest island in the Galapagos and aptly shaped like a seahorse. Formed by six volcanoes, Isabela is a hot spot for wildlife. There are more resident species of tortoise here than the other islands combined, and it’s one of the best places to spot migratory whale - including sperm, humpback, minke and orca.
This afternoon we take a boat to the islet of Tintoreras, looking out for turtles, rays, blue-footed boobies, Sally Lightfoot crabs, pelicans and penguins.
If you choose to upgrade your tour with a four-night cruise (with differing excursions), you’ll board MV Galapagos Legend today.
Day 12
Location: Isabela Island
Today we get active, hiking the Sierra Negra volcano - one of Isabela’s five volcanoes. One of the most impressive volcanoes in the Galapagos, it has one of the largest calderas in the world - measuring almost 10km in diameter. Passing by ochre-streaked lava fields and lush green flora, we keep an eye out for birds of prey and Darwin’s finches. Reaching the summit rewards us with stunning views across the island to the mangroves, rocky islets and emerald waters of Elizabeth Bay.
Day 13
Location: Isabela Island
Isabela’s size makes it home to a diverse range of habitats. The brackish lagoons just outside Puerto Villamil are one of the best places in the archipelago to view migratory birds, including whimbrels and pintails. Afterwards we visit the eerie Wall of Tears, a 24m-high wall built by prisoners in the 1940s.
There’s time to stop at the Arnaldo Tupiza Tortoise Breeding Centre before we sail back to Santa Cruz. Opened in 1994 to protect Isabela’s giant tortoise population from invasive species, habitat loss and volcanic eruptions, this carefully monitored programme is successfully reintroducing five native species of tortoise to the island.
Day 14
Location: Santa Cruz
Your final day on the Galapagos is free to explore Puerto Ayora. Santa Cruz is a working island, and visitors are often surprised by the human life in this colourful coastal town - although the ever-present pelicans and sealions are a reminder of who really rules the roost. There’s also the option to take a boat trip over to another island.
Day 15
Location: Santa Cruz
Reflecting on our incredible week in the Galapagos, we leave the wonders of the natural world behind to start our journey home. We fly from Baltra to Guayaquil for our overnight flight back to the UK.
Day 16
Location: United Kingdom
Upon arrival, your Titan vehicle will be waiting for the journey home.
What's Included
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14 nights in hotels and 1 in flight
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International and internal flights as detailed. Prices are based on return flights with KLM from London Heathrow via Amsterdam.
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Titan tour manager
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41 meals: 14 breakfasts (days 2-15) 13 lunches (days 2-14) 14 dinners (days 1-14)undefined excursions and visits
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Visits to Otavalo market; Cuichoca Lake; musical instrument workshop; Parque del Condor; River Napo clay lick; Kuri Muyu Intercultural Interpretation Center
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City tour of Quito
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Chocolate tasting session; Pachamanca cookery experience; Añangu sustainable community project and Mama Kuna guided hike; Añangu creek boat trip; traditional Amazonian dinner and night nature walk
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Tours on Santa Cruz; Santiago and Bartolomé; Isabela
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Tintoreras boat tripPlus
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Welcome drink reception
Check out our Q&As
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Do I have to pay a Single Supplement?
In most cases a single supplement will apply. If the price for a Single room for sole occupancy is not shown, please ask our team for details and we will be able to check the details for you.
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Will the accommodation included meet local health and safety regulations?
Yes
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How long has the tour company been trading?
We've been taking our customers across the world on escorted tours for more than 40 years
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What Ethical Travel credentials does the tour company have?
Our commitment to sustainable travel is part of our ethos. We love exploring the world and hope that, alongside our customers, we can be part of a bigger change in respecting the people and wildlife on our planet and minimising the impact we have on our environment.
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What policies are in place for Covid-19?
With some COVID-19 rules and restrictions still in place there are a few details that you need to know. This information is subject to change. It’s your responsibility to monitor changes and ensure you fulfil all relevant criteria for travel. Rest assured that we’re on hand to help and answer any questions you might have.
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What documents will I receive before I travel?
You’ll receive your Final holiday documents via email approximately 14 days prior to your departure.
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Low Deposit
Titan Travel requires a minimum deposit of 500 GBP per person or the full booking value, whichever is less, with the final balance not due until 75 days before departure.
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Cancellation Policy
We don't charge a cancellation fee, here is a summary of titan travel charges.
Up to 75 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of deposit.
At 74 days before tour starts: Forfeit 50% of booking price.
At 42 days before tour starts: Forfeit 75% of booking price.
At 28 days before tour starts: Forfeit 90% of booking price.
At 14 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of booking price.
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