Overview & Highlights
The top highlights of Ecuador on an adventurous family-friendly holiday Fly to Quito; visit the craft market at Otavalo, and travel by road along the Avenue of the Volcanoes to Cuenca and the upland wilderness Las Cajas National Park.
A variety-packed holiday in Ecuador. Travel first to Ecuador’s highland capital, visit the world renowned artisan craft market at Otavalo, and travel south by road along the Avenue of the Volcanoes via the Inca ruins of Ingapirca to Cuenca and the upland wilderness of Las Cajas National Park.
Ecuador sits right on the Equator, but its landscapes and climate are governed by altitude: from the sultry tropical coast to the dizzy heights of ice-mantled volcanoes at over 7,000m above sea level, there's huge diversity. It's a tiny country, you can travel from one highlight to another on relatively short, scenic drives or short domestic flights. This holiday of just over a week takes you on an amazing road trip through the Andes, visiting indian villages where the inhabitants, who still wear their colourful fabrics, maintain a lifestyle little-changed since Spanish colonial times.
The colonial period is not neglected: you'll stay on one of the haciendas originally granted to the Spanish conquistadors, the restored historic core of Quito and Cuenca, a quintessential example of colonial grace and grandeur.
- Walking tour of colonial Quito
- Visit Otavalo market
- Guided excursion to Lake Cuicocha
- Avenue of the Volcanoes
- Visit Cotopaxi National Park
- Explore Ingapirca Inca ruins
- Las Cajas National Park
THE UK’S NO. 1 SPECIALIST IN TRAVEL TO LATIN AMERICA
Mary Anne Nelson
Travel Expert
Outline itinerary
Day 1
Arrive in Quito and transfer to hotel.
Day 2
Guided walking tour of colonial Quito.
Day 3
By road to Otavalo in the Andean highlands, visit Otavalo market overnight in hacienda.
Day 4
Guided excursions to Lake Cuicocha
Day 5
By road along the Avenue of the Volcanoes; visit Cotopaxi National Park, overnight at an hacienda.
Day 6
Visit local artisan markets, overnight in Riobamba.
Day 7
Continue via Ingapirca ruins to Cuenca.
Day 8
At leisure in colonial Cuenca, Ecuador’s second city.
Day 9
By road down to the tropical coast of Guayaquil via a stop at Las Cajas National Park.
Day 10
Transfer to the airport for your international flight
Things to do
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Accommodation
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Ecuador & Galapagos Islands / Quito
Casona de la Ronda
Ecuador & Galapagos Islands / Otavalo and the northern highlands
Las Palmeras Inn
Ecuador & Galapagos Islands / Avenue of the Volcanoes
Hacienda el Porvenir
Ecuador & Galapagos Islands / Avenue of the Volcanoes
Hacienda Abraspungo
Ecuador & Galapagos Islands / Cuenca
Santa Lucia
Ecuador & Galapagos Islands / Guayaquil
Unipark
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