Private land tour · 13 days / 12 nights · 4-star hotels
Thirteen days from Quito to Cuenca: the old town of Quito, Mindo Cloud Forest with its birds, butterflies and waterfalls, the Andean Cock-of-the-rock at Paz de las Aves, the market of Otavalo, Cotopaxi, Quilotoa and the colonial city of Cuenca, with a private guide.
At a glance
A private tour with your own English-speaking guide and transport, 4-star hotels and the meals and excursions of the itinerary. The itinerary is a sample: it can change with local conditions and adapt to your interests.
| Travel style | Luxury, with 4-star hotels |
|---|---|
| Highlights | Cloud forest, indigenous communities, colonial cities |
| Fitness level | Fair condition |
| Start and end | Quito; the tour ends in Cuenca |
| Price | From US$3,437 per person (price for larger groups) |
Day by day
Day 1
Welcome to Ecuador! We meet you at Quito’s international airport (UIO) as soon as you collect your luggage, and take you to your hotel.
Day 2
Morning. If the weather is clear, we start at Quito’s best viewpoint: the TelefériQo cable car rises from 3,117 m on the edge of the city to Cruz Loma, at 3,945 m on the slopes of the Pichincha volcano, one of the highest aerial lifts in the world. Bring warm clothes. Lunch at a local restaurant.
Afternoon. A private walking tour of the old town of Quito, one of the first two cities in the world declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in 1978, with some 40 churches, 17 squares and 16 convents and monasteries. We visit La Compañía church, with its altars covered in gold leaf, the best example of Baroque architecture in Ecuador, and end at Independence Square, the political heart of the country.
Day 3
Morning. To the Pululahua volcano, the only protected area in Ecuador in the category of «Geobotanical Reserve»: an inhabited, farmed volcanic crater right by the equator, often filled in the afternoon by clouds rising from the Pacific. Then the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve, a cloud forest of about 375 hectares with more than 300 species of orchids, trails and waterfalls.
Midday. On to Mindo, in the valley where the Chocó lowlands meet the tropical Andes, between about 960 and 3,440 m, watered by the Mindo, Saloya and Cinto rivers. A stop at San Tadeo, the tanager and hummingbird garden of Rolando, a member of the local community, with species such as the Beryl-spangled Tanager and the Black-capped Tanager.
Afternoon. After lunch, El Quetzal, a cacao farm in Mindo: a guided walk through the whole process from bean to chocolate bar, and a tasting of cacao products, chocolates and their famous brownie.
Day 4
Morning. The butterfly garden of Mindo, at Hostería Mariposas de Mindo: the four stages of a butterfly’s life, and about 1,200 butterflies of some 25 species flying around you and landing on you. Part of what they raise is released into the forest.
Afternoon. The waterfalls trail, with seven waterfalls to choose from (Nambillo, De los Maderos, Madre, Colibríes, Guarumos, Ondinas and the largest, Reina), through forest with butterflies, hummingbirds and, with luck, monkeys. The trail can be muddy and slippery.
Day 5
Dawn. Pick-up at 4:30 am for Refugio Paz de las Aves, the family farm Ángel Paz turned into a nature reserve: half an hour by car and half an hour on foot to watch the Andean Cock-of-the-rock displaying at its lek in the first 30–45 minutes of daylight. Then a local breakfast, and Ángel calls his antpittas out onto the trail; the Giant and Yellow-breasted Antpittas, the Golden-headed Quetzal and the Toucan Barbet are often seen, and a dozen hummingbird species visit the feeders.
Afternoon. After lunch, the Middle of the World monument (La Mitad del Mundo), which marks the line calculated in the 18th century by the French expedition of Charles Marie de La Condamine, with its viewing platform and its museum of the indigenous cultures; then the interactive Intiñán museum and its experiments on the equator. Then on to Otavalo.
Day 6
Morning. With your guide, a deep introduction to local culture at the Otavalo market. Saturday is the best day: besides textiles and crafts, the Kichwa families of the surrounding villages come to sell their own produce. After a walk through the market, we visit workshops that make Andean wind instruments, such as panpipes and flutes, and string instruments like the charango, the mandolin and the guitar.
Afternoon. Depending on how long you stay at the market, we visit Peguche, a peaceful village just outside Otavalo. The railway that once ran through it has been silent since the 1980s; its families live from farming and weaving, and are known as talented musicians. Back to the hotel before sunset.
Day 7
Morning. A drive of about two hours to Otavalo and a visit to the Condor Park, a rescue centre for birds of prey taken from illegal captivity or unsuitable places, where they recover and, when possible, are released; none of its birds were taken from the wild. The highlight is the flight demonstration of the birds of prey.
Afternoon. On to Cotacachi, a whole town devoted to leather goods, for lunch at a local restaurant. Then the Cuicocha crater lake, «the Lagoon of the Gods», at 3,068 m in the Cotacachi–Cayapas Ecological Reserve: time and weather permitting, a 30-minute boat ride around its islands. Back to the hotel before sunset.
Day 8
Morning. After a late breakfast, south along the Pan-American Highway, the road Alexander von Humboldt called the Avenue of the Volcanoes, to Cotopaxi (5,897 m / 19,347 ft), one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. A walk around the Limpiopungo lagoon, with good chances of Andean Condors, foxes, deer and rabbits.
Afternoon. Lunch at a local restaurant or hacienda in the park and, time permitting, a visit to a rose plantation: Ecuador is one of the world’s great exporters of cut flowers, and most of its blooms are roses.
Day 9
Morning. A rewarding but long day, with about four and a half hours on the road among Andean volcanoes and mountains, with viewpoints to stretch your legs. The goal is the emerald crater lake of the Quilotoa volcano, a caldera about 3 km wide at roughly 3,800 m (12,467 ft). At the crater you can walk down to the shore (about 30 minutes each way), rent a mule or walk along the rim.
Afternoon. Lunch at a restaurant of traditional food in Quilotoa and a visit to the Shalalá community, with its viewpoint right over the crater lake. Then on to Riobamba.
Day 10
Morning. From Riobamba to Ingapirca, in the province of Cañar, the largest known Inca ruins in Ecuador. Its most important building is the Temple of the Sun, an elliptical structure built around a large rock.
Afternoon. Lunch at a local restaurant and on to Cuenca for a short sightseeing tour of the city.
Day 11
Morning. From Cuenca into Cajas National Park, about 28,500 hectares of landscapes that go from cloud forest to rocky, almost lunar uplands, with hundreds of lagoons, most of it around 4,000 m. On the high moorland, sometimes white with the night’s frost, you may see llamas, hummingbirds, rabbits, deer and foxes. Bring warm clothes: it can drop to about 12 °C (53 °F), with wind or rain.
Afternoon. A well-deserved lunch at a local restaurant with views and local cuisine, then back to Cuenca.
Day 12
Morning. Cuenca, the third city of Ecuador and perhaps the most loved, sits above the grassy banks of the Tomebamba River; its historic centre has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. We start at a workshop of «toquilla» straw hats, known around the world as Panama hats, which were born in Ecuador (the craft of weaving them is UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage), and see the whole process. Then a ceramics workshop, a craft that represents the local culture.
Lunch. Traditional food cooked in clay pans over an open fire, at a local restaurant.
Afternoon. A walking tour of the historic centre: the Todos Santos neighbourhood, known for its bread baked in wood-fired ovens, the City Hall, Parque Calderón and the blue-domed New Cathedral.
Day 13
Depending on your international flight, a free day in Cuenca or a transfer to the Cuenca airport for your domestic flight to Quito, with enough time to connect with your international flight at the same airport.
The itinerary may change with local conditions, and it can be adapted to your interests and to what your guide considers feasible. Your guide has the final word on what can and cannot be done if circumstances change.
Where you go
The capital sits at about 2,850 m in a valley below the Pichincha volcano. Its old town, one of the best preserved in the Americas, was one of the first two cities in the world declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in 1978.
Two hours from Quito, Mindo lies in the Chocó Andino, declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2018: cloud forest full of birds, butterflies, orchids and waterfalls, where the Chocó lowlands meet the Andes.
North of Quito, the province of Imbabura is the land of the Kichwa Otavalo people, famous for their weaving and their market, of crater lakes such as Cuicocha and Cubilche, and of communities that welcome visitors, like Peguche, Zuleta and Angochagua.
South of Quito, the Pan-American Highway runs between two lines of volcanoes, the route Alexander von Humboldt called the Avenue of the Volcanoes: Antisana, Cotopaxi, the Quilotoa crater lake, Tungurahua above Baños, and Chimborazo, the highest mountain of Ecuador.
In the southern Andes, Ingapirca keeps the largest Inca ruins in Ecuador, and Cuenca, a UNESCO World Heritage city since 1999, is the home of the toquilla straw hat, the famous Panama hat, close to the lagoons of Cajas National Park.
Where you stay
Every night is in a comfortable 4-star hotel, chosen for its location so the drives stay short and the mornings start well.
In Mindo Cloud Forest we can also host you at our own lodge, Las Terrazas de Dana Boutique Lodge & Spa: rooms open onto the cloud forest, a pool, gardens and our spa. Ask us when you request your quote.
Combining your land tour with a Galápagos cruise? Book the cruise with us and your nights in Mindo Cloud Forest are complimentary.
Compare
| Tour | Route | Highlights | Price per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days: Northern Andes Trekking | Otavalo · Cochasquí · Cuicocha · Cubilche | Hiking crater lakes in the north | From US$1,149 |
| 5 days: Central Andes Trekking | Antisana · Quilotoa Loop · Quilotoa | Hiking the páramo and the Quilotoa crater | From US$1,303 |
| 7 days: The Route of Textiles and Ancestral Culture | Quito · Otavalo · Cuicocha · Zuleta · Cochasquí | Markets, embroidery and communities | From US$1,622 |
| 7 days: Nature, Adventure and Culture | Quito · Cotopaxi · Baños · Otavalo · Cuicocha | Volcanoes, waterfalls and markets | From US$1,630 |
| 12 days: Avenue of the Volcanoes | Otavalo · Antisana · Cotopaxi · Quilotoa · Baños · Chimborazo · Cuenca | The Avenue of the Volcanoes, end to end | From US$3,465 |
| 13 days · you are here | Quito · Mindo · Otavalo · Cotopaxi · Quilotoa · Cuenca | Cloud forest, markets and colonial cities | From US$3,437 |
Only have a day? See our day trips from Quito. Going further? Our Peru tour with Machu Picchu, the Galápagos cruises and the birdwatching tours. See all our land tours.
Price
| 13 days / 12 nights | From US$3,437 per person |
|---|
The price per person depends on the size of your group and your dates: the price shown is for larger groups. We send you the exact quote within 24 hours.
Questions
At Quito’s international airport (UIO): we meet you as soon as you collect your luggage and take you to your hotel. The tour ends in Cuenca, with a transfer to the Cuenca airport for your flight to Quito if you need it.
Yes: your own English-speaking guide and private transport, just for you and your companions.
Yes: tell us your dates and interests, and we adapt the days, the pace or the hotels, or create a custom program.
Yes. We combine land tours with Galápagos cruises, Amazon lodges and a stay in Mindo Cloud Forest, with all the transfers coordinated.
Much of the tour is above 2,800 m. Take the first days easy, drink plenty of water and bring warm layers: the Andes can be cold and windy, especially at the volcanoes and lakes.
That’s why you choose Dana Tours
Tell us your dates and how many people are traveling. We confirm the guide and the hotels and send you the final price within 24 hours.
Or write to us at [email protected]
