Private land tour · 12 days / 11 nights · 4-star hotels
Twelve days along the Andes of Ecuador, from Otavalo and its market to Antisana, Cotopaxi, the Quilotoa crater lake, the waterfalls of Baños, the vicuñas of Chimborazo, the Inca site of Ingapirca and colonial Cuenca, with an English-speaking guide and private transport.
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 | Volcanic landscapes, indigenous communities, local markets |
| Fitness level | Fair condition |
| Start and end | Quito; the tour ends in Cuenca |
| Price | From US$3,465 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. North towards Otavalo, with a stop at the Cochasquí archaeological site, with its 15 grass-covered truncated pyramids, built by the Caranqui people between about 1250 and 1550, before the Inca conquest. A short walk, with the chance to feed the llamas and learn about the people who lived here.
Afternoon. Lunch in Cotacachi, a whole town devoted to leather goods, at a local restaurant with peacocks in the garden. 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 demanding walk on the trail around the lake, or a 30-minute boat ride. Back to the hotel before sunset.
Day 3
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 4
Morning. East of Quito to Antisana National Park, around the volcano of the same name (5,753 m / 18,874 ft), the fourth highest in Ecuador, about 60 km southeast of the city and one of the refuges of the Andean Condor. At about 3,800 m there are good chances of eagles, Carunculated Caracaras, white-tailed deer, foxes and the condor itself, the largest flying bird in the world.
The Mica lagoon. A walk on the Andean slopes to Laguna La Mica (4,050 m / 13,287 ft), left by the last ice age, for a better view of the volcano and its water birds: Andean Lapwings, Andean Gulls, Andean Coots, Andean Ducks and Black-faced Ibises.
Afternoon. Down through the Isco canyon to a local restaurant for lunch, and free time in Papallacta.
Day 5
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 6
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 Baños.
Day 7
A day for the waterfalls of Baños. The best known is the Pailón del Diablo, «the Devil’s Cauldron», about 17 km from Baños at Río Verde: an 80-metre waterfall on the Pastaza River, one of the most powerful near the town and a must-see.
Day 8
A hike on the slopes of the Chimborazo volcano, past small lakes and moorland, where wild vicuñas graze: the smallest of the camelids, reintroduced here in 1988 and 1993; this is their main home in Ecuador. The higher you go, the drier the landscape, and much of the walk crosses sandy, stony ground.
The trail reaches the Carrel refuge and continues to the Whymper refuge before returning to the first base camp: about 6–7 hours, above 4,800 m (15,700 ft) at the highest point.
Day 9
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.
Optional. A walk on the Intihuayco trail, «the Ravine of the Sun», with striking rock formations and, at the end, the «Face of the Inca» carved by nature on the hillside.
Day 10
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 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
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
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.
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 · you are here | Otavalo · Antisana · Cotopaxi · Quilotoa · Baños · Chimborazo · Cuenca | The Avenue of the Volcanoes, end to end | From US$3,465 |
| 13 days: Cloud Forests, Indigenous Markets and Colonial Cities | 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
| 12 days / 11 nights | From US$3,465 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]
