11 Day The Golden Andes & Relaxing Amazon

Your Quito adventure begins the moment you arrive at Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Tababela. To make your journey hassle-free, a reliable and courteous driver will be waiting to pick you up and take you to your hotel in Quito. Enjoy a comfortable 45-minute ride, where you can relax and unwind after a long flight. Take in the breathtaking views of the Andean mountains and the lush green valleys along the way. Your driver will be happy to provide you with some valuable insights into the city’s culture and traditions. Get ready to explore the wonders of Quito as you reach your hotel and enjoy a delightful welcome dinner at night.

Overnight: Quito
Suggested Hotel: Patio Andaluz
Meals: -/-/D

A guide will pick you up for city tour in Quito. Start in the colonial center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site home to numerous historic buildings and squares. You will visit Plaza Grande and the beautiful churches of La Compañía and La Basílica. Then, you’ll walk down La Ronda, the oldest street in Quito. Around midday, head to a traditional cooking class. There, you’ll learn about the incredible gastronomy of this country and how to prepare it, and you will enjoy a delicious lunch.
Afterward, make your way to the Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World) monument to stand on the line of the equator. Strike a pose with one foot in each hemisphere and see how your balance is affected at latitude zero. Then, enjoy the nearby museums and exhibits, including the Planetarium, the Ethnographic Museum, and the Artisanal Beer Museum. There is also a small-scale model of Quito here, giving you a unique perspective on the city.

Overnight: Quito
Suggested Hotel: Patio Andaluz
Meals: B/L/-

At the border of Cotopaxi National Park. You will visit Lake Limpiopungo, located in the highlands of the park. Here, you will have a spectacular view of Cotopaxi Volcano’s gigantic cone. Lake Limpiopungo offers a variety of birds, and occasionally even wild horses. A short walk around the lake will allow you to admire the Andean plant and animal life along the way. If time permits and the altitude doesn’t affect you, hike to the refuge Jose Ribas at 4800 m and enjoy the spectacular view.
Overnight in Cotopaxi

Overnight: Cotopaxi National Park
Suggested Hotel: Hacienda La Cienega
Meals: B/-/-

Today we will visit the picturesque volcano lagoon Quilotoa. You have the option to walk along the crater’s rim to enjoy the splendid view or hike down a path to the crater lake. The return can become a bit longer, so you have the option to rent a mule for the uphill hike. We will then continue our journey towards Baños. Overnight stay in Baños.

Overnight: Baños de Agua Santa
Suggested Hotel: Samari Spa Lodge
Meals: B/-/-

In the morning, with your private guide, you will drive along the “Avenue of Waterfalls.” Driving south from Baños, you will follow the Pastaza River on its way through the valley of the same name. Passing a number of waterfalls, you will reach the village of Rio Verde, where you will stop to visit the well-known El Pailon del Diablo (The Devil’s Cauldron) waterfall. After visiting the thermal pools of Baños or the famous “Casa del Arbol”, you will return to back Quito.
Overnight: Quito
Suggested Hotel: Wyndham UIO
Meals: B/-/-

In the morning you catch your flight from Quito to El Coca. A quick lunch in Sacha´s private house and then it’s off to the town docks where you will board Sacha´s private canoes for the 2-hour journey downriver to Sacha´s Lodges property. A 30-minute hike through the rainforest leads you to lake Pilchicocha. Here, you are met by native workers to paddle you across the lake to your final destination. Arrive at Sacha Lodge around 15:30 or 16:00 pm. Swim in Lake Pilchicocha, which is a black water lake home to many species of fish and animals. A refreshing swim after arriving may be just what you need after being in the equatorial heat all day. Bird observing from the mini tower offers guests an excellent opportunity to view several species of birds common around the lodge. Also, a great place to watch the sunset. Visit the butterfly house with your naturalist guide to view the beautiful colors of many different species of butterflies. After dinner, accompany your naturalist guide on
a night walk through the rainforest to view the hundreds of different species of animals that can only be found at night. Or maybe a canoe ride on the lake to view the spectacled and black caimans with their glowing orange eyes as you silently paddle across the lake to get a closer view.

Overnight: Yasuni National Park
Suggested Hotel: Sacha Lodge
Meals: B/L/D

Begin walking on trail Liana Chica and arrive at the canopy walk, for spectacular views of the rainforest canopy and the many different species of vibrantly colored birds. Designed to be a self-standing rigid suspension canopy walk. It is one of only a few in the world! Located within Sacha´s private reserve, 2miles from the shores of the Rio Napo and 1 mile from the lodge, the bird walk gives guests the opportunity to get an up-close and personal view of the rainforest canopy. Two of the three towers have observation decks every 12 meters making towers accessible for everyone. The canopy walkway is 36 meters high and 275 meters long, giving guests a “birds-eye view” of all the wonders and beauty the tropical rainforest has to offer. The canopy walk is designed as a sturdy walkway enabling guests to casually move along while enjoying the spectacular views. After the canopy walk, Liana Grande through terra firma and igapo forest habitats where native guides will many different species of medicinal plants that have been being used in their culture for hundreds of years.
Liana Grande will turn into the trail Higueron, which will take you through pristine primary forest with huge Kapok and Fig trees towering hundreds of feet above your head. After lunch, you may choose to take a leisurely hike along the Rio Napo or choose a little more challenging hike on the trail Leoncillo to try and spot the elusive dusky titi monkey. Either way, the trails will lead you back to the main boardwalk for your final hike and canoe ride back to the lodge.

Overnight: Yasuni National Park
Suggested Hotel: Sacha Lodge
Meals: B/L/D

Leaving the lodge after breakfast, you begin your hike on trail Lagartococha. This trail offers you the chance to learn more about the native people and their relationship with the forest. Learn about the trees where native people believe the spirits of their ancestors live, and the mysterious “duende” or devil-man of the forest. After arriving at lake Lagartococha, take a relaxing canoe ride through a natural swamp, which is the home of anacondas, caimans, and capybaras. After the canoe ride, a walk on the other side of Largatococha may give you the opportunity to spot capuchin or squirrel monkeys playfully jumping through the trees. Return from the walk or canoe ride and head back to the lodge for a refreshing dip in the lake, or a nice relaxing nap in your personal hammock on your private balcony. After lunch, your native guide will teach you how to fish for the infamous razor-toothed piranha. Keep in mind that piranhas will never attack a person and swimming at the same time is perfectly safe and fun!
Around 15:30 you will begin what many think is the best trail at Sacha, a silent canoe ride through the flooded Amazonian forest. Where you have a good chance of being surrounded by troops of squirrel, capuchin, and howler monkeys. Keep your eyes peeled for the shy and elusive river otter as well as the incredibly well camouflaged three-toed sloth! After your eye-popping ride through the flooded forest, you will arrive at Sacha´s135-foot wooden tower built around an ancient Kapok tree. Get close-up views of vibrantly colored birds through Sacha´s powerful scopes, and watch the sunset with an amazing view of Mount Sumaco, a volcano, and possibly a view of the snow-covered caps of the Andes!

Overnight: Yasuni National Park
Suggested Hotel: Sacha Lodge
Meals: B/L/D

A chance to view four different species of parrots at the same time is something that should not be missed. Sacha is close enough to Yasuni National Park that a thirty-minute motorized canoe ride down the Napo to the parrot lick is well worth it.
Leaving at six in the morning from Sacha and arriving at the lick around 7:30 will give you plenty of time to get close-up views of the parrots eating the clay to neutralize the acids which they get from eating their many different types of fruits and leaves. Arriving back at the lodge around 11 am or so gives you plenty of time to swim or relax before lunch is served. Visit the butterfly house once again to photograph the beautifully colored butterflies.
For your afternoon activity, Pantano is the trail to take. Pantano offers you several different types of rainforest habitats. From secondary to primary forests as well as flooded forest and swampy areas. An excellent trail for monkeys and birds in the afternoon, your naturalist and native guides will intrigue you with their knowledge of the jungle and its inhabitants as well as provide you with an everlasting experience and memory of the neotropical rainforest.

Overnight: Yasuni National Park
Suggested Hotel: Sacha Lodge
Meals: B/L/D

Breakfast and a departure from the lodge at 7:30 AM. for an easy walk on the boardwalk to watch monkeys one last time before your final departure. Arrive in Coca and be escorted to the Coca airport where all plane tickets will be in the hands of Sacha employees waiting to help you board the plane and a final farewell. Scheduled arrival at Quito´s airport in the afternoon.

Overnight: Quito
Suggested Hotel: Wyndham Airport
Meals: B/-/-

At the scheduled time specified beforehand, a transfer arrangement will be made for you to ensure a smooth and timely journey to the airport.
This transfer service will conveniently transport you from your current location to the designated airport, allowing you to catch your flight and return home comfortably.

Overnight: N/A
Suggested Hotel: N/A
Meals: B/-/-