Ecuador Wildlife and Culture

Day 1 - Day of arrival - Quito

On arrival at Quito Airport (at a height of 2,850 metres/9,350 feet) you will be met by your local bilingual guide who will transfer you to the Patio Andaluz Hotel (26 miles - approximately 60 minutes) which is located in the heart of the colonial quarter of Quito. On the way you will be briefed on the following days’ activities and any questions answered.

We have worked with this hotel for many years. It is a charming, historic hotel with 32 rooms. You will be arriving in the late afternoon so do try the bar and restaurant (payable locally) and perhaps take a wander into the historical centre.

Overnight at Hotel Patio Andaluz (Bed & Breakfast)

Hotel Patio Andaluz, Quito

Day 2 - Quito

After breakfast you will be collected by your guide to embark on your half day tour and the day’s activities.The historic colonial centre of Quito is one of the best preserved in South America. A visit to the enormous Plaza Grande or Independence Square, surrounded by important historical buildings, is followed by a tour around the Compania de Jesus church, dating from the 17th century and considered to be one of the most beautiful baroque churches in South America.

Also on the tour is the San Francisco Church and Monastery, which was built a few months after the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors in the 16th century, and then on to the enormous statue of the Virgin atop the Panecillo Hill overlooking all of Quito - a truly unique view. The tour will finish with a visit to an artisan chocolate shop for a lesson on chocolate making using Ecuadorian fine aroma cacao. Needless to say a tasting will follow! Your afternoon is free for you to explore the historic centre of the capital. Do try a local restaurant (payable locally) for your evening meal.

Overnight at Hotel Patio Andaluz (Bed & Breakfast)

Quito

Day 3 - Middle of The World, equatorial line

After breakfast you will be transferred towards the Middle of The World, just north of Quito, a drive of about 19 miles. This is where the equatorial line divides the northern and southern hemispheres. The main monument honours the French scientific expedition that arrived in Ecuador in the 18th century to measure the shape of the earth. The Inti Nan Museum and the GPS location of the equator line will also be visited. Your guide will schedule a lunch stop (payable locally).

The trip continues along the Calacali to Nanegalito road, through colourful landscapes and ever changing vistas and then onto an unmade road climbing up into the Tandayapa Valley to arrive at the Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge (32 miles - 1 hour 20 mins). The lodge is set in the Mindo Cloud Forest within its own 700 hectares (2.7 square miles) of primary and secondary forest. The reserve records 330 species of birds, including 15 species of hummingbird. There are 10 km of trails to explore and the lodge also features horse riding and mountain biking. The lodge comprises a main building and five separate lodges within a short walk of the main building where all meals (included) are taken. All rooms are with private facilities and spacious balconies with hammocks from where guests can watch hummingbirds come and go. You will arrive at the lodge in time for lunch (included). You will then have a briefing and in the afternoon your first guided hike will begin. Your guide will choose the best trails and hike options according to the weather and trail conditions. You will be joined by others staying at the lodge, but there will never be more than 7 hikers in the group. The hike will take approximately 2 hours. In the evening, keep a lookout for an Olinguito, the smallest member of the Carnivora order - they look like raccoons and coatis.

Overnight Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge (Full Board)

Middle of The World, equatorial line

Day 4 - Bird watching in the Mindo Cloud Forest

The day starts with an early morning bird hike before breakfast. If you are not a 'birder' then the chances are that you will be converted on seeing the beautiful birds all around. If you you are not interested then just lie down and listen to the awakening of the forest as the sun rises through the trees.

After breakfast, another guided hike will be organised following a different trail. If you would rather go on a day excursion outside the lodge, then your guide will tell you what excursions are available on that day. Lunch will be at the lodge and then in the afternoon you have the option of discovering another of the many trails on your own, with the advice of your guide and a local trail map. If you do not particularly want to embark on another hike, then there are other guests to talk to and many hummingbirds flitting to and from from the bird feeders.

Overnight Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge (Full Board)

The Andean cock-of-the-rock

Day 5 - Bird hiking through the Cloud Forest

At around 6.15 to 6.30 (before breakfast) there is another bird hike to be had. Your guide will be particularly focusing on the birds that are to be seen in close proximity to the lodge. After breakfast at around 8.00am there is yet another opportunity to experience a hike with your guide. There are many waterfalls within this enormous estate and the Immersion Trail features several.

Lunch is at 13.00 and later in the afternoon you will be collected from the lodge and transferred back to Quito (approximately 2 hours - 48 miles).

Overnight at either the Hotel Patio Andaluz or at the Mama Cuchara Arthotel.

Plate billed Toucan

Day 6 - Sacha Lodge

At an appropriate time (usually at around 11.00am) after breakfast you will be collected from your hotel and taken to Quito Airport. The flight to Coca, a bustling oil town, lasts about half an hour and crosses the Andes.

Sacha Lodge, your accommodation for the next four nights, has a private house in the town where lunch is served and then from the town docks private canoes will launch to take you on a two-hour journey to Sacha’s Lodge in the Amazon rain forest. A 30-minute hike (you will have help with your luggage) will take you to Pilchicocha lake where you will be met and paddled across the lake to Sacha Lodge where you will arrive at around 15.30 to 16.00 in the afternoon. Please bear in mind that local conditions will determine the exact timings. After a hot, long and probably tiring journey using various transport modes, do take a swim in Lake Pilchicocha which is a black water lake. Or you can observe the local bird life from the lodge’s mini tower, watch the sun set or visit the butterfly house with your naturalist guide to view the many colourful and varied butterflies. After dinner there is a night walk organised, taking you through the forest to view those animals that are active only at night. The excursion could also be by canoe to view the spectacled black caimans with their glowing orange eyes.

Overnight at Sacha Lodge (Full Board)

Sacha Lodge

Day 7 - Canopy walk

There are several sample itineraries available at the lodge and you should bear in mind that these are all subject to change on both days seven and eight depending on the local conditions. Today, after an early breakfast, activities begin at between 06.00 to 07.00. The Liana Chica trail leads to a canopy walk for spectacular views of the rainforest canopy and views of the many different species of vibrant coloured birds. The canopy walk is designed as a sturdy walkway enabling guests to casually move along while enjoying the spectacular views.

After the canopy walk, you will follow the Liana Grande trail through terra firma trails and igapo (swamp) forest habitats where native guides will explain many different species of medicinal plants that have been used in their culture for hundreds of years The Liana Grande trail merges into the Higueron trail, 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 Leoncillo trail to try and spot the elusive dusky Titi monkey. Either way, the trails will lead you back to the main board-walk for your final hike and canoe ride back to the lodge.

Overnight at Sacha Lodge (Full Board)

Canopy walk

Day 8 - Lagartococha Trail

Leaving the lodge after breakfast, you begin your hike on the Lagartococha trail. This trail offers 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 “dwende” or devil-man of the forest. After arriving at lake Lagartococha, there is a tranquil canoe ride through a natural swamp, which is the home of anacondas, caimans, and capybaras. After the canoe ride, a walk follows on the other side of Lake Largatococha where there is the possibility of spotting capuchin or squirrel monkeys playfully jumping through the trees.

On returning from the walk or canoe ride it’s 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 with them at the same time is perfectly safe and fun! At around 15:30, you embark on what many think is the best trail at Sacha, a silent canoe ride through the flooded Amazonian forest. Here, there is 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! Following your canoe ride through the flooded forest, you will reach Sacha ́s135-foot wooden tower built around an ancient Kapok tree. This is an ideal opportunity for close-up views of vibrantly colored birds through Sacha ́s powerful telescopes, and from here watch the sun set with an amazing view of Mount Sumaco volcano and, weather permitting, a possible sighting of the snow-covered peaks of the Andes! As the departure from the tower will be just before or after sunset, you will experience a canoe ride back through the flooded forest at night - an awesome experience listening to the symphony of frogs and insects as you navigate through the narrow-flooded forest trails, keeping your eyes open for caimans. Watch for the several species of bats flying overhead and listen to the many species of nocturnal birds making their eerie nighttime calls. Finally, after your undoubtedly mesmerizing trip through the Amazon, you will arrive back at lake Pilchicocha and the welcoming lights of Sacha lodge for dinner.

Overnight at Sacha Lodge (Full Board)

Canoe, Sacha Lodge

Day 9 - Yasuni National Park

After breakfast - and once more subject to change - there is an opportunity to view four different species of parrots at the same time, something that should not be missed. Sacha is close enough to Yasuni National Park to enable a thirty-minute motorized canoe ride down the Napo to the parrot lick.

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 neutralise the acids which they ingest from eating their many different types of fruits and leaves. Lunch and dinner back at the lodge and time to relax.

Overnight at Sacha Lodge (Full Board)

Macaw 'lick' - eating the clay

Day 10 - Quito

An early breakfast at the lodge and a departure at around 07.30 is an opportunity for one last walk on the boardwalk to the river from where it is a 2-hour canoe ride back to Coca Airport for your 35-minute flight back to Quito, where you will arrive at around 12.30.

You will be collected by a bilingual guide at the airport and transferred, for your last night in Ecuador, to the Patio Andaluz Hotel and accommodated in a duplex room on bed and breakfast. Lunch and dinner are payable locally.

Overnight at Hotel Patio Andaluz (Bed & Breakfast)

Quito

Day 11 - Day of departure

Depending on the timing of your flight you will be transferred to Quito Airport for your onward flight.