We begin the tour by picking up everyone from the hotel at the indicated time and then heading to the Basilica of the National Vow (entrance not included), where you can see a religious ecclesiastical construction in a neo-Gothic style, and we will have the opportunity to ascend its towers to enjoy a beautiful 360° panoramic view, where you can appreciate the great size of the city of Quito, approximately 80 km (50 miles) long and also appreciate the difference between the modern city and the city. ancient It is possible to admire the Pichincha volcano next to this capital, and if the weather is favorable, towards the eastern mountain range you can see some glaciers, such as the Cotopaxi, Antisana and Cayambe volcanoes, which are part of the great diversity of volcanoes in Ecuador. We will be at an altitude of 2,850m (9,350 ft.) above sea level.

We will continue to the Plaza Grande or Plaza de la Independencia where we will make a walking tour, to appreciate the different important buildings and facades of religious constructions, among which we can highlight the Government Palace, the Monument to Independence in the central part of the Plaza Grande, the facade of the Cathedral Primada de Quito, the church “El Sagrario” with sculptural and pictorial details of the seventeenth and eighteenth century. We will also visit the church “Compañia de Jesus”, also known as the church of gold for its gold leaf laminate in all its internal details, whose construction was made in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, highlighting styles such as the Quiteño Baroque, characteristic in most religious buildings in Quito, and many sculptures and paintings will be observed in its majestic and impressive internal decoration.

We continue the tour to the Plaza and Church of San Francisco, very important places since pre-colonial indigenous times, used as tianguis (indigenous market) where barter (exchange of products) was practiced. We will visit the church where you can appreciate one of the most important sculptures of the Quito School of Arts, which highlights the image of the Virgin of Quito, the only image with wings, created by the indigenous artist Bernardo de Legarda, as well as its impressive internal decoration, laminated in gold leaf and sculptures and paintings of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

We will take a break to visit one of the Ecuadorian chocolate shops in the Yumbos sector. We will taste different flavors and intensities of cocoa, and then take the transport to continue to “La Loma del Panecillo”.

On this hill is the largest religious statue in Ecuador, the Virgin of Quito, 41 m. high at 3,100 m. (10,170 ft.) above sea level, a place that allows us to have a wide view of the old town of Quito and the Pichincha volcano. Later time to enjoy the delicious Ecuadorian cuisine. We will continue towards the Middle of the World, where we have one of the most important museums in Ecuador, “Intiñan”, exact point latitude 0”0’0’0, a place used by our indigenous peoples. In this place we have a great variety of solar instruments and we will have a clear idea of ​​how the equator was discovered. We will have some demonstrations regarding the Coriolis effect, as well as how to balance an egg on a nail, etc. In the same place we will see representative houses of the Andean and Amazonian area, which are part of the local culture. Finally, we will return to the hotel. Dinner (not included) and accommodation.

After breakfast we will head to the northeast of the country to the city of Otavalo, which is located 120 km (75 miles) from Quito, approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes away. On the way you will be able to see some elevations such as the snow-capped Cayambe 5,790 m.a.s.l and one of the main indigenous activities (agriculture). On the way there will be a stop at the Miralago viewpoint where you can taste the famous biscuits, accompanied by dulce de leche and different cheeses from the area. These viewpoints offer a panoramic view of Lake San Pablo and the Imbabura Volcano.
We will continue to the Plaza de los Ponchos, a large indigenous market, considered one of the largest in South America, where you can see different local products, including textiles, silver jewelry, hats, paintings and different types of crafts. There will be free time for shopping.

The next visit will be to a loom workshop where we will observe ancestral work and learn about the technique of weaving on a loom. We will also visit another workshop where we will learn about the manufacture of local musical instruments made from a type of bamboo endemic to the southern area of ​​Ecuador, with a demonstration of the different Andean instruments from countries such as Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.

We will visit the capital city of leather known as Cotacachi, at the foot of the volcano of the same name, where we will have time to enjoy a delicious lunch (not included) and we will have time to visit the different shops and buy the high quality leather products of the sector. After some time for lunch, we will continue the visit to the Cuicocha Lagoon (3,200m.a.s.l) (9,600 feet), located in the caldera with two central islets where you can appreciate a majestic view of the crater. We will take a short walk to a place of offerings used by the inhabitants of the sector.

Finally, return to the capital. Dinner (not included) and accommodation.

We leave Quito in the morning to head northwest towards Quito Calacalí Mindo.
In approximately one hour and 45 minutes we will find ourselves at the entrance of one of the microclimates of the area towards the Pacific coast, the cloud forest where we have a great biodiversity in both flora and fauna, located approximately 1300 meters above sea level

The San Tadeo viewpoint gives us a beautiful experience in contact with nature and being able to appreciate some varieties of birds in the area among which we have hummingbirds as well as tanagers, toucans, woodcreepers, etc. In addition to having a beautiful view of the town of Mindo, a place declared as a preservation area of ​​the Ecuadorian biosphere, a place where we offer a wide range of activities for adventurers such as Canopy, Rafting, tubing.

We continue to the town of Mindo, the second point to visit is the orchidarium, in which we have a great variety of species of orchids, bromeliads and heliconias. Among the orchids we have approximately 4500 species in Ecuador and in this place 250 different species, in addition to having a nice experience in contact with the cloud forest.

We continue to the butterfly farm to understand a little more about the metamorphosis that these beautiful guardians of nature have.

We will ascend to 2,300 meters to travel by cable car about 200 meters and take the path down to the Nambillo River waterfall, low difficulty level, a waterfall about 7 m high which forms a natural pool where you can take a refreshing bath.

We will have time for lunch (not included) and taste some of the typical dishes of the area such as tilapia or trout, freshwater fish.

Finally, we will visit a museum of one of the most important export products of Ecuador, the delicious cocoa. We will be able to observe the entire process to obtain this delicacy of the country. In addition to having the different plantations of this fruit from the Chocó region, and a small store where different products derived from cocoa are offered (not included).