This is the short Ecuador holiday for anyone who wants the Andes and the Amazon in one week without a long transfer between them. You start in Quito, spend a morning at the Otavalo market and an afternoon at the Cuicocha crater lake, then drop down through the hot springs at Papallacta to a private hacienda lodge on the Arajuno river. Two days there cover a canoe trip, a parrot clay lick, a Kichwa community and the Jatun Sacha reserve. You come back up through the waterfalls of Baños and finish under Cotopaxi. Every part of it is private, with your own guide and driver, and the dates are yours to choose.
Ecuador Amazon & Andes: Quito, Otavalo & the Jungle
Eight days from the old town of Quito to a lodge on the Arajuno river, with Otavalo market, the Papallacta hot springs, the Baños waterfalls and Cotopaxi on the way. From £2,399 per person with flights.
Highlights
Old Quito on foot: the cathedral, La Compañía and San Francisco, then the equator line
Otavalo, the best-known craft market in South America, and the Cuicocha crater lake
A soak in the Papallacta hot springs at 3,300 metres with Antisana volcano behind
Two nights at a private hacienda lodge on the Arajuno river in the Napo rainforest
A dawn canoe trip to a parrot clay lick and a jungle lunch with the Santa Bárbara community
The waterfall road at Baños, including the Pailón del Diablo
Limpiopungo lake and the páramo of Cotopaxi National Park on the way back to Quito
Your Itinerary
Day 1: London to Quito
Fly from London to Quito. Your guide meets you at the airport and drives you to your hotel in the city. Quito sits at 2,850 metres in a ring of Andean peaks, and its colonial centre is one of the largest and best kept in Latin America. Overnight at Patio Andaluz or similar.
Day 2: Old Quito and the equator line
A morning on foot through the old town: the Plaza Grande, the cathedral, the gold-leaf interior of La Compañía and San Francisco, then up to the Panecillo for the view over the city. In the afternoon you drive north to the Mitad del Mundo monument on the equator, where the small ethnographic museum is a good first lesson in how varied the country is. Breakfast included.
Day 3: Otavalo market and Cuicocha
Drive north to Otavalo, whose textile market on the Plaza de Ponchos is the most famous in South America. You have time to wander and bargain, then visit the workshops where Andean flutes, panpipes and charangos are still made by hand. In the afternoon you continue to Cuicocha, a lake inside the crater of an extinct volcano with two wooded islands in the middle. Overnight near Otavalo. Breakfast included.
Day 4: Papallacta hot springs to the Amazon
You cross the eastern cordillera towards the jungle. First stop is Guango Lodge, a temperate forest at 2,700 metres where fifteen species of hummingbird come to the feeders. Then Papallacta, a natural hot spring between the Andes and the Amazon, with lunch there and a view of Antisana on a clear day. In the late afternoon you arrive at your lodge on the Arajuno river in Napo province, a private hacienda of about 150 hectares, for a welcome drink and dinner. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.
Day 5: A full day in the rainforest
Out at half past five with your guide to the Arajuno river, a quiet branch of the Napo, and by canoe to a clay lick where parrots and parakeets gather in the early morning. You then visit the Santa Bárbara community, twenty three Kichwa families, to see how chicha is made and to share a jungle lunch cooked on the spot. The afternoon takes in the Jatun Sacha reserve, 2,500 hectares of protected forest, and the small river town of Misahuallí with its capuchin monkeys. Back at the lodge by mid afternoon for the pool or a hammock. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.
Day 6: The waterfall road to Baños
Leave the lodge after breakfast and climb back into the Andes to Baños, a small town in a valley of hot springs and waterfalls below the Tungurahua volcano. After a short look at the centre you follow the waterfall road: Agoyán, Manto de la Novia, the Pailón del Diablo and Machay. Overnight at Samari Spa or similar. Breakfast included.
Day 7: Cotopaxi and back to Quito
Drive north into Cotopaxi National Park. From the reserve entrance you walk and drive up to Limpiopungo lake, with the volcano above you when the cloud lifts, and a picnic lunch with the view. Llamas, deer and rabbits are common on the páramo. You arrive back in Quito in the late afternoon with the evening free. Overnight at Patio Andaluz or similar. Breakfast and picnic lunch included.
Day 8: Quito to London
Your guide takes you to Quito airport in time for the flight home. Breakfast included.
What's Included
- Return flights from London (other UK airports on request)
- Seven nights in first class hotels and a private jungle lodge, twin or double rooms
- Breakfast every day, plus lunch and dinner on the two Amazon days and a picnic lunch at Cotopaxi
- Private transport throughout with an English speaking naturalist guide
- All the visits in the itinerary, including the canoe trip and reserve entries
- Airport transfers in Quito
- ATOL protection on the whole package
What's Not Included
- Travel insurance
- Meals not listed
- Drinks
- Tips for guides and drivers
- Personal spending
- Entry to optional museums at the equator line
Frequently Asked Questions
From £2,399 per person, two sharing, including return flights from London, seven nights, a private guide and driver, and the meals listed. It is a from price: the fare on your dates and the hotel grade you choose move it. We send a firm quote before you commit to anything.
Plan your Ecuador Amazon and Andes holiday
Tell us your dates and how you like to travel, and we will send you a full quote with flights, hotels and the private guide included.
We typically respond within 24 hours
Tailor-Made Holiday
Guide price from£2,399
Flights Includedper personATOL protected (10898)
Private holiday
Flexible dates
8 days (suggested)
Fully customisable
No commitment, we respond within 24 hours
Tailor-Made Holiday
Guide price from£2,399
Flights Includedper personATOL protected (10898)
Private holiday
Flexible dates
8 days (suggested)
Fully customisable
No commitment, we respond within 24 hours
Real reviews
What our customers say
From travellers who visited Ecuador with us
“
Spent twelve days in mainland Ecuador and was blown away by the diversity. The cloud forest at Mindo had incredible birdwatching, we spotted toucans and hummingbirds within the first hour. The indigenous market at Otavalo was colourful and authentic, and the Amazon lodge near Tena gave us a taste of the jungle. Good food throughout, especially the llapingachos. Solid four stars, the roads can be a bit hair-raising.
Alastair F.
“
Ecuador packs an extraordinary amount into a small country. We started in Quito, the old town is a UNESCO gem, then took the train to the Avenue of Volcanoes. Cotopaxi on a clear day is unforgettable. The highlight was Baños: zip-lining over canyons, the swing at the edge of the world, and soaking in thermal baths afterwards. Fabian's planning was meticulous.
Barbara & John L.
“
Ecuador is a hidden gem. We trekked to Cotopaxi, explored the Amazon and spent time in gorgeous Cuenca. The variety in such a small country is remarkable. Highly recommend Travelfab.
Tom & Lisa B.
More holidays in Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador & Galápagos Journey: Quito & Santa Cruz
9 daysEasy to ModeratePrivate to 2 or more travellers
From£4,399
ATOL 10898
Ecuador
Haciendas of Ecuador: Otavalo, Papallacta & Cotopaxi
6 daysEasy to ModeratePrivate to 2 or more travellers
From£1,999
ATOL 10898
Ecuador
Ecuador Volcano Avenue Adventure
13 daysChallenging4-10 persons
From£3,699
ATOL 10898Tailor-made · ATOL 10898
Want to customise this trip?
Every Travelfab holiday is tailor-made, extend a leg, swap a hotel, combine with another country. Tell us the shape you want and a specialist will redesign it around you.
Customise this trip with a specialist