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.
Your trip
Your 8 days in Ecuador
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.
At a glance
8 days
Private tripJust your own party
Easy to ModerateActivity level
Flights includedATOL protected
Flexible datesYou choose when you go
EcuadorOur destination guide
What makes it special
Highlights
Quito and the equator
Old Quito on foot: the cathedral, La Compañía and San Francisco, then the equator line
The craft market
Otavalo, the best-known craft market in South America, and the Cuicocha crater lake
Papallacta hot springs
A soak in the Papallacta hot springs at 3,300 metres with Antisana volcano behind
The Napo rainforest
Two nights at a private hacienda lodge on the Arajuno river in the Napo rainforest
A dawn canoe trip
A dawn canoe trip to a parrot clay lick and a jungle lunch with the Santa Bárbara community
Pailón del Diablo
The waterfall road at Baños, including the Pailón del Diablo
Cotopaxi National Park
Limpiopungo lake and the páramo of Cotopaxi National Park on the way back to Quito
Day by day
Your itinerary
Day 1London 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 2Old 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 3Otavalo 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 4Papallacta 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 5A 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 6The 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 7Cotopaxi 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 8Quito to London
Your guide takes you to Quito airport in time for the flight home. Breakfast included.
Your price covers
What's included
Flights
Return flights from London (other UK airports on request)
We can also book other airlines, including flights with one stop, to suit your dates and preferences.
Accommodation
Seven nights in first class hotels and a private jungle lodge, twin or double rooms
Meals
Breakfast every day, plus lunch and dinner on the two Amazon days and a picnic lunch at Cotopaxi
Transport
- Private transport throughout with an English speaking naturalist guide
- Airport transfers in Quito
Experiences
All the visits in the itinerary, including the canoe trip and reserve entries
ATOL protection
ATOL protection on the whole package
Not included: Travel insurance · Meals not listed · Drinks · Tips for guides and drivers · Personal spending · Entry to optional museums at the equator line
Your next step
Dates and price
No commitment, we reply within one working day
Before you book
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.
Yes, because this route keeps the driving short. Quito, Otavalo, Papallacta, the lodge, Baños and Cotopaxi are all within a few hours of each other, so you spend the time in places rather than on the road. If you have more days we can add the Galápagos or the cloud forest at Mindo.
The lodge is on the Arajuno river in Napo province, at the edge of the Amazon basin about four hours from Quito. You get the canoe, the clay lick, a Kichwa community and primary forest without the flight and long boat journey that a Yasuní lodge needs. If you want the deep jungle instead, ask us about a Napo Wildlife Center extension.
Quito is at 2,850 metres and Papallacta a little higher. Most people feel a bit breathless on the first day and are fine after that. The route goes down to the jungle on day four, which helps. Take the first day gently and drink plenty of water. Talk to your doctor if you have a heart or lung condition.
Ecuador can be visited all year. June to September is the driest in the Andes and the busiest. The jungle is wet at any time, with the heaviest rain from March to June. Shoulder months such as October and November are quieter and still good.
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.
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What our customers say
They organised excellent accommodation and transfers from airport to destination and between destinations which was seamless and gave us peace of mind for our trip. We stayed in the nicest casa particular in Havana right on the outskirts of the major hustle of the old town but within walking distance to every site and lots of lovely restaurants. Our hotel in Varadero had 5 a la carte restaurants which were delicious and wonderful beaches! Would definitely go back to Cuba and use TravelFab again.
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