COME TO THE PARADISE IN ECUADOR

Back to Andes Programs:

OPTIONAL TOURS IN ECUADOR

RAFTING

39 ECUNAT

Rafting in the Blanco River or Toachi River 1 DAY

The Rivers Toachi and Blanco are an excellent introduction to the Ecuadorian rivers, such that descending by the western side of the mountain range of the Andes, has some of the longest and navigable sections in the country. The day begins 6:30 in the morning, when we gather of its hotel or our point of contact. We traveled towards the beautiful cloud forest in Santo Domingo.

The passage lasts approximately two hours. Before beginning the adventure we provide life jackets and it is offered to talk of training on the techniques to use in the river.

The adventure will give us many exciting experiences and amazing tranquillity of the tropical forest.

Time: 3 1/2 hours, approximately. In the passage we make a shutdown in the border of the river to enjoy delicious picnic that includes tropical fruits, juice and water. At the end of the trip we celebrated the triumphs reached with cold beer before returning to Quito.

Level of the rivers: III-IV (depending on the time of the year)
Level of difficulty: adventure
Includes: Private transport, professional guides, full field equipment of rafting, box lunch
What to bring: short or bath suit, sport t-shirt, shoes/sandals, glasses, cap, solar, repelente protector of insects, towel, dry clothes.

40 ECUNAT

Rafting in the Rivers Blanco & Toachi 2D/1N

We´ll have an amazing rafting in these rivers Toachi and Blanco. After the challenges of the day, you lodging in one hostería in Santo Domingo. Dinner includes. The second day we returned to the river to enjoy this extraordinary adventure again. In afternoon return to Quito Level of difficulty: adventure

Includes: Private transport, professional guides, full rafting equipment, box lunch.
What to bring: short or bath suit, sport t-shirt, shoes/sandals, glasses, cap, solar, repellent, sun block, towel, dry clothes.

MOUNTAIN BIKING

42 ECUNAT

Mountain Biking in the National Park Cotopaxi 1 DAY

Early in the morning we leave from Quito to Machachi, where we will visit the local market to buy fresh fruit. We continue to the Cotopaxi National park, until the place from where we begin our adventure, throughout 16 km by the forest. Lunch. With our transport we will arrive at the parking lot located to 4600 meters above the sea level. Long walk of 1 hour until the refuge of the volcano.

With our bicycles we descend until the valley of Limpiopungo to 3800 meters. In the evening return to Quito.

Level of difficulty: adventure
Iincludes: Private transport, experimented guides, bicycles, helmets, entrances, box lunch.

43 ECUNAT

5-DAY MOUNTAIN BIKE TRIP

Day 1: Our five-day biking adventure begins as we drive south to Cotopaxi National Park, two hours from Quito. At the base of Cotopaxi Volcano, we embark on the first leg of our journey: a wild ride downward to the silvery lake of Limpiopungo. Across the paramo landscape you often see wild herds of horses galloping free, as well as dainty clusters of paramo flowers in yellows, pinks and lavenders. Eventually, we pedal through pine-forested lands until reaching the park's guard station, where a llama herd is typically seen. In the afternoon, we drive to Latacunga, where we spend the night in a hotel. (B,L)

Day 2: Chimborazo to Baños We head out early for the drive south to Chimborazo volcano, the highest peak in Ecuador at 6310 meters (20,697 ft.) At the base camp we hop on our bikes and begin the downward descent through a magical Andean landscape to the small village of San Juan, nearby Riobamba. Before reaching this point, we'll be served our lunch in a very typical Indian village. In San Juan we load the bikes on the jeep roof and drive to Baños, a small town famous for its hot springs, and spend the night there. (B,L)

Day 3: Puyo and the Avenue of the Orchids We take a pre-breakfast and dip in the thermal waters of Baños before pedaling east toward Puyo. You'll notice the dramatic temperature and vegetation changes as we descend into the steamy Amazon basin. Bike along the Avenue of the Orchids. Lunch. Overnight and dinner in the Amazonian frontier town of Puyo (B,L) Day 4: Bike Puyo-Archidona Today we cycle from Puyo to Archidona through quechua villages and tropical rainforest. After lunch we drive to Puerto Napo where we switch to human power. Bike down to Archidona the first spanish town in the Amazon basin. Overnight in jungle lodge.

Day 5: Amazon basin Today our travel is by foot as we explore the Amazon with a local Quichua guide. He leads us through his rainforest home and shares his knowledge of the local flora and fauna. We stand a good chance of spotting flocks of Amazon parrots, macaws and toucans. We then return to our lodge. Drive by jeep up into the Andes. We cycle to the town of Baeza at the base of the Andes.

We enjoy a picnic lunch, and then drive up to the Papallacta thermal waters for a well-earned soak in the toasty hot springs. We continue our journey by driving up to the 4200m Papallacta pass.

From here, we don our riding gear for the last time and complete the final part of our five-day journey: the ride downhill to Pifo, a suburb of Quito. The spectacular ride takes us speeding through wide stretches of paramo and cloud forest, with the Andean sun illuminating the way. Some days can be chilled by occasional fog, so don't forget your mittens and fleece. In Pifo we pile the bikes on the jeep's roof and head back to Quito. (B,L)

Level of difficulty: adventure
Iincludes: Private transport, experimented guides, bicycles, helmets, entrances, indicated meals, Hotel and lodge double accommodation.
Not includes: Personal expenses, tips or extras

CLIMBING

44 ECUNAT

CLIMBING 2 OR 3 DAY

DAY 1.- We leave from the office to the mountain by 4*4 private car. Our transport will take us to the parking lot, then we continue by foot to the refuge, after box lunch, we have a short instruction at the glaciar, on the use of equipment and go to bed early as we have to wake up at midnight. DAY 2.- We wake up at midnight and start climbing to the summit Because of the mountain’s altitude we need from 4 to 7 hours to reach the top and another 3 to 4 hours to descend.

THE ECUADORIAN RAILWAY

45 ECUNAT

THE DEVIL´S NOSE TRAIN 1 DAY

The country's most popular rail trip begins in the picturesque city of Riobamba. Like many cities in the Ecuadorian Andes, Riobamba sits in shadow of a giant volcano. At 6,310 meters, the volcano Chimborazo enjoys the distinctions of being Ecuador's highest peak and the furthest point from the center of the earth, thanks to the bulge at the equator. The train travels south from Riobamba through a few small towns and large expanses of open country before arriving at Alausi, where it begins a hair-raising descent of the Devil's Nose. Most travellers sit on top of the rail cars to take advantage of the spectacular sights. The train leaves Riobamba on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 7am

The Devil's Nose

Thirty kilometers into the ascent of the towering western range, 130 kilometers east of Guayaquil, the railway snakes up a mountain known as El Nariz del Diablo (The Devil's Nose). This nearly vertical wall of rock was the greatest natural obstacle engineers encountered during construction of the Southern Railway, and one of a string of blunders that nearly smothered the dream of connecting Guayaquil and Quito by rail.

In retrospect, the mistake of going over instead of around the Devil's Nose has become a point of engineering pride. A team of engineers lead by the North Americans William Shunck and brothers Archer and John Harman, came up with an ingenious solution of carving a series of tight zigzags into the side of the mountain, which allowed the train to climb a gradient of 1-in-18 from 1800 to 2600 meters, by going forwards then backwards up the tracks.

Back to Andes Programs:

- back to home page -