Combine Daily Tours in Quito and Surroundings

Rates include: 4 nights at Swissotel

5 star accommodations: $964 per person (min 2 guests)

Departure Days: Every day

Program Description:

Day 1: Quito City Tour & Central Bank Museum
Starting early in the morning we will have time to visit the colonial section of Quito on a walking tour along its cobblestone streets among buildings that date from the 16th to the 19th centuries. We’ll also visit Independence Square where the Presidential Palace is located, and marvel at the ornate interior of the Baroque/Moorish Church of San Francisco as well as the golden interior of La Compañia church. We will then proceed to the Central Bank Museum, with the largest and most complete art collection of the country, the National Museum has permanent exhibits dating from 12.000 BC to 21st. Century Art in its different exhibits like the Archaeology Court, the Gold Court, the Colonial Art Court, Republican and Contemporary exhibitions as well as itinerant ones. If you take this tour on a Monday, we will go to the Guayasamin Museum instead, home of a private pre Columbian and colonial art collection, as well as the best works of painter Oswaldo Guayasamin, at La Capilla del Hombre. Rest of the day at leisure.
Overnight at Swissotel or Le Parc, breakfast included

Day 2: Tandayapa Reserve
Just an hour and a half north of Quito stands a primeval cloud forest set in the mountains above the Tandayapa River. Here a North American who used to work in the Monte Verde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica has discovered what could be the birders’ paradise of the world. Even without counting the seemingly endless species of hummingbirds who frequent the feeders of this former cow pasture, the list of bird species seen here would rival - and may well surpass - any single location in the world. After a relaxed picnic lunch watching birds, we will continue to an orchid reserve where you will have the opportunity to discover some of the 2,725 species of orchids found in Ecuador. Arrive in Quito late in the afternoon.
Overnight at Swissotel or LeParc, breakfast included

Day 3: Otavalo, Cotacachi & Peguche
Just one and a half hours north of Quito among the lush volcanic highlands is the Otavalo village. This land is rich in friendly and colorfully attired indigenous people, historic working haciendas, and towering volcanoes with verdant slopes. Our destination is the Otavalo Indian craft market. As we pass into the highlands, we’re treated to a sweeping view of Imbabura and Cotacachi Volcanoes rising above San Pablo Lake. Our first stop is the Otavalo market, famous throughout the Andes for its handicrafts, textiles and tapestries. Then it is on to the village of Peguche for a weaving demonstration followed by Cotacachi, home to Ecuador’s finest leather craftsmen. Lunch will be served at one of the local haciendas built between the 17th and 18th centuries with a typical Andean ambience. Arrive in Quito late in the afternoon.
Overnight at Swissotel or LeParc, breakfast included

Day 4: Antisana Volcano
South of Quito, standing tall among the 'Avenue of the Volcanoes' is Cotopaxi. At 19,348 ft (5,897 m) above sea level it is the highest active volcano in the world, and home to Cotopaxi National Park. The park offers a tundra-like environment and is surrounded by other volcanoes both active and extinct. The area offers good hikes with the opportunity to study its geology and flora and chances to see local fauna, including wild horses, Andean birds and the possibility of seeing the Andean Condor, the world's largest flying bird. Lunch is included. After a relaxed stroll in the region we’ll return to Quito. If possible we will also visit a local indigenous market Arrive in Quito late in the afternoon.
Overnight at Swissotel or LeParc, breakfast included