Ecuador Uncovered Holiday » Itinerary

Fly from the UK to Quito today. Please note that international flights for this holiday are quoted separately. You should arrive in the Ecuadorian capital early this evening. Settle in to your charming and very comfortable hotel.

After a relaxed morning you are collected for the two hour drive up to the cloudforest. From the lodge you can watch birds come and go or head out to explore the forest trails.

Lodge guides look after you while you are here. There is a menu of excursions such as guided walks to observe the cloudforest canopy as it comes to life.

We normally offer you a choice of two lodges within the Ecuadorian cloudforest.

We normally offer you a choice of two lodges within the Ecuadorian cloudforest.
Lodge one is the lodge we use for most clients and has been carefully selected to offer the perfect balance of comfort, wildlife and conservation.
In our opinion it offers first class accommodation and facilities including a pool, bar, restaurant, games room and lounge to keep you entertained in the evening. There is even wifi should you need it. …
Depsite these comforts, pretty much everything is sustainable and low impact.
Recycling is high on the agenda. 95% of everything at the lodge is recycled and the 5% they struggle with is stored until they work out a way to recycle it.
The water in the outdoor pool and jacuzzi comes from their private spring. Furniture is either antique or made from recycled wood, even the wellington boots they provide are recycled into table supports / door stops when they are past their best.
The lodge is part of a private protected reserve of 430 hectares and with it come over 300 species of birds, as well as monkeys, sloths, deer and puma.
You can choose what you do here: bird watching, rafting, mountain biking, kayaking or simply relax by the pool and listen to the sounds of the cloudforest. Full details of the activities on offer are all listed in hotel reception each day. Whilst at the lodge you will be looked after by their own guides.
Lodge two we offer a second lodge which is more basic but is, we feel, a very special place.
There are six stand-alone cabins with private bathroom, seating area, terrace and hammocks.
The cabins are in a wonderful setting just beside the river and are best described as basic but stylish. There is no electricty here but you will be provided with parafin lanterns.
The main lodge is open-sided and thatched and here you have the kitchen, dining area, bar and two open “fogatas” or fire pits with great views of the surrounding forest.
The atmosphere is very laid back and the emphasis is on nature, relaxation and peace and quiet. It is difficult to imagine being closer to nature than this.
After dinner most people just eat and then retire to their cabins although you are welcome to relax over a drink in main lodge for as long as you like.
There are no structured itineraries or scheduled activities but guides are available for walks and mountain biking and tubing is also possible here. This lodge is probably not for everyone but will be absolutely perfect for some.

Try another activity this morning before the drive out of the cloudforest up into the lovely mountain scenery of Imbabura, just above the town of Otovalo with its famous market.

There are any number of activities and excursions you can enjoy whilst staying here from shopping in local markets, walking around lakes, visiting schools and community projects to helping out in the kitchen.

Today you might like to walk around Cuicocha lake; an impressive crater lake of the Cotacachi volcano about half an hour’s drive from Otavalo.

Travel east into the foothills of the Andes to the east of Quito and to the hot springs of Papallacta where you stay in a comfortable hotel with its own outdoor pools.

Spend today relaxing in the hot springs or you can venture out to explore some of the surrounding mountains.

Leading directly from the hotel are some self-guided trails or you can join a formal guided walk into the mountains.

Travel south along the Avenue of the Volcanoes towards Cotopaxi. Stop en route to walk in the Pasachoa reserve. Stay on a working farm with just a few guests.

At nearly 5,900m Cotopaxi is the world’s highest active volcano. Visit the national park which covers the skirts of the mountain. The park is home to a wide variety of birds including condor, as well as llama, wild horses and deer.

Travel by road, plane, boat and foot to your remote eco-lodge on the edge of the Huaorani community deep inside the Amazon. Settle in and meet the villagers.

Visiting the Huaorani Ecolodge is a new and unique opportunity to experience the Amazon through the eyes of its inhabitants. If you think a more traditional wildlife focused visit to the Amazon is better for you, we can include that instead.

Visiting the Huaorani Ecolodge is a new and unique opportunity to experience the Amazon through the eyes of its inhabitants.

That isn’t to say it will suit everyone.

Read on for a sense of what is involved but if you think a more traditional wildlife focused visit to the Amazon is better for you, we can include that instead.

On this trip you travel deep into the Huaorani lands to experience and learn about their way of life.

With a maximum of ten guests at the lodge, this is not a stage managed affair but a genuine opportunity to interact with members of the community.

While the community is at the heart of your time here, you also spend much time exploring the jungle on foot and by boat in the company of your guides.

There are no artificial noises here. No outboard motors, just poles. No generators, just solar panels.

Your lodge is designed to offer an intimate, harmonious and environmentally sustainable setting.

Over the course of your stay you will likely learn about the threats faced by the Huaorani particularly from logging, settlers and oil.

On your last day as you leave Huaorani territory along the so-called ‘toxic highway’ you are confronted with an all too stark illustration of just how immediate these pressures are.

The existence of the lodge and the income and awareness it generates allows the Huaorani to better withstand the threats to their land and their culture.

This afternoon visit a salt-clay lick, a popular haunt for a variety of animals and birds who use it as a valuable source of nutrients.

Spend today with your Huaorani guide learning how to survive in the jungle. This afternoon visit the village to meet the locals.

Today is mostly spent looking for wildlife around the Cocha Grande lake, downstream from the lodge. Monkeys, agoutis and peccaries make this area their home, although more common sights include the variety of bird species, which come to the lake to feed.

After breakfast, you wave goodbye to the lodge and set off poling down the Shiripuno River in traditional Huaorani style. Sleep under canvas at a permanent camp on the river bank.

After several days enjoying pristine jungle, today brings the plight of the rainforest and the Huaorani tribe into stark reality as you leave the jungle along an ‘oil road’.

Transfer back to the airport for your flight home today.