Ecuador | Active Family Expedition in Ecuador

Welcome to Ecuador! Arrive to Quito and you will be met by our representative and transfer to your hotel. Quito is located at 2,850 meters above sea level and surrounded by snow-capped volcanoes, Quito is the second highest capital city in the world. Listed on the World Heritage List for its fine collection of colonial architecture, Quito is a history lover's paradise. The old town is an area of preserved colonial churches, monasteries, museums and whitewashed buildings with red-tiled roofs.

Explore Quito, the capital of Ecuador; a charming city surrounded by mountains and volcanoes with the largest and best preserved historic center in America. Learn about the history of the city while walking along its colonial streets.
Quito's superb churches store treasures of the religious art and are an amazing example of the most wonderful architecture, there is no question why UNESCO declared Quito as the First World Cultural Heritage Site. In the afternoon, visit the Equator and celebrate with your family the ability of standing at the two hemispheres at the same time. A once in a lifetime experience!! Visit the famous Middle of the World complex, built to commemorate a group of scientists who had the hard mission to determine the Earth's shape back in 1743 and to mark the point; where according to calculations used at that time, the equator line crossed. Learn important facts about the Equator and confirm or dismiss related rumors that have fascinated people for centuries.

Enjoy beautiful countryside landscapes on your way from Quito to Otavalo. En route, visit Parque Cóndor; a non-profit wildlife refuge for birds like owls and the endangered Andean Condor. Parque Condor seeks to rescue, protect and rehabilitate birds. Enjoy an educational bird show to learn about the importance of its environmental conservation, and watch these beautiful creatures in flight. Continue to the Otavalo craft market where locals show their products and crafts for sell. Visit a local indigenous family who will share with you their culture and traditions; including their weaving ability, their music, and their ancestral knowledge of medicinal plants. Enjoy a traditional lunch and continue to your hotel; a restored Historical Hacienda. Enjoy with your family the rest of the evening at leisure.

Enjoy a horseback ride through beautiful countryside landscapes surrounding the Hacienda. You will be accompanied by an expert guide. Horseback ride can last from 1 to 3 hours; it all depends on your previous horseback riding experience. Return to the Hacienda for lunch. Time on your own to enjoy the Hacienda facilities. Among the activities you can enjoy with your family at the Hacienda are; visits to the stable and small farm to see Llamas, horses, peacocks, rabbits, guinea pigs, turkeys, pigs; play games like Billiards, darts, ping-pong, Chess, Backgammon, cards and Monopoly in the Game room; or enjoy one of the 300 selected DVDs and videos in the TV Room. You can also enjoy a nice hike to explore the town nearby.

Depart from Otavalo after breakfast. Visit the Pasochoa wildlife refuge, one of the last remaining areas of ancient humid Andean shrub forest; it is home of native species of plants, birds and mammals. The Pasochoa forest is located around the crater of an extinct volcano named also Pasochoa. Pasochoa protected forest has different trails, easy routes, with hikes going from 1 to 6 hours long. Enjoy a hiking across the subtropical, cloud and mountain forest of the volcano. Continue in the Cotopaxi area for overnight at a local Hacienda.

Follow a picturesque road that will take you to Lake Quilotoa, formed in the crater of a collapsed volcano which eruption took place approximately 800 years ago. This 3km wide caldera is filled with turquoise water as a result of dissolved minerals. You can descend from the top of the collapsed caldera, to the lake in approximately 45 minutes and return to the top by mules! Visit Tigua, a small village near Quilotoa where the community members are excellent artists who represent the indigenous life in their paintings; these scenes are rendered in a charming naïve or naïf folk style using bright, colorful enamel paints. In the afternoon return to your hotel, rest of the afternoon at leisure before dinner.

Enjoy mountain biking at the Cotopaxi National Park. Start your biking at the Hut located at 4500 m (14760 feet) and descend to Limpiopungo valley; you will be surrounded en route by beautiful Andean landscapes. Going through valleys of volcanic origin you will continue to the Inca fortress of Pucara del Salitre where you will enjoy your box lunch. Continue biking to a Hacienda nearby, where you will spend the night.

Today, enjoy a Canopy adventure! The canopy is a transportation system based on harnesses and pulleys attached to an inclined cable, taking advantage of gravity. This system was used by scientists who were doing research in the forest canopy. They avoided coming down to the ground and climbing up the next tree by using this system. The Canopy Tour is a safe way to enjoy the high mountain forest from the upper part; it is an environmentally low-impact adventure, giving people with little or no climbing techniques knowledge the opportunity to live an exciting experience. It has 5 cables between 100 and 480 meters long. These cables can hold many tons of weight suspended. One ton grounded anchorages hold cables strengthened. Top of the line equipment and pulleys specially designed for cable use will be provided; fitness is not a factor with the canopy tour since gravity does all the work. Almost anyone can experience this. Our specialized guides make our high mountain canopy flights very safe and at the same time they will impart their knowledge of this unique ecosystem. Box lunch will be provided. In the afternoon return to Quito.

Travel west down, through beautiful cloud forest, to the shores of the river. The trip will take about 3 hours. The Toachi or Blanco rivers are a fantastic introduction to the rivers of Ecuador. Flowing off the coastal side of the Andes, they have some of the longest navigable sections of whitewater in the country. Combine this with the sights and sounds of the forest environment we pass through, and you are guaranteed a day to remember! Transfer back to Quito. At night, courtesy transportation will be provided to take you to a local restaurant for your Family Farewell Dinner! We will provide some nice restaurant recommendations so you can choose on your own the most appropriate place for your family to eat. (The cost of dinner is not included, paid on your own). Transportation back to the hotel.

Transfer to the airport for your flight back home.