Tungurahua tour
Highlands, Andean markets, train descent and colonial Cuenca
Saturdays from the UK
Duration – 12 days, 10 nights
Quito 2 nights, Otavalo 2n, Quito 1n, Riobamba 1n, Cuenca 2n, Guayaquil 2n.
itinerary
Day 1 Overnight flight to Quito from the UK.
Day 2 Tour of the colonial centre and museums.
Day 3 Drive north through hilly countryside to Otavalo. After lunch beside Lake San Pablo you will be driven up the slopes of a dormant volcano to peer into Cuicocha crater lake, and later all in at Cotacachi village (leather goods).
Day 4 Morning visit to Otavalo market, a dazzling labyrinth of colourful textiles and jewellery. Visit San Antonio de Ibarra, famous for wood-carvings.
Day 5 Return to Quito.
Day 6 A scenic journey by a combination of road transport and rail along the Avenue of the Volcanoes to Riobamba, stopping at a rose farm, close to the Cotopaxi National Park, en route.
Day 7 Take the train to Alausí, one of the world’s great railway journeys. The track descends in a spectacular combination of switchbacks down an almost perpendicular cliff, known as the Devil’s Nose. Continue by road from Alausí to Cuenca via the Inca ruins at Ingapirca.
Day 8 Tour of colonial Cuenca, Ecuador’s most elegant city with many fine buildings of locally quarried marble, and graceful plazas.
Day 9 Full day trip into Las Cajas high altitude national park, a rugged wilderness of grasslands peppered with glittering lakes. Descend from the chilly Andes to the balmy tropical climate of the Pacific coast .
Day 10 Tour of the effervescent port of Guayaquil, including a stroll along the riverside malecón, the refurbished market and Spanish Naval shipyard.
Day 11 Fly back to the UK, arriving Day 12, Sunday.
How about?
- Continuing your Andean experience by visiting Peru (Pacific to Andes).
- Cruising Ecuador’s most celebrated attraction, the Galápagos Islands.
- Exploring the recently opened-up Pacific Coast.
- Breaking your journey in the Dutch Caribbean (KLM offer a free stopover in Bonaire).
The above optional excursions may dovetail into the existing 10 night itinerary, or require extra nights. | 
|