Galapagos & Amazon Quest: An Active Adventure

Welcome to Quito, the largest and best-preserved colonial city of America! Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, the city is considered to be the Cultural Capital of South America. Depending on your arrival time, you can spend the day exploring the old town of Quito and its surrounding area.

Your guides can help you organize a day trip—make sure to ask in advance. In the evening, your guide will meet you at the hotel’s lobby for a welcome briefing at 6 pm, which is when you’ll go through the details of the adventure ahead. Get some rest, as tomorrow the adventure begins!

Accommodation: Sheraton Quito Hotel or similar

Get ready to explore Galapagos, an incredible archipelago in the Pacific and the place where Charles Darwin based his theory of the evolution of species. Board a morning flight from Quito to the island of San Cristóbal. Once you arrive, get transferred to the hotel in the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno and go through a short briefing about the days ahead.

From there, you will take a quick boat to Isabela, the largest island in the archipelago, where most of the volcanic activity in the Galapagos is reported. The island was formed by six shield volcanoes, Alcedo, Cerra Azul, Darwin, Ecuador, Sierra Negra and Wolf; five of them are still active, which makes the island one of the most volcanically active places on earth.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Cormorant Beach House or similar

Today you’ll explore amazing formations of lava created by last eruptions of the volcanic island. This magical place has been filmed by the BBC and National Geographic. It’s a labyrinth of lava arches made of crystal-clear water full of sea turtles, eagle rays, sea lions, sharks, and more.

The turtles navigate their own highway from the mangroves to the open sea through Los Tuneles. Here is where you’ll have the best snorkeling opportunity with all these animals around you, including the Galapagos penguins! You can also enjoy some optional activities today, such as snorkeling at Concha de Perla, cycling, or just relaxing on the beach. Your guides recommend a visit to the giant tortoise breeding center located near the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Cormorant Beach House or similar

After driving up from Puerto Vilamil to the trailhead, prepare your backpacks and hike into a young forest ecosystem, a world of recent geological history. Your destination is the rim of Sierra Negra Crater, an active volcano whose last eruption was in 2018. Explore the circumference of the massive, lava-filled crater, over six miles wide at its widest point.

If you feel energetic, you can continue your hike to Volcan Chico, a secondary crater that has a wild landscape of puffing fumaroles and colorful lava formations, which are terrific examples of the dramatic geological events that have forged the Galapagos Islands over millennia. In the afternoon, visit the Tintoreras Islet, whose turquoise, crystalline waters are inhabited by white-tipped reef sharks, Galapagos Penguins, marin turtles, and sea lions.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch
Accommodation: Cormorant Beach House or similar

In the morning, head to Santa Cruz Island to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station. You’ll learn about many of the endemic species seen in the wild, as well as the ongoing conservation and management efforts on the Galapagos Islands.

In the afternoon, head to the El Chato Reserve in the highlands of Santa Cruz, home to the famous Galapagos tortoise. Hiking through El Chato’s beautiful scenery with those giants is a truly unforgettable experience! You’ll also see other highland wildlife such as pintail ducks, egrets, flycatchers, and finches, as well as frigatebirds which gather to wash the salt off their feathers at a freshwater lake. Return to Puerto Ayora to spend the evening in Galapagos’ most populous town.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: La Isla or similar

After your final breakfast on the Galapagos Islands and some last pics of cute sea lions, you’ll transfer to Baltra’s Airport in time to catch the flight back to the mainland. Explore the city and get some rest, as tomorrow the second leg of the adventure begins!

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Sheraton Quito Hotel or similar

In the morning, you’ll drive down a panoramic road from an altitude of 3,000 m to 500 m (9843 ft to 1640 ft), witnessing a stark change in landscape and vegetation.

Later you will stop at the Guacamayos-Macaw Lookout, located between Antisana and Sumaco national Reserves (low elevation cloud forest) for a view of clouds covering the Amazon rainforest. Arrive at the Arajuno River, where a 20-minute boat ride on a motor canoe takes you to the Eco Lodge. After a brief break, there’s an optional nocturnal hike to observe insects before dinner.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Accommodation: Amazon Lodge

Early in the morning with the sunrise, take a canoe up the Arajuno river to go visit saladeros (which is how the locals call a Parrot’s clay lick). Here you’ll have a very close encounter with them, as they come almost every morning.

After breakfast, you will go for a hike in the Amazon pristine forest to learn more about the flora, fauna, and the techniques of survival that the people who live there need. In the afternoon, you will visit the nearby Kichwa community, which is when they will share their traditions and stories with you!

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Accommodation: Amazon Lodge

Today you’ll head back to the Andes Mountains and stop at Papallacta hot springs! This is where you’ll relax in the volcanic pools and maybe take an optional spa treatment prior to going back to Quito.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Sheraton Quito Hotel or similar

The trip has come to an end, but if you’d like to stay longer and explore Ecuador, just ask your guides for some recommendations!

Meals: Breakfast