The Andes and Amazon Odyssey will take you from the Amazon Basin to the spectacular Andean Highlands, while staying at some of Ecuador’s most renowned and sustainable accommodations along the way. By discovering Ecuador’s unrivalled diversity and scenery, this journey will surely travel beyond your expectations. Expect to indulge and to have the experience of a lifetime!
Arrive in Quito
On arrival at the airport you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel.
Ecuador's capital city, located high in the Andes Mountains, offers a warm, relaxed and traditional Ecuadorian culture with overflowing markets, a vibrant nightlife and sophisticated culinary options on offer. It's an interesting city to visit and the perfect place to stay before you explore some of Ecuador's many amazing destinations.
City Tour
After breakfast, your guide and transportation will pick you up and take you on a comprehensive walking tour of the Colonial District of Quito. On this tour you will visit some of the most famous squares, churches and colonial buildings of the city including the Independence Plaza where you can admire the Cathedral, the Presidential Palace and the Archbishop's Palace. Furthermore, you'll visit the San Francisco Church and the Basilica of Quito, the oldest Church in South America made almost completely out of volcanic stone. Then head to the 'Panecillo Mirador', the most famous hill of Quito, where you can take pictures of both colonial and modern Quito.
While walking through the city your guide will help you appreciate the eventful past of Ecuador including the Inca Empire, the Spanish invasion, and its push towards independence.
Return to your hotel with the afternoon and evening at your leisure.
Breakfast included.
Andean Hot Springs
We leave Quito in the morning and start with a drive up the Eastern Cordillera, where we'll pass over a 4,065 metre mountain pass. It can be foggy up here but when the weather is clear you will be amazed by the magnificent views of the Antisana Volcano and the surrounding ParamoPapallacta Wetlands. Within two hours we will reach Termas de Papallacta, Ecuador's most beautiful thermal hot springs resort and spa, located in between spectacular mountain forests of the Eastern Andes slopes.
Here we will enjoy a very nice morning hike through the surrounding mountain forests and grassy paramo near our resort. This ecological reserve is managed by a local foundation and harbours many peculiar species of flora and fauna (more than 160 bird species, mountain tapirs, spectacled bears and many other species).
In the afternoon you will have free time to dip into the amazing hot springs or enjoy some of the optional health and beauty treatments in Termas de Papallacta.
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner included.
Amazon Lodge Stay
Stay 3 days in the remote Amazon lodge, La Casa Del Suizo.
Day 1: Arrival to Amazon Lodge
In the morning we will depart from Papallacta to continue through the lush, green cloud forests. We’ll make a stop at an exceptional cloud forest lodge where we can observe many species of hummingbirds. Moreover, we will have the opportunity to see the famous sword-billed hummingbird, which has a longer beak than its body. If time permits we can also make a short hike before we continue towards the Amazon basin.
At midday we will arrive at , a lovely retreat located on the shores of the Napo River that offers very spacious and comfortable bungalows built in native design.
Lunch and Dinner included.
Day 2: Lodge Activities
After breakfast the group will board a dugout canoe, and navigate 20 minutes down the waters of the scenic Napo River.
The destination is Cosano where during an approximately two hour walk through primary rainforest visitors will have the opportunity to see actual hunting traps which were traditionally used by the local natives in the past. The guides will demonstrate how they work and explain which type of animals was caught in each one. And of course, at all times we will be on the lookout for tropical birds, and point out important aspects of the surrounding vegetation.
Just across the river from La Casa del Suizo is Amazoonico, a rescue centre for wounded and displaced tropical rainforest animals. Here it is possible to see coatis, tapirs, and several species of monkey, snakes, and a variety of birds, many of which wander around freely or if you decided to do other excursion Lunch “The Island”: A one-hour walk along a totally flat river island, where one may observe a great variety of plants and insects.
Later will go to Mariposario (butterfly house) will have the opportunity to see variety butterfly and their metamorphosis.
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner included.
Day 3: Amazon Lodge to Banos
This morning we will leave for Baños, stopping in Puyo for a quick tour of a small Balsa wood factory. After Puyo, we will enjoy spectacular views of the surrounding cloud forests, dramatic waterfalls, cliff side farms and untouched scenery of Sangay and Llanganates National Parks. This phenomenal stretch through the Pastaza Corridor has been declared by the WWF as “A Gift to the Earth”. We’ll transition from rainforest to the Andean Mountains in less than fifty kilometres.
At around midday we will reach Baños and arrive at Luna Runtun, the adventure spa located on a hill above Baños within the Sangay National Park. Enjoy the magnificent views of Baños Valley, the active Tungurahua Volcano and the inaccessible surrounding mountains that hide the lost gold of Inca Emperor Atahualpa.
After lunch at Luna Runtun we will have a free afternoon for an optional excursion such as hiking, mountain biking, horse riding. You’ll also have the option to take a massage or other health treatment in your hotel spa, or just relax in its thermal pools whilst admiring the views of the valley.
Breakfast and Lunch included.
Avenue of the Volcanos, Banos to Quito
Today you will enjoy another day full of diversity as we depart Baños and drive along the “Avenue of the Volcanoes” on our way back to Quito. With clear weather we will be able to see at least eleven of Ecuador's fifty-five volcanoes, and after midday we will arrive at an ancient hacienda for an early lunch. The hacienda was a former Inca fortress and palace from the fifteenth century. Today it still holds original Inca walls and a complete chapel, built in the imperial style of the Incas.
After lunch we'll continue to Cotopaxi National Park, which is located two hours away from the city of Quito. The Cotopaxi Volcano is one of the most important landmarks in Ecuador because it is the highest active volcano in the world and the second highest mountain in Ecuador, dominating the landscape with a height of 5,897 metres. This volcano has been a place of worship for centuries by the native people of the area who believed Cotopaxi was a god. Situated within a national park of the same name, this beautiful area is a place where the lush, endemic flora and fauna of the area can be observed, including wild horses, deer, llamas, and more. While there, you will have the chance to visit Limpiopungo Lake, located near Rumiñahui Volcano (4,757 metres), or go hiking to observe the birds.
Afterwards we'll begin our drive back to Quito where we will drop you off at the hotel.
Breakfast and Lunch included.
Depart Quito
Our representative will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to the airport for your departure flight.
Breakfast included.
Quito, Ecuador - Casa Alquimia
Papallacta, Ecuador - Termas de Papallacta
Amazon, Ecuador - La Casa del Suizo
Banos, Ecuador - La Floresta Hotel
Quito, Ecuador - Hotel Casona de la Ronda
Papallacta, Ecuador - Termas de Papallacta
Amazon, Ecuador - La Casa del Suizo
Banos, Ecuador - Samari Spa Resort
Quito, Ecuador - Hotel Mama Cuchara
Papallacta, Ecuador - Termas de Papallacta
Amazon, Ecuador - La Casa del Suizo
Banos, Ecuador - Luna Volcan Hotel
Hotel rates are based on lead-in rooms. Other room types and hotels are available. Rates are subject to change and different rates may apply during holiday seasons and special events.
At Eclipse Travel, our expert destination knowledge and decades of travel planning experience come at no extra cost to you. While many think booking through a tour operator is more expensive than planning a trip independently, that’s not the case. We’re paid by our travel partners—such as hotels, activity operators, and cruise providers—via commissions, not by our clients.
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