Ecuador highlands tours, Otavalo and Cotopaxi

We offer two exciting short adventures in the Ecuadorian Highlands, Otavalo beyond the Indigenous Market and Cotopaxi Volcano Program.

Otavalo beyond the Indigenous Market: (3 days)

Price: From US $715 ex flights. Price includes: Bilingual naturalist guide, private transportation, accommodation, entrance fee to Cuicocha Lake, weaving villages visit, all meals.

Overview
Casa Mojanda is located three miles from the town of Otavalo, at an altitude of 9,500ft in the Andes of northern Ecuador; casa Mojanda is Deeply committed to principles of ecological and community-based tourism, Casa Mojanda is set on a mountainside in 25 acres of beautiful farmland and forested gorge where the style of building and working has a minimum impact on the natural environment.

Casa Mojanda is an ecologically oriented inn and farm (Its kitchen serves healthful and creative home cooked meals served family style and based on traditional Ecuadorian and international recipes and made from our own produce harvested daily from their organic gardens. They grow their own wheat, quinoa, corn and potatoes, and get fresh milk daily from Dominga, our cow. Guests are always welcome to spend time in the garden and kitchen)

To the east and northeast of Otavalo are several small weaving communities such as Peguche and Agato. Cotacachi, a small village about 15 minutes to the north is also well known for its leather craftsmen.

Nearby Lake Cuicocha sits inside and old extinct volcano on the southern flank of mount Cotacachi. The lake offers the most accessible native vegetation in the Otavalo area. Given its high elevation the temperature are brisk in the early morning, but the advantage is that if you are lucky, you will see the summit of mount Cotacachi resplendent with a coat of fresh snow.

Itinerary

Day 1:	Early in the morning we will drive north on the pan American highway. We will make our first stop at town of Calderón well know for the bread dough figures. Then, we will continue our journey to Hacienda Guachala which is the oldest hacienda in Ecuador, built in 1580 was constructed by packed earth (adobe), most of it carried by hand. We are invited to visit the Hacienda and its surroundings like the Inca Ruins. Before the Spanish came, the Caranqui and Cayambe Indians inhabited the area, and the Incas built a fortress where the hacienda stands today. Lunch at the Hacienda. Then, we will continue our trip to our hotel where we will have time to relax. Dinner and overnight stay
Day 2:	Today, we will visit Otavalo market, and lunch in a typical restaurant. In the afternoon, we visit the towns of Peguche and Agato, which are well known for their hand-made embroideries and tapestries. Dinner and overnight stay.
Day 3:	After breakfast we will visit Lake Cuicocha and the village of Cotacachi and San Antonio de Ibarra. Lunch in a typical hacienda. Afternoon drive back to Quito.

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Cotopaxi Volcano Program: (2 days) (Introductory Walking)

Price: From US $395 ex flights. Price includes: Bilingual naturalist guide, private transportation, accommodation, entrance fee to Cotopaxi National Park, all meals.

Overview
Cotopaxi rises in a steeply symmetrical glacier capped cone to 19.460 feet (5,897 meters) and is Ecuador’s second-highest mountain and its highest active volcano.

Limpiopungo Lake is also located in the park. And nearby we will find two wonderful Indian markets in the tiny villages of Saquisilí and Pujilí. These markets are as authentic and non-tourist as you can find in Ecuador today, and are important for the local indigenous people as they form the center of their social and economic worlds. Here you will find all find of fruit, yarns, ropes, ceramics, heaps of used clothing, pails and stacks of shovels and axes for sale. Ceramics are particularly common in these markets as there is a lot of clay in the surrounding hills.

Saquisilí is located only a few kilometers west of the Pan-American Highway, just south of the town of Guaytacama, while Pujilí is about 10 kilometers west of the city of Latacunga. Markets days held on Wednesdays and Sundays in Pujilí and Thursdays in Saquisili.

Itinerary

Day 1:

Early in the morning, we drive south from Quito through the Avenue of the Volcanoes to Cotopaxi National Park. We will visit Cotopaxi Interpretation Center to learn about the history of its major eruptions as well as the local flora and fauna. Later, we will go to Limpiopungo lake and surroundings where excellent views of Cotopaxi, Sincholagua and Rumiñahui volcanoes can be seen. After 2 hours trekking, we will arrive at Cotopaxi’s J. Ribas refuge(4,800 m) where you will have a nice view of the volcano and the Andes. Lunch will be provided Includes: Lunch & dinner

Day 2:

After breakfast, we will leave in the morning to visit a local Indian market or do a hike around the area. Afternoon drive back to Quito.