Ecuador trekking holiday
Description of Ecuador trekking holiday
Step away from South America’s main tourist routes and discover one of its best kept, and most biodiverse secrets: Ecuador. This seven-day tour is the perfect introduction, taking you from colonial Quito to charming Cuenca.
Less well-known than neighbouring Peru, Ecuador offers a microcosm of South American landscapes all tied together by manageable driving distances, friendly, welcoming people and beguiling indigenous cultures. It won’t just be the altitude that takes your breath away in Quito. And from here it’s a short hop into the Avenue of Volcanoes where snow-capped Cotopaxi and Chimborazo- Ecuador’s highest peak -dominate the skyline. We enjoy a wide variety of landscapes and flora, staying in comfortable lodges, haciendas and hotels.
Beautiful day walks are combined with traditional sightseeing as we travel the magnificent valley of volcanoes, with walks at both Cotopaxi and Chimborazo. We enjoy time in lively Baños and en route to Riobamba, we visit Ingapirca Inca ruins, the most important Inca site in Ecuador. The tour also heads to the Parque Nacional El Cajas, just 29km from Cuenca but rarely visited. It features glaciated valleys, Andean mountains and more than 200 lakes which attract wildlife from condors to deer.
Our last stop is Cuenca, Ecuador’s third largest city, a lively place with an extensive historical centre and perfect for strolling. Did you know Panama Hats come from Ecuador not Panama? Discover hats and a whole host of other handicrafts in historic Cuenca.
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Responsible Travel
Planet
On our treks we use locally produced fresh produce, buying from villages where appropriate. In preference we choose local over imported goods, and encourage the use of Andean products in all our cooking. We pack out all non-organic waste and minimize this by using products with minimum packaging, leaving no litter and keeping all water sources clean, leaving camp-sites cleaner than we find them. We bury organic waste at a suitable depth.When out on tour we encourage learning about Ecuador, the local culture of the teams we work with and the areas we pass through. Our guides hold informal talks with groups to inform about and discuss with them all aspects of local life. This helps understanding of the area and appreciation of the people who live there. We support a childrens health care project in Quito. Please bring with you and second hand or new warm clothes and shoes, which we will distribute to children in the Quito area through suitable organizations.
People
Since 2006 we have been able to support the Huchuy Yachaq community project in the marginalised neighbourhood of Hermanos Ayar, on the outskirts of Cusco, with the help of everybody who has travelled with us. We donate USD 3000 a year to this community project.The project has been set up by volunteer social workers and teachers to provide much needed social and educational support to the children and families of this neighbourhood. Children are encouraged to attend study and games sessions held each afternoon and participate in holiday projects. Our contributions so far have paid for educational books and games, tables and chairs, improvements to the structure of the basic community owned building and the addition of functioning toilets, materials for the children to take to school, school books, holiday programmes.
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