Andes to the Coast

This itinerary is the starting point for your tour, but it’s not set in stone. If there are days you would like to change, or specific places you’d like to go, we can work with you to create a personalized program that fits the needs of you and your students.

Day 1: Quito

Depart from the USA. Arrive in Quito, Ecuador's capital city located 9,350 feet above sea level, and meet your ACIS Tour Manager.

Day 2: Quito

Begin your day with a guided sightseeing tour of Quito, viewing Independence Square with its monument to the independence heroes of August 10, 1809, and visiting one of the colonial-era churches, which boast impressive exhibitions of architectural and religious art. Then travel just north of Quito to view the world from the equator. See the Mitad del Mundo monument as you drive to the Intiñan Museum for a visit. This interactive museum—which locals claim to be on the “real” equator (as determined by GPS)—is loaded with unique activities you can only do at the equator, like balancing an egg on a nail or watching how water spirals differently down a drain in each hemisphere. Then return to Quito.

Day 3: Quito

Today travel to the Pifo area just outside of Quito to delight in an incredible hidden treasure—a fragrant local rose farm. Ecuador is one of the world's largest exporter of roses, and this farm's location in the highlands will teach you how the combination of high altitude, twelve hours of sunshine, cold nights, and use of organic soils and compost helps them to harvest strong and tall flowers all year long. After, enjoy a cultural exchange visit with members of the local El Tablón agricultural community. Learn about the day-to-day life of living and farming at an altitude of 3000 meters, and participate in several cooperative activities such as helping local families in their organic gardens or with cattle farming. As an alternative, a service learning project at the local school could be arranged from September through June.

Day 4: Banos

After breakfast journey south along the "Avenue of the Volcanoes" for a full-day visit to Cotopaxi National Park. Explore the museum and enjoy a hike through this unique, high-altitude, Andean páramo ecosystem. You'll visit the glacially-fed Limpiopungo Lake, and continue hiking to the Father José Rivas Refuge. At 4,800 meters above sea level on the northern side of Cotopaxi Volcano, this hut offers amazing views of the perfect cone's glaciers and snowcapped peak. If the climatic conditions are favorable, you can also make out almost all the peaks in the country. Then depart for Baños, known worldwide as an eco-tourism paradise.

Day 5: Riobamba

Baños de Agua Santa is a small and vibrant city located at the base of the Tungurahua Volcano, surronded by rivers and beautiful mountains. Start your exploration of this picturesque place with "The Route of Waterfalls." On this route you will enjoy several waterfalls, such as the Agoyan and the Manto de la Novia, ending with entrance to the famed 80-meter Pailón del Diablo (Devil's Cauldron). A short trail leads you to spots where you can admire the impressive falls from a small bridge, or from a viewpoint where you have to be prepared for a natural shower! Next visit the unique Casa del Arbol of Baños. Walking up to the treehouse on a clear day gives you spectacular panoramic views over the slopes of Tungurahua, which is Ecuador's most active volcano. From the treehouse's perch at the edge of a mountain precipice, if you have the nerve, try out the swings and feel like you are flying over the abyss. In the afternoon continue to the charming town of Riobamba.

Day 6: Guayaquil

Today visit Ecuador’s highest volcano, Chimborazo, an impressive stratovolcano with an altitude of 6,268 meters. If measuring from the center of the Earth rather than sea level, its peak is actually the highest point on our planet. Walk around part of the reserve and admire the stunning scenery—a mix of plains and otherworldly-looking Polylepis forests. Keep an eye out for hummingbirds, hawks, condors, wild llamas, alpacas, and the llama's smaller sister, called vicuñas. Then for a spectacular view of the Ecuadorian Andes, make your way up to the Carrel Refuge hut located at 4800 meters, or, if you're feeling more ambitious even to the Edward Whymper Refuge hut at 5000 meters. Afterward you'll have plenty of time to rest as you depart the mountains for the coastal city of Guayaquil.

Day 7: Puerto Lopez

After breakfast in Guayaquil, journey to the small indigenous Agua Blanca community living within Machalilla National Park, one of the oldest archeological sites in South America. As one of the last coastal communities to succumb to colonization, it offers natural wonders and an important look at the Manteño culture's pre-Columbian period as a center for trading. The community has a vividly painted small church, a small artisan's market and a museum to visit in the village center. Don your bathing suits and take a dip in the natural sulfur lagoon to enjoy the curative powers of its therapeutic mineral waters and mud, and stroll around the park to watch for monkeys, butterflies and hummingbirds among the local flora of the ceibo trees. Continue to the fishing and ecotourism village of Puerto López for the evening.

Day 8: Puerto Lopez

Today you will board a boat to explore the rugged, uninhabited paradise of Isla de la Plata, known as the "Mini-Galápagos." Part of Machalilla National Park, the island has a dry ecosystem and topography similar to the Galápagos, and attracts several unique bird species, like the blue footed booby, frigate and albatross. Walk some of the hiking trails, and then learn about the underwater ecosystem on a snorkeling excursion where you can swim with colorful fish and, if lucky, sea turtles too. From June to September you may also spot humpback whales as they migrate to warmer waters to reproduce. Return to Puerto López in time for dinner tonight.

Day 9: Overnight Flight

This morning you have time to discover more of Puerto López at your own pace. Perhaps shop for final souvenirs, watch the fishermen unload their catch, savor one last ceviche, or relax on the beach. In the afternoon, transfer to the airport in Guayaquil for your flight home.

Day 10: United States

Arrive in the USA.