Quito  opens its doors to show us up several temples, churches and convents  which have an incalculable cultural worth. Most of these churches were  built in the XVI century with the effort of indigenous and mestizos  people who translate their skill on divers artistic works. Besides,  Quito is known as the “Light of the Americas” because in this city  started the south America rebellion against the Spaniards in 1809.

At  40-minute far from the old town of Quito will find the Middle of the  world. Two museums fight over visitors; The middle of the world city and  the Intiñan, the first one is a enormous photographic monument built in  1976 and the second one is a museum on- site where accompanied by a  local guide you will enjoy more about this tourist attraction. Return to  the hotel. 

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Meals: Breakfast 

Overnight at Ikala Hotel, a 3-star hotel or similar.

The  Cotopaxi National Park is located one hour and a half -drive on the  south of Quito. It was declared the first protected area on Ecuador  mainland after Galapagos National Park in 1975. The park has an area of  33 thousand hectares, the altitude ranges from 3500m and 5897m asl. It  is a freezing zone; the temperatures range from 5 to 15 Celsius degrees  (32 to 59 F)

The  Cotopaxi eco-system is home to a wide range of flora and fauna  including a unique combination of pine vegetation. Wolves, pumas, Andean  spectacled bears, southamerican foxes, wild horses, rabbits and the  Andean Condor the largest raptor in the world are part of this natural  region.

The  main attraction of this National Park is the Cotopaxi (5897m – 19347ft  asl) the second highest active volcano in Ecuador after the Taita  Chimborazo, around this majestic snow-capped volcano are other extinct  volcanoes such as Rumiñahui, Sincholagua and Quilindaña. We will  continue traveling towards the Province of Tungurahua to spend at Baños  city.

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Meals: Breakfast and Box Lunch

Overnight at La Floresta Hotel, a 3-star hotel or similar.

We  will do different activities on this day, the first one is visiting “La  Casa del Arbol” This attraction is the best place to spot the  Tungurahua Volcano, located on at 2660m asl. In addition, the famous  swing of the end of the world was set up on this site. 

It  is a perfect place to enjoy the wonders of the Ecuadorian Andes; a  picnic with friends, a family day or can see some landscapes such as the  magnificent Mama Tungurahua Volcano and the mountains that surround the  city of Baños. Apart, you will do a hiking over the waterfall route.  Small villages, tangerine and tree tomato plantations will be seen by  the main highway that links Baños with Puyo city. The first stop will be  in the “Manto de la Novia” waterfall to cross from one end to the  another one by means of a cable car. Then, we travel to visit another  nice waterfall known as “The Devil´s Cauldron”. This intimidating place  has a noisy waterfall that can be seen from several points at the moment  that people are walk-down on the path. 

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Meals: Breakfast

Overnight at La Floresta Hotel, a 3-star hotel or similar.

Our  next journey will be in the morning for visiting the Faunistic Reserve  in Chimborazo Province. El Taita Chimborazo, the highest mountain in  Ecuador, is the main highlight of this reserve. The massive volcano is  6310m asl (20,000 feet) and is surrounded by an immense sandy area with a  rather dry grassland, different from most. The reserve, however,  provides water to the three provinces where it sits: here are the  sources that feed the Ambato, Chambo and Chimbo rivers. The waters of  the Chimbo end in the great Guayas River, this icon is represented in  the National Ecuadorian Shield. The connection between the Chimborazo  and the Guayas River is a symbol of the unity between Costa and Sierra.  The reserve houses an important population of vicuñas reintroduced from  Peru and Chile in 1988. There are also llamas and alpacas, domestic  animals native from Ecuador that were used by the ancient inhabitants of  the Andes before the Spaniards introduced horses, sheep, cows and  donkeys. The reserve was created to protect these animals and their  historical heritage, as well as the strange grassland of which they are  part. Our stay will be in the Riobamba city. 

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Meals: Breakfast

Overnight at Hostal Noris, a 2-star hotel or similar.

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Start  the day with a nutritious and delicious breakfast. Take the Devil´s  Nose Train in the local railroad station. Enjoy a train ride on a  sinuous railroad that falling 500-meter ramp of altitude approximately.  In this place, a very complicated engineering plan took place at the  beginning of the XX century, since the mountain had to be drilled in  order to set the railroad up. For this reason, the american Ing. Archer  Harman who was the CEO of this project had to design and built the  railroad like a sig sag railroad to allow the locomotive loaded with  people and commodity thus, the train ramps up and down to arrive in  Quito or Guayaquil.

Afterwards,  visit another outstanding ancestral ruin known as Ingapirca. It is one  the most significant archeological Inca site in Ecuador. This complex  has been conserved for centuries to the present time. The ruins  represent a fusion of Cañari and Inca architecture, since these group of  structures were built by the Cañari cultural group as a religious and  housing centre. Later, in the XV century the sovereign ruler of the Inca  Empire settled and built a ceremonial and religious site. Get in the  car, it is moment to drive to Cuenca city. The “Athens of Ecuador” is  the second world´s heritage city in Ecuador.

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Meals: Breakfast

Overnight at Carvhallo Hotel, a 3-star hotel or similar.

Cuenca  was declared a cultural patrimony of humanity by the Unesco in 1995.  This city is located on the south of Ecuador at 2538m asl. Cuenca is the  capital of the Province of the Azuay. The city has 50k inhabitants in  the city.

Cuenca  possess the largest church in Ecuador. This massive religious structure  was designed and constructed by the Brother Redemptorist Juan Bautista  Stiehle. The Brother were born in Daechingen, Germany in 1829 and died  in Cuenca in 1899. The catholic church has a renaissance gothic style  with three domes that were assembled in the roof as a replica of the  Basilica of Saint Peter from Rome. The two frontal towers in the  beginning also were designed with domes but due to architectural  failures they were not built. The cathedral´s construction began in 1885  and ended 90 years later in 1975. It accommodates 8000 people inside  and attracts hundreds of catholic worshippers day after day. The city of  the four rivers offers other activities that you can discover according  with you likes or enthusiasm.

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Meals: Breakfast

Overnight at Carvhallo Hotel, a 3-star hotel or similar.

Now,  we head on the west of Cuenca to visit the Cajas National Park. The  Park is within the Andes western mountain range. The altitude range is  about 3156 – 4450 meters or 10354 – 14600 feet above sea level. Its  extension is 288 km² or 71166 acres. In this natural area, rivers,  creeks, ravines and streams complement each other to forme out a big  interconnected lacustrine system. The average temperature is 2°C - 18°C  or 36°F - 64°F. In the Park exists several archeological sites or roads  such as Capac Ñan (The Andean Inca Trail), which links different regions  on the highlands and the coastal region. These sites were part of the  Pre-Columbian and Inca period and were used for trading the Spondylus  Shell, it is object was considered a local currency for economical  transactions. Upon your arrival in Guayaquil, we enjoy the Malecon 2000,  known as Malecon Simon Bolivar as well. This boardwalk is visited for  Ecuadorians and foreigners. The area comprising a pedestrian Street by  2.5 kilometers along the Guayas River, with well-tended gardens,  restaurants, shops, clothing stores and a dock. From the dock, we can  observe the Morgan Vessel, that works like a museum.

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Meals: Breakfast

Overnight at Grand Hotel Guayaquil, a 3-star hotel or similar.

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Departure  transfer in the morning. You will be transferred to the airport so that  you can take your flight at home or continue your travel around the  world. 

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Meals: Breakfast