Ecuador | Amazon and Andes Exploration

Upon arrival in Quito, you will be met at the airport and transported to the hotel. Check-in starts at 3 pm. If you are staying on from the Climb for Cancer Investigating Endemic Wildlife: Cruising the Eastern Route aboard Tip Top II Galápagos cruise, you will return to Quito today.

Start the day with breakfast before traveling to Termas de Papallacta for a day enjoying the hot springs. Spa treatments are also available at an additional cost. Have lunch at a restaurant on site, and then return to Quito to prepare for the early-morning flight to Coca.

Early this morning, travel to the airport for a 30-minute flight to the frontier town of Coca (Francisco de Orellana). Upon arrival, we will be taken to the dock to embark on a motorized canoe and navigate downriver about one hour and a half to board the M/V Anakonda Amazon Cruise. Immediately after boarding the M/V Anakonda, continue navigating downstream and start enjoying the exciting features of the cruise ship: spacious social areas, comfortable suites, and an observation deck that offers spectacular views. Throughout the journey, there will be chances to admire the rainforest landscape and banks of the great Napo River. An evening walk is organized after sunset to give us the opportunity to discover the forest's nocturnal activity and listen to the unrelenting sounds of nature.

Continue navigation downstream to the Pañayacu River delta, where we will canoe up the river to experience the sights of this fascinating reserve. Seek out nine species of primates, 500 species of birds, and more than 100 species of fish. Pañacocha (Piranha Lake, in Quechua) is an ecosystem flooded by black waters. The rivers and lakes here are the perfect habitat for the infamous piranha, as well as the water monkey fish (Arawana), and white caiman. Take a nature walk and enjoy a delicious Amazon-style barbecue meal and refreshing beverages at a nearby camping site. After lunch, kayak and take a refreshing swim (for the courageous!).

After breakfast, set out to visit one of the most breathtaking spectacles on this side of the western Amazonía. Known as parrot clay licks, these unique pools of mud are rich in minerals and attract hundreds of parrots, parakeets, and amazons every day. If the weather permits, we will have a chance to marvel at this astonishing natural phenomenon. Later, visit a Kichwa Cultural Center, where members of the community will speak of their customs, cuisine, and everyday life. They have created the center in order to showcase their culture, and this is a unique opportunity to learn about Amazonian lifestyles along the Napo River. We will also have the chance to buy crafts, local products, and souvenirs.

Disembark from the M/V Anakonda to take the 90-minute motorized canoe ride back to Coca. Fly back to Quito and travel north to Otavalo, stopping along the way in Cayambe to visit the Hacienda La Compañía rose plantation to learn about one of Ecuador's most important exports, roses. Before a special lunch in the hacienda, explore the plantation and rose museum. After lunch, continue to Otavalo and check into Hacienda Cusín, a restored 17th century estate located in the beautiful Andean countryside. The remainder of the afternoon is at leisure to relax and explore Cusín's winding cobblestone paths, fountain courtyards, and perennial gardens.

This morning, visit the town of Otavalo and the famous Otavalo market. The Otavaleños are a trader community by tradition, and are known worldwide for their wonderful work on textiles and tapestries. After lunch at a local hacienda, visit Peguche, where textiles are still woven using shuttle looms. Then, continue to Mashpi Lodge. Nature meets luxury at Mashpi, a breathtaking creation of steel and glass deep in the cloud forests of the Ecuadorian Chocó region, one of the planet's biodiversity hotspots. With floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall windows throughout, nothing competes with nature here. Mashpi is a true wilderness retreat, set on 3,200 acres of cloud forest, of which 80 percent is primary growth. This evening, take a guided night walk through the surrounding jungle. Tread amid bioluminescent fungi while keeping your eyes and ears open for the forest's nocturnal residents, including frogs, owls, and kinkajous.

Today will be at leisure to enjoy the amenities at Mashpi.

Rise early to witness the early morning activity in the cloud forest. Enjoy a steaming cup of coffee on the hotel terrace as you watch birds and other species flit among nearby trees. Then, set off for a guided bird watching walk, where your guide will help you spot some of the more than 400 species that make their home in the forest. Return for breakfast and enjoy some free time, or take a hike past moss-covered trees, orchids, and coiling vines to the 150-foot high Copal Waterfall. After lunch at the hotel, return to Quito. If you book a late-night flight home, you can use the hotel room for the afternoon/evening and then travel to the airport.

Travel to the airport for your flight home. Check-out is at 1 pm.