North Of Ecuador Haciendas Walking Tour

8 days/7 nights

During this trip you will have the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of the old haciendas of Ecuador, enjoy of incredible landscapes and visit the Indian markets such as the famous Otavalo market, where you can find a plentiful variety of handicrafts.

DAY 1.- SATURDAY, AUGUST 7: ARRIVAL TO QUITO, ECUADOR

Travel day to Quito. You will be met at the airport by our guide and transferred to Café Cultura Hotel to overnight

CAFÉ CULTURA HOTEL is a delightful mix of English tradition and contemporary trend. Some sixty years ago, the hotel was home to one of Quito's oldest families and it was carefully restored over a period of four years, with special detail given to maintaining the unique characteristics of the original interior. The house is hemmed by a beautiful garden, with secluded seating areas for relaxing.

DAY 2.- SUNDAY, AUGUST 8: QUITO – HACIENDA CUSÍN

This day your guide will pick you up in your hotel to depart to the north of Quito until arrive to Otavalo. On route you can enjoy of the exotic fruits of Guayllabamba valley like the delicious chirimoyas and tangerines. Then you will continue your trip to the north, arrival to Hacienda Cusín. Here you will begin with your unforgettable adventure; you will walk to La Rinconada valley, this is one of the most popular walks that follows the road to the left out of the compounds' gates through the flower plantations and along the side of the valley up into La Rinconada toward the ancient, collapsed caldera of Cerro Cusín. On this hike you can see the life of the countryside of this zone, you can learn how people take care of the animals like cows, goats, sheep, hogs, etc; all sharing the cobblestoned road. There are fields at the end of the road, and along the fields we can find small waterfalls. This walk takes us about 1 or 2 hours. Then we will return to Hacienda Cusín where a delicious lunch will be waiting for us. In the afternoon our guide will drive us to the Otavalo market or the Ponchos market, that is considered the most important indigenous market of South America; here you can find different and colorful handicrafts like rugs, tapestries, clothes jewelry, etc. Late in the afternoon you will return to Hacienda Cusín where you will diner and overnight.

Hacienda Cusin is a restored, 17th-century Andean estate at 8,500ft/2,600m. This very personal hotel & its 38 attentive staff are close to the Equatorial Line and the famous market town of Otavalo. All rooms include twin, queen or king-size beds, private bathroom with hair-dryer, beamed ceiling, antiques &/or Andean-craft furnishings, arm chair/s, writing desk, (requested) hot-water bottles, garden and mountain views. Tourist Superior

(B.L.D)

DAY 3.- MONDAY, AUGUST 9: CUSÍN – ZULETA

Early in the morning after breakfast we will walk to the Gualavi valley. From Cusin's front gate we will take the right road. After El Monasterio we will continue to a Quebrada (ravine) that usually is dry, we will arrive to a cement bridge, climb out and go to the right. Then you will take the higher road along the valley or we can take another route to go to the bottom of this fertile valley, where it is possible to find the crops of different products that are used in Hacienda Cusin and that you will try in your meals. We will return to the hacienda and we will start our trekking to Zuleta crossing through eucalyptus trees and plantations of typical vegetables and fruits of our highlands such as potatoes, corn, beans and others. In this route we will have the opportunity to admire the incredible Taita Imbabura and the San Pablo Lake. Box lunch on route and arrival to the beautiful Zuleta valley, famous for its beautiful borderies and the production of cheese, dinner and overnight.

Hacienda Zuleta is located between 2870 and 3050 meters in the Andean mountains of Northern Ecuador and 110 kilometers north of Quito. This is a historic adobe hacienda, built in 1691, it is the centerpiece of a 4,000-acres working farm that includes a dairy, cheese factory, organic garden, tree nursery, trout farm, embroidery workshop, and condor-raising project. This hacienda offers nine guest rooms are appointed with Spanish Colonial antique furniture, down comforters, and linens embroidered by local Indian women.

(B.BL.D)

DAY 4.- TUESDAY, AUGUST 10: HACIENDA ZULETA

Early in the morning after breakfast we will walk around the hacienda, first we can admire the wonderful organic garden where you can learn about permaculture and to discover the origin of your lunch ingredients. Within three hectares they grow seventeen different kinds of vegetables, five different kinds of fruit, several herbs, spices and medical plants. Then you will continue to a local indigenous town located few kilometers from the hacienda, on route we can admire the wonderful landscape and the crops of the hacienda that looks like a huge and colorful rug. At our arrival to this town our driver will be waiting for us to take the route to return to the hacienda while we visit some of the small towns of the area.

When we arrive we will begin our hike to Condor Huasi, the condor rehabilitation project, located about 5 km from the house in a valley surrounded by native forest. At Condor Huasi, the only reproduction and liberation site licensed by the governmental condor protection agency in Ecuador, you will be able to observe the eight condors that are in captivity and with some luck you might see wild condors flying above you or even landing on the aviary. On route you will have the opportunity to see the largest and best preserved archeological sites of the ancient Caranqui culture. There are 132 small earth mounds dating as far back as 700 A.D. and five large square truncated pyramids from 1200 A.D located in this property. Then we will return to the hacienda where a delicious lunch will be waiting for you.

In the afternoon we can visit the different projects of this hacienda like the embroidery workshop, the cheese production, milkshed, worm farm and others, time to rest, dinner and overnight.

(B.L.D)

DAY 5.- WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11: ZULETA – PINSAQUÍ

After breakfast we will depart from Zuleta to Pinsaquí that is located close to Otavalo. The route traverses the undulating pastoral Zuleta Valley to arrive at San Pablo Lake, the road is full of eucalyptus trees and bordered by fields of potato, corn, alfalfa, and wheat where local farmers might be working with a traditional oxen-pulled plow. Box lunch on route and late afternoon we will arrive to Hacienda Pinsaquí where we will diner and overnight. This is the longer hike that we will have during this trip, it takes about 6 to 7 hours.

Hacienda Pinsaquí, this colonial hacienda was constructed as far back as 1790, and following a disastrous earthquake that shook the region in 1867, faithfully and caringly restored. The building originally housed a textile workshop, employing nearly one thousand local weavers and spinners. In the late 1800s, the unique creations of these workers became internationally renowned, when the "bayetas", a special fabric typical of Pinsaquí, arrived at the World's Fair in Chicago.

(B.BL.D)

DAY 6.- THURSDAY, AUGUST 12: CUICOCHA LAKE - COTACAHI – ILUMÁN

After breakfast we will visit Cuicocha lake that is part of Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological Reserve at an altitude of 3,064 m. This lake lies inside the crater of an active volcano surrounded by native vegetation. The crater lake is three km, 1.9-mile wide and some 200m deep. The water is alkaline and supports very little life. The islands in the middle are lava domes, which rise over the water surface. They are well covered with vegetation and support some wildlife. The hike around the lake will take us between 3.5 and 5 hours, depending on your general level of fitness. After that we will go to Cotacachi where we will enjoy a delicious lunch in a local restaurant. In the afternoon we will have time to visit this town known for its famous leather handicrafts; here maybe we can visit one of the leather factories where we can learn the leather process that they use to get their products like purses, shoes, boats, wallets, hats, jackets, pants, etc. Finally our guide will drive you to Iluman a village famous for its traditional healers who drive away sickness using ancient rituals and their vast knowledge of local herbs and plants, some of which are now used in Western medicine. Late in the afternoon we will return to Pinsaquí where we will diner and overnight.

(B.L.D)

DAY 7.- FRIDAY, AUGUST 13: PEGUCHE – QUITO

After breakfast we will go to Peguche that is an indigenous village well-known for its skilled weavers and its traditional music. The Peguche Waterfall is approximately 20 meters high and located within forty hectares of forest declared "Watershed Protected Forest and Vegetation." For several communities, this waterfall is the main source of natural power and strength, and as such is frequented by the yachackuna (shamans) as part of their healing practice. We will hike from the village and it takes us about 20 minutes approximately. After that we will go to Cabañas del Lago where we will take our lunch. After that we will return to Quito, on route we will stop at Quitsató project located close to Cayambe, it is the truly middle of the world where you will have the opportunity to be in two hemispheres at the same time. Arrival to Quito to overnight.

(B.L)

DAY 8.- SATURDAY, AUGUST 14: HOME FLIGHT

After an early breakfast our guide will pick you up to transfer you to the airport to catch your international flight.

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END OF THE SERVICES

A NOTE ON THE ORDER OF THE ITINERARY: Itinerary subject to change based on local conditions. It could be flexible according to the client's interests.

B- Breakfast; L-Lunch; BL- Box Lunch; D-Dinner

PRICE PER PERSON

PRICE INCLUDES: Private transportation, bilingual naturalist guide, accommodation based on double room in all the hotels and haciendas detailed in the itinerary (single supplement under request); meals as described on the itinerary, entrance fees to: Cuicocha Lake (Cotacachi – Cayapas Ecological Reserve), Condor project, Peguche waterfall and Quitsató.

NOT INCLUDED: International departure taxes (US$ 41.00), meals not specified, soft and alcoholic drinks, tips, and personal expenses.