5 Days Ecuador Tour Through Culture and Nature

Arrival at Mariscal Sucre Airport, Quito. Transfer to Hilton Colon Hotel.

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Check in – 14:00

Breakfast.

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Mindo is a tiny town set amidst some of the most beautiful and peaceful countryside in the entire country. It is a centre for both nature and for adventure activities.

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You are going to visit a butterfly farm where you will also be able to see orchids and an array of colourful humming birds. Mindo has a great biodiversity. The forest landscape is home to over 500 species of birds and 400 species of orchids.

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You cross the forest area in a cable car, located approximately 30 meters above the ground, then we will walk through the woods.

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Another of the most popular activities in Mindo is the zip-lining canopy runs between towers high in the forest.

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Also you have a chocolate tour which includes a demonstration of the chocolate-making process.

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(Breakfast)

Breakfast.

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Quito city tour is perfect for seeing fascinating panoramas, churches, domes and roofs that have an important historical value. You will admire and learn about colonial art, architecture, culture, legends, and traditions. Quito, the capital of Ecuador, was founded in the 16th century on the ruins of an Inca city and stands at an altitude of 9.350 feet. Despite the 1917 earthquake, the city has the best-preserved, least altered historic Center in Latin America. The architecture and rich interiors, are pure examples of Quito School of sculpture, which is a fusion of Spanish, Italian, Moorish, Flemish and indigenous art. After four incredible hours exploring the Old Town, you’ll understand why Quito was the world’s first city named to UNESCO’s Cultural Heritage list.

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At the afternoon, you will visit: “Cuidad Mitad Del Mundo” and Intiñan Museum

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“Ciudad Mitad del Mundo”

“Ciudad Mitad del Mundo” is the touristic, cultural, scientific and commercial smallest city of Ecuador. Its architecture is based on colonial style. An obelisk and a museum relevant to its geographical location were built at the Middle of the World site. All of this is found among the drastic landscape surrounded by nature and modern buildings. The monument is crowned by a metallic sphere that represents the Earth. It is named Equatorial Monument and it geographical orientation coincides with the four cardinal points and is located precisely at Earth’s midpoint — 0 degrees latitude, 0 minutes, 0 seconds.

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Intiñan Museum

Since the year 1960, the Intiñan Museum in Quito has been a center for the promotion of the many aspects of Ecuador’s culture.  This museum offers interactive exhibits on how the Incas determined the middle of the earth, plus interesting science experiments such as balancing an egg on a nail.

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Return to the hotel.

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(Breakfast)

Breakfast.

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After breakfast, we will drive to the famous Quilotoa Crater Lake. On our way we will pass by the Tigua workshop and admire some impressive local artwork with impressions of life in the Andes.

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At our arrival to the Quilotoa Loop, we will appreciate an emerald green lake inside the crater of an extinct volcano with steep jagged cliffs. We are going to trek into the crater to the lake shore and the return to the top of the crater is a mule ride. Kayak on the lake (optional).

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Return to the hotel.

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(Breakfast)

Transfer to the airport for your international flight.

(Breakfast)