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A thrilling Andean experience. Quito high in the mountains, the imposing "Avenue of the Volcanoes" and charming colonial Cuenca.
 DAY 1 Depart the USA on your flight to Quito. Meeting and transfer to your hotel. DAY 2 After buffet breakfast, start your trip through in Calderón with its bread-dough figures, Santa Rosa viewpoint, and Cayambe for the local specialty “Bizcochos”. Passing by some of the most attractive Andean landscapes like and Mira Lago viewpoint, you arrive in Otavalo and its famous indigenous market, the most known one in South America, just in time to bargain for hand-knitted wool sweaters, colorful tapestries, wood carvings, silver jewelry, naive paintings, woolen and straw hats, and much more. Go then to Cotacachi, a town famous because of its handmade leather clothing. Lunch will be served at a typical nearby hacienda or country inn. Afterwards, enjoy amazing landscapes through Tabacundo on your way back to Quito. DAY 3 After buffet breakfast, visit starts in Orellana´s way, drive around the colonial center of Quito and see the stone-carved façade of Ecuador’s House of Congress depicting scenes from Ecuadorian history; Independence Square, with the Presidential Palace, the Cathedral and El Sagrario. Visit the Church of La Compañía (1605), (if open), with its breathtaking gilded altars, considered the finest example of baroque art in America; and the church and monastery of San Francisco (1535). Visit the art & crafts gallery of Tianguez. Finally, drive up to el Panecillo Hill to have a spectacular view of Quito and to see the only winged Virgin in South America. Besides visiting the colonial center of Quito, visit the Middle of the world Monument and Museum 30 minutes to the north of Quito. There, you will find a monument on the exact equatorial line marking latitude 00 0' 0", a unique place where you can literally get a picture of yourself jumping from one hemisphere to another. This tour includes a visit to the Ethnographic Museum on site. Including Lunch. Return to Quito for overnight. B DAY 4 After buffet breakfast an early departure, driving to the south of Quito, visit Ecuador’s first National Park, Cotopaxi the highest active volcano on earth, is the main attraction. You can explore the Andean moorlands with species of highland birds, or hike up to the snow line (4,800-m/ 15.800 ft), afterwards, drive by a side of Ambato, city of flowers and fruits. On the road to Riobamba, you will pass by the Igualata ridge on the Urbina moorlands, the highest point on the Pan-American Highway at the base of Ecuador’s highest mountain the snow capped Chimborazo (6.310 m. / 20.697 ft.). Riobamba is the birthplace of Ecuador’s first constitution, in 1830. A panoramic tour of Riobamba includes its French-influenced plazas, and the Cathedral. Admire the city from Quito Hill and learn about Ecuador’s history from its murals. Arrive to one of Riobamba’s country inns for a well-deserved rest, surrounded by volcanoes. Accommodation. B DAY 5 After breakfast, start your day with a drive through some of the most picturesque indigenous areas of the country, passing by Balbanera Chapel, the oldest Catholic chapel in the country, until you reach the Alausí train station. If the train is available, you will experience the adventure of going from the high Andes to the low lands through the Devil’s Nose. Box Lunch and back on the road again, as high as 3,100 m. / 10.168 ft., see Ingapirca, the most important religious and political monument left by the Incas in Ecuador and the many pre-Columbian cultures that once dwelled in this area. As you walk around the ruins, it will be easier to imagine why this site was chosen. Drive to Cuenca for overnight. Accommodation at El Dorado Hotel. B DAY 6 To most visitors, Cuenca is the prettiest colonial city in the country. After breakfast, let its cobblestone streets, graceful wrought-iron balconies, and flowered plazas captivate you. Its market places and handicrafts are living testimony to the region’s rich indigenous & artisan heritage. The handsome sunlit domes of the cathedral, the quiet convents and museums, the city’s romantic Tomebamba river flanked by overhanging houses are part of an experience that no one should miss. A visit to a straw-hat export enterprise is scheduled. Lunch. In the afternoon, transfer out for your flight to Quito. Meeting and transfer to your hotel selected. B DAY 7 After buffet breakfast, meeting and transfer to the airport for your return flight to the USA. B Extend your stay with a choice of an optional Galapagos Cruise or Amazon Adventure.  ALTURA’S Included features: * Roundtrip airfare from Miami where applicable. * Meeting and assistance service at airports. * Roundtrip transfers between airports and hotels including baggage handling. * Choice of hotel accommodations in Quito's 4 nights. Total 6 nights. * 6 Buffet Breakfasts or American Breakfasts (B) as specified in itinerary. * Sightseeing and excursions including entrance fees per itinerary. * Hotel taxes and service charges * Assistance by a local English-speaking Altura Tours representative Selected Hotels Category A Quito - Sebastian Riobamba - Country Inn Cuenca - El Dorado Category B Quito - Sheraton Four Points Riobamba - Country Inn Cuenca - El Dorado Category C Quito - Marriott Riobamba - Country Inn Cuenca - El Dorado |
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