ECUA ROAD TRIPS: junio 2010

ECUA-ROAD-TRIPS offers private transportation upon request for clients desiring a more personal tour designed to fit their schedule. We offer a wide range of vehicles from sedans and 4X4's to a 38-passenger bus. Whether you want to drive around the capital's busy streets or go off-roading in the countryside or jungle, just contact us with your inquire and we will find a vehicle and driver that meet your requirements. Our bilingual chauffeurs have explored Ecuador's beautiful and varied terrain for years and love sharing their knowledge with clients.

BANOS
Baños is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Ecuadorian Sierra. The town's full name, Baños de Agua Santa (literally, "baths of the holy waters"), comes from the natural hot springs that run off of neighboring Volcán Tungurahua (5,023 m, 16,480 ft). The town is surrounded by a curtain of bright green mountains, and is an area rich in waterfalls, flora and fauna.

QUILOTOA

PAPALLACTA
Papallacta is a little town known for its relaxing hot springs and deliciously fresh trout. It’s located about 3 km off the main road an hour and a half east of Quito on the road to Tena. There is a luxury hotel and spa on the road just before the main entrance to the pools, and the town also has a handful of restaurants and cheap hostels.

View of Cayambe Volcanoe

MINDO
Mindo is set in breathtaking cloud forests (including 47,444 acres of the nationally protected reserve, Bosque Protector Mindo-Nambillo) teeming with birds. Over 350 species have been identified in the areas around Mindo alone.

Most of the activities in Mindo take advantage of its spectacular natural setting and rich variety of flora and fauna. The Orchid Garden, Butterfly Farm, is 3 km (2 miles) outside of town on the road headed to the waterfalls.

The main activities you can do in Mindo are Tubing, bike rental, Horseback riding, a ride on the cable car, tarabita, zip-lining, hikes around the cloudforest where you will visit several waterfalls and more. Much of the tourist activities work to promote ecologically-aware activities.

OTAVALO

Otavalo is a small city of about 50,000 inhabitants, located about 2 hours from Quito (Capital city of Ecuador).Otavalo lies at 2,530 meters in a spring-like valley, situated between the Imbabura volcano (4,609 meters) and the Cotacachi volcano (4,939 meters).

OTAVALO MARKET: This is Ecuador's most famous "Indian Market".
The Otavalo Indian market days are mainly Saturdays, Although you can visit it any day (Wednesday is also a market day) and find an impressive variety of all kinds of Ecuadorian Indian handicrafts. In this exotic small town at dawn you may see Otavalo people arriving to the market place from many mountain trails surrounding the city. They come from nearby villages and towns such as Peguche, Agato and Iluman, to sell their products. Otavalo people have become the most prosperous indigenous in Latin America.

Plaza de los Ponchos

Otavalo

Animal market

Shaman visit

Nanda Manachi house

Peguche waterfall

COTACACHI (leather market)

A charming little village which can be reached 30 minutes from Otavalo. Unlike Otavalo, which is a highly busy and indigenous market, Cotacachi is less crowded on the weekends. The village provides a number of local handicraft products sold in numerous stalls set up in the village plaza. These include a variety of colourful textiles and leather products. Cotacachi’s narrow streets are filled with shops that offer all kinds of leather goods at a surprising bargain. Here you can find the latest fashion styles in leather boots, bags and jackets. Despite its low prices, the quality is not sacrificed. Any type of leather good, name it. They have it all here in Cotacachi.

CUICOCHA (Lagoon of the gods)

In the Andes of Ecuador there is a beautiful province called Imbabura. The mysterious Cuicocha lagoon, known also as the lagoon of the gods or Tsui-Cocha, at an altitude of 3.068 feet above sea level, is 120 Km north of the City of Quito. Cuicocha developed in an old crater of the Cotacachi vocano. It has a diameter of 3 km and a depth of 180m. In the center of the crater lake it is possible to see volcanic emissions.