Day 1 Arrival in Quito – Welcome Dinner Welcome to Quito, the capital of Ecuador! Arrive at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO), where your private driver will meet you to transfer you to your accommodation in the city center, a one-hour trip. After you check in and rest, you can start exploring on your own; take a walk in the city center, the colonial center of Quito has already been named a world cultural heritage by UNESCO in 1978 and is home to many beautiful, historic buildings and squares. You can visit the Plaza Grande and the beautiful churches La Compañía and La Basílica and walk down the oldest street of Quito—La Ronda. Later this evening, you will enjoy a welcome dinner at your boutique hotel.
Overnight: Quito
Hotel: Hotel Patio Andaluz
Service: Private transfer - Self-guided
Meals: -/-/D
Day 2 Full-Day Cotopaxi National Park Trip After breakfast, you will leave Quito and head South to Cotopaxi National Park. You will visit Lake Limpiopungo, located in the highlands of the park. Here, you will have a spectacular view of Cotopaxi Volcano's gigantic cone. Lake Limpiopungo offers a variety of birds, and occasionally even wild horses. A short walk around the lake will allow you to admire the Andean plant and animal life along the way. If time permits and the altitude doesn't affect you, hike to the refuge Jose Ribas at 4800 m and enjoy the spectacular view.
In the afternoon, you will return to Quito
Overnight: Quito
Hotel: Hotel Patio Andaluz
Service: Private guide and Transportation
Meals: B/-/-
Day 3 Flight to Coca - Napo Wildlife Center Amazon Adventure A 30-minute flight will bring you from Quito to Coca, passing the Eastern Andes Mountain range. After landing, you will be transferred to the port, where you will embark onto a comfortable and covered motorboat. The canoe ride takes approx. 2 hours; box lunch and coffee are provided in route.
Along the way, birds like herons, kingfishers, and many more can already be spotted. After arriving at Napo Wildlife Center's (NWC) entry dock, you continue with a majestic and peaceful 2-hour paddle canoe ride, surrounded by trees. You have the chance to spot some monkeys as well as large birds like toucans, parrots or macaws. In the late afternoon, you will finally arrive to the Lodge with an overwhelming view of Añangu Lagoon. Before dinner, you will receive a welcome drink and a short briefing from the manager of the Lodge.
Overnight: Yasuni National Park
Accommodation: Napo Wildlife Center
Service: Small Group
Meals: B/L/D
Day 4 Canopy Tower - Rainforest Hike - Canoe Rides After an early breakfast, you leave the Lodge to experience an amazing view of the rainforest from a 36 m high Canopy Tower - a great way to see the life above the ground! The tower is located about 30 minutes from the Lodge, deep within the Terra Firme Forest. As you ascend the 12-floor tower, you pass through different levels of the forest. Flocks of colorful tanagers pass right through the trees; blue-and-yellow macaws fly past, and in nearby trees, spider monkeys search for fruits. The life of the forest canopy opens up before you!
Lunch is served at the Lodge. In the afternoon, you will hike another Terra Firme Forest trail to discover more of the flora and fauna. You have the possibility to find lizards, colorful manakins, or the unique and endemic golden mantle tamarin monkey. After the hike, explore the lake and creeks by dugout canoe with a great possibility of running into a giant otter family on the way.
Overnight: Yasuni National Park
Accommodation: Napo Wildlife Center
Service: Small Group
Meals: B/L/D
Day 5 Parrot Clay Lick - Rainforest Hike - Kichwa Community You will get up early and go on your first excursion for today: the parrot clay lick, located approx. 1 hour from the Lodge. A total of 11 species of parrots, parakeets and macaws can be seen.
Afterward, you will hike along a forest trail to visit the Kichwa Community of Añangu where you will share time and daily activities with a local family.
Return to the creek and hike through a "Terra Firme" forest for about 30 minutes until you arrive to the second parrot clay lick where you can again find many different species of parrots.
You will share your lunch at Napo Cultural Center with people of the Kichwa community.
In the afternoon, you paddle back to Napo Wildlife Center. Enjoy some free time before a delicious dinner awaits you.
Overnight: Yasuni National Park
Accommodation: Napo Wildlife Center
Service: Small Group
Meals: B/L/D
Day 6 Hike Tiputini trail - Paddle Canoes Deep Jungle This morning we will hike along the Tiputini trail. Enjoy the mixture of Terra-Firma and swamp forests while searching for more wildlife such as golden-mantled tamarins, white-faced capuchin monkeys, two and three-toed sloths, pigmy squirrels, and maybe even a carnivore's tracks on the forest floor.
We return to the lodge for lunch and a well-deserved rest. In the afternoon, paddle canoes will take you deeper into areas of the surrounding creeks with more possibilities of seeing unique wildlife like the hoatzin. After dinner, we can all discuss and share our experiences of the community and Napo Wildlife Center.
Overnight: Yasuni National Park
Accommodation: Napo Wildlife Center
Service: Small Group
Meals: B/L/D
Day 7 Napo Wildlife Center - Coca – Quito – Hotel Early departure and one last excursion canoeing back to the Napo river. Along the way, the creek may reveal new possibilities for sighting giant otters, saki monkeys, or other rare birds. Transfer to the motorized canoe in order to return to Coca. In Coca, you will take the flight back to Quito. Upon arrival at UIO, your private driver will meet you and take you to your hotel in the city center.
Overnight: Quito
Accommodation: Hotel Patio Andaluz
Service: Small Group Amazon - Private Transfer in Quito
Meals: B/LB/-
Day 8 Transfer to Quito Airport – International Departure At the designated time, your private driver will pick you up from your hotel to take you to Mariscal Sucre Quito International Airport for your international departure.
Service: Private
Meals: B/-/-
