After spending some time in the Amazon, but before heading to the cloudforest, I had a full day to spend in Quito. My only regret from my whole adventure is that I didn’t get to spend more time in this incredible city.
Situated at over 9,000 feet, Quito is among the highest capital cities in the world. The urban spread is also nestled against volcanoes, including Pichincha – an active volcano which serves as the western border of the city.
The morning started with a ride out of town, as we headed to the Pululahua Volcano Reserve. The reserve is a dormant volcano crater that has filled in and is now about 5 km wide, and over 300 meters deep. Because of the crater has its own unique ecosystem, the area is protected but does have some resident farmers who were grandfathered in to the protected status. You can take a 45 minute hike down into the crater, but I opted to enjoy the views from an observation platform up top.
From here, we headed back southward towards town but stopped at the center of the world on the way. Mitad del Mundo marks the equatorial line. The cute, kitchy museum is a fun stop for families – kids and adults alike can play some fun games that illustrate the special forces particular to where the north and south hemispheres meet. Don’t forget to check out the live guinea pigs, as well.
Continuing on, we ended up in the Old City of Quito. This was by far my favorite par of the tour. The colonial architecture, plazas full of Quitanios enjoying their afternoon, and the local shops were so much fun to explore – and my guide Gabriel did a fantastic job of explaining the historical or cultural significance of each of our stops along the way.
The day ended at the far end of the Old City, demarcated by El Panecillo, a hilltop crowned by the Virgin of Quito. The perfect place to take in views of my new favorite city, and a fitting place to end my tour.
The agent had great response to questions and coordinated well to create an itinerary that met our expectations.
Bob Sunshine
1 day ago
Very responsive to all questions
Teresa Cardoso
2 days ago
Kelly and Rhenee were excellent to work with on planning our trip. The logistics all worked smoothly and everyone was friendly and on time. Our accommodations were very good, particularly the incredible Patagonia Camp in Torres del Paine! Our guides on every excursion were outstanding and made the hikes memorable! Overall we had a wonderful trip with incredible memories!
Scott Gibson
2 days ago
Adventure Life is definitely a first-class safari tour company, and our representative was Franny Friesz. First of all, she responded immediately after we contacted Adventure Life. We told Franny that we had never been on a safari, and she was more than eager to offer a mountain of information about the trip. She informed us fully about all the ups, downs, and all arounds! She even prepared a number of packages for us to review -- even after we made changes to the areas we wanted to explore. Friendly, helpful, professional, and extremely knowledgeable -- these words describe Franny, and what a wonderful trip she prepared! We couldn't have asked for better service than Franny of Adventure Life. We HIGHLY recommend her and her outstanding company! Bon Voyage!
Prima Burke
3 days ago
The staff at Adventure Life made planning my family's trip to the Galapagos Islands as easy as possible. They listened to what we were hoping to experience and made thoughtful suggestions about how to accomplish our vacation goals while meeting the needs of travelers ages 17-76! They patiently answered questions and follow up questions in the months leading up to the trip. They helped us trouble shoot and customize the trip in every way possible. The logistics involved in traveling from Boston to the Galapagos are innumerable. The Adventure Life staff helped us arrange every detail and the team they assembled in the Galapagos was tremendous. I have never done a trip this big before and after working with Adventure Life this time--would not hesitate one second in working with them again.