Experience Holy Week in Quito including the great and colorful procession of Good Friday with 90,000 participants winding through the streets of Quito's Old Town. During our two night trip during Semana Santa (Holy Week), enjoy the best views of Quito's central square, Plaza de la Independencia. Explore Quito with a guide, including the Middle of the World Monument and the Pichincha Volcano.
Highlights
Visit the Middle of the World and stand in two hemispheres at once
Take a cable car up the slopes of Pichincha Volcano for views of Quito
Watch the Easter Festival procession from your hotel balcony above
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
Start the day with your guide and drive north towards "La Mitad del Mundo" (The Middle of the World) in the village of San Antonio, about 22 Km. north of Quito. Here you'll visit the trapezium stone monument, which is built on the Equator, and the excellent Museo Etnográfico and Inti-Ñan.
In the afternoon, take the Quito Teleferico, an aerial cable-car up the slope of the Pichincha Volcano. This opportunity at 13,400 feet above sea level provides the best vantage points of Quito as well as the surrounding Avenue of the Volcanoes, including Cotopaxi Volcano, the second highest peak in Ecuador.
Return to Quito in the evening to the Hotel Plaza Grande, a historic and luxurious hotel in Quito's Old Town and our home for the next two nights. The evening is free for dinner, and arrangements can be made for dinner reservations.
In the morning, drive north to visit "El mirador de Guápulo" (view point), from where you can admire its church and Quito's nearby valleys. Return to Quito's colonial center - one of the world's cultural heritage sites, where you can see many historical buildings; including churches, museums and monuments. From here, continue to El Panecillo - the small, rounded hill which dominates the Old Town. From its summit you'll see marvelous views of the whole city stretching out below and of the surrounding volcanoes. Looking down, you will see the preparations for the Easter procession of Good Friday which leaves from the Church of San Francisco.
Return to the Hotel Plaza Grande to take advantage of its balconies that overlook the procession route and the Plaza de la Independencia. The procession begins at midday to honor the hour which Pontious Pilate condemned Jesus to death. It is estimated that around 90,000 people participate in the procession with tens of thousands of spectators lining the streets in Quito's Old Town. You will be fortunate to watch from the Hotel Plaza Grande's balconies this cultural spectacle with the purple-clad and hooded cucurochos accompanying symbols representing Jesus and the Virgin Mary through the streets of Quito. Penitents complete with crowns of real thorns and carrying crosses represent Jesus' suffering.
As the procession winds down, return with your guide to the Old Town to further explore and to take in this unique cultural event. The evening is free to enjoy Quito's restaurants and nightlife.
Day 3: Continue to your next destination
Continue to your next destination, such as the Galapagos, the Amazon, the Ecuadorian highlands, or into Peru to Machu Picchu, or return home on your international flight.
Apologies for the inconvenience. Prices for not yet published. Below per person rate based on previous season. Contact us to confirm upcoming season pricing.
Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
Initial deposit is $400, and most travelers will call our office and pay the deposit with a credit card.
Final payment is due 70 days (10 weeks) prior to departure by bank transfer, check or credit card. All final payments by credit card may be subject to a surcharge and maximum of $20,000 charge
Beyond expectations! Then again we weren't sure what to expect. Lovely stay at the lodge, met other like-minded travelers (many had their trips planned by Adventure Life) and the owner was a gracious hostess. It felt like you were one happy family, visiting with a favorite aunt.
Nancy Sin
TrustScore 4.8 | 147 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 147 reviews on
2 hours ago
A wonderful 9 day tour of beautiful Costa Rica taking in breath taking scenery including the active Arenal Volcano to the stunning beaches of Manuel Antonio.
Adventure Life made a fantastic itinerary for us(we were a group of 4) Would highly reccomend them for getting it right!
Lovely hotels with breakfast included, bespoke trips in mostly private transfers, zip-lining and white water rafting adventures! This really was an amazing trip & one we will cherish forever!
Dawn Howes
6 hours ago
Mary Curry is very responsive to my emails and sends me the information I request very quickly.
Donna Benson
8 hours ago
We book a tour to Peru with them in May. Viewing from their website we didn’t realize that they are private tour company but after quoting the price, it seems reasonable for a private tour, let’s see how’s their service after our tour. The process of booking went smoothly except the payment part which need a bit of work. Need to improve better payment method and options.
LP
1 day ago
We have used Adventure Life Travel before and we where impressed with the outcome of their handling of our travel arrangements. So we are using them again on this vacation. Tilly has been very helpful and we put our complete confidence in her! We feel very comfortable using Adventure Life.
Jerry Hatley
1 day ago
Erin was responsive, knowledgeable, helpful, and ran through a few different choices with us. She got us a fabulous price on a trip, and made everything easy to do. And QUICK!!