Extend your trip in Ecuador with a 3 night stay in a comfortable hacienda near the Cotopaxi Volcano and explore the Andean highlands on foot, horseback, and gliding through the forest by zipline during our multisport trip that is a short drive from Quito.
Highlights
Hike across the beautiful Condor Machay Waterfall wooden trails
Participate on the Cotopaxi High Ropes Course
Climb the Rumiñahui Volcano and enjoy the cold breath of the Andes
Activities that provide a reasonable level of physical challenge and elevate the heart rate. Focused on more active pursuits including multisport tours. Travelers may be active 5-7 hours total each day. Recommended for travelers with active lifestyles.
We leave Quito early in the morning (07h30 am) and reach Hacienda Santa Rita, a Private Ecological Reserve, located at 3200 meters (10,500 ft), where we will hike for about three hours.
Condor Machay Waterfall (45 minutes - 1 hour hike): The entire path has wooden stairs and railing where necessary. We will hike down on a dirt trail where we can observe Pita river going on petrified lahars until we get to a beautiful view of the Condor Machay Waterfall.
La Letra Trail (2 hours): This hike has different paths between grassland and pastures and also crosses bridges over the river. Throughout the tour you can see birds such as turkeys, ducks, hummingbirds. In addition, there is a great variety of paramo plants and trees lining the trails. We will have nice views of Cotopaxi, Sincholagua and Rumiñahui. Return on our vehicle for a drive back to Hacienda El Porvenir to enjoy lunch. During this afternoon we can participate on the Cotopaxi High Ropes Course. This is a high adventure activity with a low environmental impact, letting people with little or no knowledge of climbing techniques have a unique experience. Overnight stay.
Day 2: Horseback riding and hike through the trails of Hacienda El Porvenir
In the morning we will have a delicious farm breakfast followed by a brief riding lesson from our guides before we set out on our horses. Wearing the typical dress of the chagra (Ecuadorian cowboys), we ride out across the slopes of the dormant volcano, Rumiñahui. A legendary chagra from the area will come with us and share some of his deep knowledge of the country life. The ride lasts for approximately 4 hours. Back in the farmhouse, a tasty local lunch will be ready on our arrival. In the afternoon we go on a short walk to Bosque del Tentadero, a polylepis or paper barked tree forest. Overnight stay.
We begin our climb of Rumiñahui Volcano very early in the morning, crossing vast highlands swept by the cold breath of the Andes. In one single picture one can take in valleys, mountains and neighboring volcanoes. On a cloudless day, we will even have the opportunity to admire in the distance Ilinizas peaks and Chimborazo, the highest snow-capped mountain of Ecuador. Hiking takes about 5 hours total round trip. Hiking difficulty is middle. We will trek along with a local guide that will share with us his knowledge about the mountains, the páramo and the local culture. We will take a packed lunch and then you will go back to Hacienda El Porvenir, a warm fireplace will be waiting for you. Overnight stay.
Day 4: Cotopaxi National Park Visit
1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch
Traditional breakfast and then we get ready to visit Cotopaxi National Park. We set off for the Park and eventually reach the car park below the refuge. From there we will begin our short hike up to the climbing hut (Refugio José Ribas) at 4,800m. (15,744 ft). It is hard not to be overwhelmed by the sheer immensity of this volcano during the hike. Once back in the vehicle, we continue on our way, driving down to Limpiopungo Lake, where a wholesome box lunch will be served.
If there is time, we will visit the Park Visitors Centre, which has interesting descriptions of the local flora and fauna as well as details of the various eruptions of Cotopaxi. We will then continue, crossing rocky valleys, until we reach the Pucará del Salitre, an ancient Inca fortress on the way to the Amazon basin.
Return to Quito.
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 + Internal Flight Cost, 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
The trip was terrific with great planning on your part. Most of the adventures were not mainstream and somewhat off the beaten path which made it especially enjoyable!! We felt taken care of and you all were readily available to respond to questions and issues. I would highly recommend your company and friends have already expressed interest based on our pictures and excitement.
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
3 months ago
Great Experience! My trip planner, Jane, was available and knowledgeable. She made suggestions that suited the kind of adventure travel I like, still keeping within my physical limitations. She was very forthcoming with all of the details I requested. And she was always pleasant to speak with.
Charlene West
5 months ago
My travel consultant went out of her way to make sure everything went smoothly, everything from the flight reservations to the final booking.
johnw
9 months ago
We have told everyone we know about Adventure Life. What a great company to work with and no detail is missed. Call them for your next adventure!!
Paul Rupert
9 months ago
Clara was great to work with. She presented lots of options and always responded promptly. And she found excellent options within our price range.
