Day 1 – Quito

Join your tour group at the hotel.

Day 2 – Quito – Otavalo

We start our day with a guided tour of the second highest capital city in the world – Quito. Built on an old Inca city, the UNESCO-listed old town is the jewel in Quito’s crown. Surrounded by distant snow-flecked peaks, it has some of the finest Spanish architecture in South America. We explore handsome cobbled plazas lined with white churches and coloured colonial houses, stopping to admire architectural treasures such as the Presidential Palace and Plaza de San Francisco. Ever watchful over the city, we drive to the top of El Panecillo and the 45m-high statue of the Madonna that rises above Quito. The panoramic views across the capital and the ridge of volcanoes that flank it are breathtaking. After a chocolate tasting in the artisan neighbourhood of La Floresta to sweeten the journey, we drive to the small Andean town of Otavalo.

Day 3 – Otavalo

Spreading across three of the town’s plazas in a sea of coloured Andean textiles, alpaca-knitted ponchos, hand-woven carpets, dreamcatchers and jewellery, this morning we explore Otavalo’s bustling market. Afterwards, we head up to the cute colonial town of Cotacachi – the centre of Ecuador’s leather industry. Today is a working lunch, where we join a Pachamanca cookery class – an ancestral technique that involves cooking over volcanic stones before burying the pots in the ground. The earth is then adorned with flowers as a thank-you to the indigenous gods. After lunch, it’s a short drive to Lake Cuicocha, a 3km-wide sapphire-blue crater lake studded with forest-covered islands and surrounded by fertile volcanic slopes and endemic flora and fauna.

Day 4 – Otavalo – Quito

Today, we visit a family-run workshop that makes panpipes and charangos – a small, traditional stringed instrument similar to a lute. We’ll make a stop at a sweet-smelling rose plantation, before driving up into the highlands to Parque del Condor – a non-profit refuge for rescued owls, eagles and endangered Andean condors. On our way back to Quito, we stop to walk the line of the equator, taking photos of the 30m-high Quitsato Equatorial Monument.

Day 5 – Quito – Coca – Yasuni National Park

From the Andes to the Amazon, we board a flight to Coca – the gateway to the Ecuadorian Amazon. We transfer onto a motorboat to continue our journey deeper into the humming heart of the jungle and our riverfront eco-lodge. Yasuni National Park is thought to be one of the most biologically diverse places on the planet. Dense rainforest, wide meandering rivers and mist-cloaked mountains provide a lost world habitat for millions of species of plant, mammal, reptile and bird. The park is also home to many indigenous tribes, two of which live in voluntary isolation from the outside world. After some well-deserved rest, we’ll visit the Socali path, an introductory trail designed to teach about the flora and fauna found in various types of forests.

Day 6 – Yasuni National Park

After breakfast, we’ll don our rubber boots and jungle attire, and take a canoe upriver, observing birds, butterflies, orchids, and amphibians until we reach the “Dos Ramas” trail. There, we’ll take a short trek to learn about medicinal plants, birds, and animals before returning to the lodge for lunch. Late afternoon, our local guide will teach us how to use a blowpipe, then try our hand at piranha fishing.

Day 7 – Yasuni National Park

A motorboat takes us to the edge of our reserve, where we’ll visit an indigenous family from the Quichuas del Oriente community and later share lunch with them. Our guides will teach us about the traditions and customs of these tribes and how they live and survive in the Amazon rainforest. Later, we’ll travel along the Napo River to another tributary area called Guamayaku, where we’ll discover and observe different species of birds, monkeys, sloths, and more.

Days 8-9 – Yasuni National Park – Quito – Papallacta/Puembo

After breakfast, we’ll travel by boat back to Coca, fly to Quito and drive up to Papallacta, famous for its thermal springs. We’ll stay in Puembo in 2025 and Papallacta in 2026.

Day 10 – Quito – Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands

We start our journey to the magical Galapagos Islands by driving to Quito for a flight to Baltra and continue by boat to the island of Santa Cruz. On the way to our hotel, we tour the island, first visiting Los Gemelos (Twin Craters). The fertile slopes of these volcanic sinkholes are home to bizarre broccoli-shaped trees, exotic orchids, flycatchers, mockingbirds and rare Darwin finches – the feathered friends responsible for Darwin forming his theories on evolution. Winding our way up into the highlands, we look out for the island’s famous residents – the endangered giant tortoise. Weighing in at up to 300kg and living for up to 200 years, seeing these gentle giants in their natural habitat is a rare and humbling sight. Afterwards, we get to grips with the fragility of this astounding archipelago at the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Day 11 – Santiago – Bartolomé

Today, we explore two unpopulated islands by boat – Santiago and Bartolomé. Sculpted by twin volcanoes, Santiago’s lava flows and eruptions have carved out natural pools where sealions and fur seals gather on the rocks. Stepping ashore at Sullivan Bay, we walk along the 1.5km path of the lava flow – a lunar landscape of giant crazy paving where molten lava bubbled, solidified and cracked. Proving that the best things come in small packages, tiny Bartolomé, just off Santiago, is one of the youngest and smallest islands in the Galapagos. Despite its size, its waters host some of the richest marine life – including a small colony of Galapagos penguins, green sea turtle, sealion, whitetip reef shark and rays. Some of which we’ll see from the water with snorkels if the timings and conditions are right. With sweeps of golden sand and cerulean waters, it’s also one of the most photographed islands.

Day 12 – Santa Cruz – Baltra – Mosquera Islet

We return to Baltra this morning and board our ship for a four-night cruise around the Galapagos Islands. Our first destination is the small islet of Mosquera, located just north of Baltra. This tiny, low-lying islet is covered in soft white coral sand and inhabited by a group of sea lions that you’ll spot lazing around amongst the rocks. We may see several shore birds here including heron, lava gulls and boobies. We’ll take a walk around the island and there’ll be time for snorkelling – rays and sharks are often seen in these waters.

Day 13 – Santiago (Egas) – Rabida

This morning we’ll visit Santiago Island and take a walk along the black volcanic sands of the island’s dramatic shoreline. We may bump into Galapagos fur seals at the end of our walk, but there’s also plenty to see along the way. Look out for American oystercatchers, wading birds and herons as we amble along. We may also see sea lions, lava lizards and if we’re lucky, the Galapagos hawk. There’ll also be time for snorkelling. This afternoon, we visit the heart of the Galapagos archipelago and the dramatic island of Rabida. On a walk along its distinctive red sand beach and then inland to a forest of palo santo and cacti, we’ll reach a viewpoint overlooking the bay. Some of the species that prefer this island include sea lions, mockingbirds, finches, the Galapagos dove and the eye-catching vermilion flycatcher. If you enjoy snorkelling, you can look forward to possible sightings of shoals of black-striped salema, sea lions and turtles.

Day 14 – Isabela (Urbina Bay – Tagus Cove)

On a visit to Urbina Bay, we’ll walk to a strange phenomenon created in 1954 when a dramatic geological uplift left a layer of coral completely exposed. Located at the western base of Alcedo volcano, on our walk we may encounter land iguanas as well as possible sightings of giant tortoises. In the days of pirates, Tagus Cove was a well-known hideout and deep-water anchorage. It was also one of the sites visited by HMS Beagle on Charles Darwin’s voyage in 1835. We’ll hike past Darwin Lake and across stunning volcanic landscapes towards the island’s dramatic northern volcanoes. If you choose to go snorkelling here, you may see turtles, a plethora of fish, the Galapagos penguin and flightless cormorants.

Day 15 – Fernandina (Punta Espinosa) – Isabela (Punta Vicente Roca)

The youngest island of the Galapagos (Fernandina) is one of the most pristine and also the marine iguana capital of the world! There are huge concentrations here, strangely occupying desolate volcanic landscapes in tandem with Galapagos penguins. After a walk, snorkelling here gives you a chance to view these odd creatures as well as turtles and flightless cormorants. The afternoon takes us back to Isabela and Punta Vicente Roca. We’ll take a dinghy ride along the huge cliffs of this eroded volcano, spotting brown noddies and Nazca boobies in close range. You can snorkel here too, sometimes with the penguins and green turtles.

Day 16 – Santa Cruz – Quito

Disembarking, we’ll head into the mountains of Santa Cruz to the Highlands Tortoise Reserve for a last visit to see tortoises and a variety of birds. Reflecting on our incredible time in the Galapagos, we then leave the wonders of the natural world behind to start our journey home. We fly back from Baltra to Quito. Say goodbye to your tour group for your onward travel.

– Quito – In flight

After a farewell lunch, we transfer to the airport for our overnight flight back to the UK.