Daily Adventures

-->Night Out Quito

Adventure Options:

Everyday we run jeep trips to some of the most special places in northern Ecuador.  Each route has been created to show a different aspect of the High Andes and we try to stay well away from the usual tourist trails.  We have trips that include both the famous as well as relatively unknown indigenous markets where life continues much as it has done for thousands of years.

We enjoy visiting traditional weavers, hat and basket makers in their own homes and workshops where we can watch them create products using traditional knowledge and the raw materials they find locally.  Other tours include visits to bathe in natural hot springs, birding in cloud forests looking for cock-of the-rock and toucans; hikes to ancient Inca pyramids and hill forests or cycling through sub-tropical rainforests enjoying towering trees and orchids along the way.

Many of our adventures can be linked together by staying the night out of Quito.  We can recommend several wonderful places to stay which would give you a real flavor for the region in which you choose to make your tours.

Safari has over 17 different adventures departing from Quito from Cayambe's glaciers, the paramo at Cotopaxi, the Mindo Cloud Forests and Indigenous markets we have something to suit everyone. We specialize in small groups, minimum of two and a maximum of six, all our driver guides speak English, and our 4WD jeeps will get you to some of the most remote and interesting places in Ecuador.

We can arrange accommodation for you if you wish to stay away from Quito for the night, and then take you there after your tour.

Pasochoa :Height 2,950 to  4200 meters

This extinct volcano's beauty is its main attraction.  The rugged topography kept people away for many years and help to preserve many of the areas natural characteristics.  Pasochoa is one of the few areas in the Sierra's where native Andes Forests can still be seen.  The forests of Pasochoa exists the same as they did in the Pre-Colombian day before the introduction of foreign plants for agricultural purposes.  Here you can hike among stands of Pumamaqui, Polyapis, Podocarpus, Laurel, Sandelwood and more than 60 others varieties.  Since 1984 this area has been administered by the Fundacion Natura, a non-governmental foundation protecting this forest and its inhabitants.  Hiking in the lower forest provides excellent birding opportunity. 

Or the hike up to the summit takes some 6 hours where you will be rewarded by spectacular views, acclimatization benefits, great birding and a good chance of seeing one of the condors who are known to live in the extinct crater.

• Total distance: 150 kilometers
• Clothing: Light clothes but bring a sweater for when you stop hiking and at the summit. Good walking shoes. Binoculars.
• SUMMARY:  Plants, Birding, Hiking, Views, Acclimatization

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Saquilisi

A very important local market, the whole town becomes one large market with everything from potatoes to magic potions on sale. Great bargains on a wide range of products can be found particularly in old jewelry which is often on sale. After the market we visit Tilipulo, a Jesuit monastery dating back to the 17th century, that is now being restored.

On the way back to Quito we stop at the hacienda of La Cienega.

• Total distance: 270 kilometers
• Clothing: Light clothes and a sweater.
• SUMMARY:  Shopping, Culture

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Cochasqui

Near the Mitad de Mundo, on the equator, is the Inca hill fort of Rumicuchu, probably constructed around 1480 by Huayna Capac, as a forward base in the Inca conquest of northern Ecuador. From this historic site we travel north by backroads through the Guayllabamba gorge to Cochasqui, the site of a group of 15 pre-Inca pyramids. These were the headquarters of the Caranquis, who resisted the Inca invasion for 17 years, but who were eventually defeated and massacred by the Incas at Yaguarcocha (blood lake) around 1500 AD.

• Total distance: 220 kilometers
• Clothing: Light clothes, a hat and sun block.

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Pululahua Crater

This inhabited crater is a geo-botanical reserve and provides wonderful downhill hiking with a great selection of plants, birds and a special tranquillity. We visit a fumarole that collapsed in about 1920 and is now being re-colonized by orchids and later, after a picnic lunch we visit the village of Niebli for photography.
On our way back to Quito we stop at the Mitad de Mundo, a monument on the equator to the French Geodesic mission of 1630 who were the first to establish the exact position of the equator.

• Total distance: 250 kilometers
• Clothing: Light clothes, but bring a jacket.
• SUMMARY:  Views, Culture, Photography,Shopping, Arts

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Agato

The beautiful countryside around San Pablo lake is also known for the range and quality of the local artisans who work there.
After visiting the colonial city of Cayambe we travel by back road to visit the embroiderers of Zuleta and then on through a spectacular pass to the weavers of Agato, one of the last places you can still see the backstrap loom still in regular use. After visiting the hat makers of Iluman we return to Quito via Otavalo.

• Total Distance: 270 kilometers
• Clothing: Light jacket. No shorts please. 
• Photographers will need a flash.
• SUMMARY:  Arts, Culture, Views, Photography

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Zumbagua and Quilotoa

A traditional Indian market high in the Andes, almost untouched by time. Here pack animals are still more common than the internal combustion engine, and many people still have llamas.
After the market we drive cross country to the crater lake of Quilotoa, where we can either sit and enjoy the rural solitude and beauty or hike down inside the still active crater.
The hike out is very steep and donkeys can be arranged to make the breathtaking ascent back out of the crater.

• Total distance: 400 kilometers
• Clothing: Expect wind in the afternoon and strong sunshine and dust as this area is in rain shadow.
• SUMMARY:  Shopping, Culture, Views, Photography

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Guagua Pichincha: Height 4794 meters

A short but spectacular drive to the pass at El Cinto where we have stunning views along the avenue of the volcanoes and then on into the village of Lloa. From there we drive up to the refuge, and a short hike brings us out on the rim of the active crater to see fumaroles degassing and the occasional explosion or landslide.
After lunch we hike cross country to Padre Encantada and then down hill into the fertile farmlands above Lloa.

• Total distance: 60 kilometers
• Clothing: Walking shoes, sunglasses and warm clothing. There is occasionally snow on the summit.
• SUMMARY: Views, Hiking, Geology, Photography

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