Program Plan
10-days: Ecuador & Amazonas
Day 1 - 13th November: Welcome to the Middle of the world!
Arrival day with airport pick up service.Â
Around 19:00 there will be an introductory briefing followed by a dinner with the whole group together in the restaurant Crepes and Waffles, located 5 minutes driving from the Hotel. This place offers a big variety for both non vegetarians and vegetarians.
- Until 19:00 Arrival
- 19:00 – 19:30 Briefing
- 20:00 – 21:30 Welcome Dinner
Day 2 - 14th November: Quito Colonial Capital of Ecuador!
We will start our activities at 09:00 when our guide will pick you up from your hotel to drive you to the Equator line, once we arrive in this area you will spend time at the Inti Ñan museum, where you can learn about the Equator line itself and some of the traditions that our ancestors use to have around the solar starts, this activity takes more or less 45 minutes.Â
Later our guide will take you to a local project that is beyond engaged to show the world their product, MISKE, this is an spirit that surges from a similar process than Tequila or Mezcal, but with unique properties because of the type of Agave that grows in Ecuador, particularly in this area of San Antonio de Pichincha.
Around 13:00 we will drive back to Quito for lunch, we will be visiting a local vegetarian place called el Maple. After lunch the group will you will have some free-time.Â
Timing:
- 07:00 – 09:00: Breakfast
- 09:00 – 10:00: Drive to Mitad del Mundo
- 10:15 – 11:15: Inti Ñan Museum
- 11:15 – 11:40: Drive to Casa Agave
- 12:00 – 13:00: Agave Experience
- 13:00 – 14:00: Drive back to Quito
- 14:00 – Lunch and free-time
Day 3 - 15th November: From the Andes to the Amazon!
Today after breakfast our guide will pick up the group at 08:30 in order to start the ride to Papallacta, this ride will take more or less 2 hours, once they arrive at the hot springs you will have access to the SPA area. There is an option to book a massage or any other treat for an extra cost. We are planning to spend 2.5 hours here, before having lunch.
Planned time to start driving to Lago Agrio more or less around 14:00, expecting to arrive at the hotel around 19:00 – 20:00. Our accommodation is at Hotel Marquez Amazonico in Lago Agrio.
- 07:00 – 08:30: Breakfast
- 09:00 – 11:00: Drive to Papallacta Hot Sping
- 11:00 – 13:30: Papallacta Hot Spring
- 13:00 – 14:00: LunchÂ
- 14:00 – 20:00: Driving to Lago Agrio
- 20:30 – 22:00: Dinner
Day 4 - 16th November: Welcome to the Amazonas
Our day start at 8:30 in Lago Agrio with stepping into our motorised canoe for a journey to Waita lodge (arrival around 13:00). This will be your first opportunity to spot animals such as monkeys, birds, pink dolphins, and much more! You will also enjoy the beautiful landscapes of Cuyabeno.
After your arrival at Waita Lodge, you will have time to unpack, relax a bit and get ready for our first yoga and meditation session. After a delicious welcome dinner, we will share with you, together with a local guide from Cuyabeno, the program for the next few days. Then, you will have to grab your flashlight because our guide will take you on your first night walk into the jungle! You will be on the look-out for insects, spiders, snakes, and many other animals.
Timing:
- 14:00 Arrival
- 14:00 – 16:00 Free time
- 16:00 – 18:00 Yoga & meditation (Hatha Based Yoga)
- 18:30 – 20:00 Dinner and welcome Information
- 20:00 – 22:00 Night walk
- 22:00 Good night!
Day 5. - 17. November - Discovering ourselves and the surrounding nature
We will start our day with a refreshing Vinyasa Yoga session, followed by breathwork and meditation.
After breakfast our guide will take you on a deep jungle walk of 3 hours, where he will explain everything you need to know about the Cuyabeno. This interesting information will give you new insights about living in the jungle, how to survive there and he will pass on knowledge about the Amazon that has been passed on for generations and generations. After this wonderful walk, we will return to Waita lodge to enjoy a nice lunch and rest a bit.
We will use our afternoon for a Self-Awareness Workshop to awaken our thoughts and feelings about questions we should find the answer for a more peaceful and harmonic life for! Closing the workshop we will flow into a Gentle Yin Yoga class.
After dinner we will take the opportunity to jump into a Canoe and search for caimans and other nocturnal animals such as fishing bats, tree boas, and birds.
Timing:
- 07:00 – 09:00 Morning Vinyasa & Meditation & Breathwork
- 09:00 – 10:00 Breakfast
- 10:30 – 13:30 Jungle Walk
- 13:30 – 15:30 Lunch and Free time
- 15:30 – 17:00 Self-Awareness Workshop
- 17:00 – 18:30 Yin Yoga
- 19:00 – 20:00 DinnerÂ
- 20:00 – 21:30 Night Canoe trip
- 22:00 Good night!
Day 6. - 18. November - Floating in thoughts & feelings just like water
Around 05:30, we will be sailing on our paddle boards to enjoy the jungle life before dawn. We will navigate to a special part of Cuyabeno river, where the colourful parrots and parakeets eat nutrients of a clay bank exposed to the river. Our paddle boards give us the perfect opportunity to see this event up close. On the way back we will stop for a morning meditation circle to connect our souls and nature in a floating environment.
After a rich breakfast we will talk about yoga philosophy and then you will have the time for self-study and self-practice, journaling or just indulge into your own thoughts. The support of the instructor is always available.
After lunch, we will take the motorised canoe to visit the place where 2 rivers meet. This is the perfect place to spot dolphins and to enjoy the beautiful landscapes of the Cuyabeno rainforest. Our next destination is the Bird Observation Tower. This tower of more than 28 meter high was built around one of the largest trees in the area. Here, you will enjoy a beautiful view of the jungle canopy and observe a great diversity of animal life.
Arriving back at the Waita Lodge, we will refresh ourselves for dinner and after this very exciting day we will close the day with deep states of conscious relaxation, called Yoga Nidra.
Timing:
- 05:30 – 08:30 Jungle Paddle Board experience – morning meditation circle
- 09:00 – 10:00 Breakfast
- 10:30 – 13:00 Yoga philosophy / Self-study / Self-practice / free time
- 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
- 14:00 – 18:00 Dolphin Spotting + Observation Tower
- 19:00 – 20:00 Dinner
- 20:30 – 22:00 Yoga NidraÂ
- 22:00 Good night!Â
Day 7. - 19. November - Reflection on the experiences
Our last day in the Amazonas will start with a SUP Yoga and Meditation session, where we have the chance again to connect to nature and find stability in an unstable environment. After Breakfast we will have to pack our luggage and then we will have the chance to reflect on the experiences we made. Our trips & discoveries in the Amazonas, so as the journey inwards to our body, mind and soul. Since we are leaving this amazing place today, we will use the time after the workshop to pack our stuff and then to leave.Â
Timing:
- 06:00 – 07:15 SUP Yoga + Meditation
- 07:30 – 8:10 BreakfastÂ
- 8:10 – 8:30 Packing /delivering Baggage to the Canoes
- 8:30 – 9:30 – Reflection on the experiences
- 10:30 – Leaving the Amazonas arrving to Quito
Day 8.- 20th November: The culinary Experience!
The whole morning is for you to relax, as it will be needed after the Amazonas 🙂 Around 15:00 we will pick you up to go to Quitu Identidad Culinaria, where the staff will be waiting for the group to share an extraordinary cooking class. At QIC they are specialist on traditional Ecuadorian food with a renewed interpretation of every ancestral recipe without removing anything of its traditional values.
You will learn about the properties of every ingredient in your meal and the powerful result of their mixture, after this activity and of course enjoying your meal, our driver will take you back to your hotel!
- 15:00 – 15:10: Drive to QIC
- 15:10 – 17:00: Cooking class and dinner
- 17:15 – 17:25: Return to Hotel
- 17:300 – Free Night
Day 9.- 21th November: Otavalo Indigenous Market!!
The Otavalo Market day tour is a wonderful way to discover and combine the famous artesian indigenous market in Ecuador and some of the amazing views outside Otavalo.
This tour begins with a scenic drive north of Quito through the Sierra highlands. Our first stop will be at Quitsato Sundial located at the Equator line, where you can balance on the equator! Then we’ll continue to Cayambe where we can taste and learn about the town’s famous bizcochos (local biscuits), here you can also have breakfast. From that point, we’ll continue to the famous market of Otavalo where you’ll have the option to purchase local handicrafts. The main market day in Otavalo is Saturday; however, this tour can be operated throughout the week. Our professional guide will provide you an explanation of the indigenous people of this area, such as the Quitu-Cara, and other pre-Inca groups, and some extra information about the city. Afterward, we’ll go to the beautiful Laguna Cuicocha, which is located in a volcano crater and contains 2 green islands. Our last stop will be Cotacachi, a town famous for its leather garments. Before strolling through this town we receive lunch in a local restaurant. Afterward, we return to Quito.
- 08:00 – 09:45: Drive from Quito to Quitsato
- 09:45 – 10:15: Visit to Quitsato SOLAR clock
- 10:15 – 10:30: Drive to Cayambe
- 10:30 – 10:50: Visit of the traditional Biscochos ovens
- 11:10- 12:00 Drive to Otavalo
- 12:00 – 13:00 Free time to Explore
- 13:00 – 13:30 Lunch in Cotacachi
- 14:30 – 14:50: Visit of Cuicocha lagoon
- 15:10 – 17:10: Transfer back to Hotel in Quito.
Day 10.- 22th November: Hasta la vista!
Our drivers will pick you up from the hotel, any time you wish to take you to the airport or anywhere else in Quito.Â