Ecuador
One of the world's most symmetrical volcanoes, then the country's best-preserved colonial city
Ecuador
A journey through the southern Ecuadorian Andes, nicknamed the "Avenue of the Volcanoes" by explorer Alexander von Humboldt: Cotopaxi, one of the world's most symmetrical active volcanoes, then Cuenca, a UNESCO-listed colonial city whose red-tile roofs and willow-lined rivers make it the country's best-preserved.
When
June to Sept
Price
From 3 200€ excl. flights
(based on 2 people sharing)
How long
7 nights
Ideal length
Days 1-2
The first chapter unfolds at the foot of Cotopaxi, an active volcano rising to nearly five thousand nine hundred metres and considered one of the most symmetrical on the planet. The surrounding national park, a high-altitude páramo grazed by wild horses, allows a hike to the José Rivas refuge, over four thousand seven hundred metres up, with a direct view of the summit glacier.
Day 1
The páramo and the wild horses
Arrival at Cotopaxi National Park, a hike through the high-altitude páramo where herds of wild horses graze, with a constant view of the volcano's near-perfect cone.
Day 2
The climb to the José Rivas refuge
A hike to the José Rivas refuge, over four thousand seven hundred metres up, the starting point for summit expeditions, with a head-on view of the glacier capping the volcano.
Days 1-2
The road to Cuenca, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its Spanish Renaissance-inspired urban plan and exceptionally preserved colonial architecture. The city, crossed by four rivers lined with weeping willows, is also the main production centre for the so-called "Panama hat," which actually originates in Ecuador, not the neighbouring country.
Day 1
Cuenca's historic centre and rivers
A visit to Cuenca's historic centre, a cathedral with blue domes and intact colonial facades, then a walk along the Río Tomebamba, lined with weeping willows and hanging houses.
Day 2
The Panama hat workshops and Cajas National Park
A visit to a family workshop making Panama hats, hand-woven from toquilla straw fibres, then an excursion to Cajas National Park, a landscape of glacial lakes and páramo above four thousand metres.
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