Destination: Ecuador

LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION

Itinerary: Andean Mountain High

TWO OR THREE WEEKS / OTAVALO TO VILCABAMBA

Traverse some 800km of hair-raising, rollercoaster roads as you journey from Quito through the central highlands and make your way toward the laid-back retreat of Vilcabamba, just north of the Peruvian border. You’ll see Ecuador’s highest peaks, journey its scenic roads and wander its fascinating indigenous markets.



Begin with a few days in Quito, where you can acclimatize to the altitude while exploring one of South America’s most beautiful colonial centers. Head south for a night or two in a historic hacienda on the flanks of Volcán Cotopaxi, where you can horseback ride, hike and climb to your heart’s content. Travel south to Latacunga and beat it up into the magical mountains of the Quilotoa Loop for two to four days. Once you’re back in civilization (ie Latacunga), make your way south to the deliciously subtropical town of Baños where you can soak in the thermal baths and take a fabulous downhill bike ride to Puyo in the Oriente. After Baños, move on to Riobamba and do some high-adrenaline mountain biking or hiking around Volcán Chimborazo. After a few high-altitude hikes, you might even attempt to summit Chimborazo with a guide.

Continue south to the marvelous colonial city of Cuenca either via the famous Nariz del Diablo train ride or the Inca trail to Ingapirca . After exploring Cuenca for a couple of days, wind your way south to Loja and the laid-back village of Vilcabamba, where you could (easily) kill three days hiking and relaxing. Be sure to take at least a one-day hike in Parque Nacional Podocarpus before flying from Loja back to Quito. Then treat yourself to a few relaxing days hiking and bird-watching in the cloud forests of the western Andean slopes. Because you were thinking smart, you saved the Otavalo market for last, so the only place you have to lug all those beautiful ponchos and weavings is to Quito and onto the airplane.