(9 Days, Mon. Thu. and Sat from Quito)
Traverse the Ecuadorian Andes from Quito to Cuenca, riding the famous “Devil’s Nose” train to visit the Inca ruins at Ingapirca. Cuenca is a UNESCO World Heritage site and considered one of the most beautiful cities in South America. Along the way you will have the opportunity to stay at country inns and colonial hotels, all the while enjoying a comfortable and inspiring adventure.
Day 1, Quito: 
Upon arrival to Quito’s Mariscal Sucre Airport, you will be greeted by our helpful guide. The guide will serve as a translator, help with luggage, and assist with the car transfer to your hotel.
Once at your hotel you may have dinner if so desired, or consider just settling in for you stay in Quito.
Day 2. Quito:
After an early morning breakfast, the tour will depart towards the city center of downtown Quito, or Centro Histórico, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. 
We will start with a panoramic view of Alameda Park and the Basilica, followed by a walk down the street of the Seven Crosses. The trip will continue with a walking tour, starting at Independence Square. From here, we will visit the presidential palace, the main cathedral, the gold-plated La Compañía Church, San Francisco Church and San Francisco Plaza.
Once we finish site-seeing you may return to your hotel for optional lunch, dinner, and free evening.
Day 3, Quito – Papallacta – Upper Napo – Amazon lodge:
Wake up early for breakfast, as will get an early start, departing from Quito on the Amazon highway to the Papallacta Pass. This road is also known as the “Cinammon Route” followed by the Spanish conquistadors in search of El Dorado, who instead discovered the majestic Amazon River.
Upon arrival at Papallacta’s renowned hot springs 
you will notice that these thermal baths are located at 3000 meters above sea level and are surrounded by mountain cloud forest. Papallacta has a number of pools with different temperatures for your enjoyment. Here you will have time to soak in the waters and enjoy several optional spa treatments.
A midday lunch is optional, as we will depart early afternoon to Guango Reserve, in order to visit the secondary cloud forest with a great variety of species, including hundreds of delightfully colored hummingbirds. Passing down the road to the Ridge of Macaws toward Baeza, you can see part of the primary, secondary, and cloud forests.
Late afternoon we will arrive in Tena City for our city tour and transfer to our lodge for dinner and good nights rest.
B,D
Day 4, Tena
Get an early start with breakfast, as day four is a full day of activities in the jungle! The whole time you will be accompanied by a local guide who will teach you about medicinal plants and local customs. Throughout the day you will have wonderful opportunities for animal watching. All meals are included on this day.
B,L,D
Day 5, Tena-Baños:
Day five will start with breakfast before departing from the hotel for a boat ride to the small town of La Punta. Once there, our journey will continue along La Punta Puerto Napo Road, passing through the village of Santa Clara to the road of Tena heading toward Puyo. Along the way and upon arrival you will enjoy views of the gorgeous vegetation that grows in this area. 
Upon our arrival to the town of Puyo, famous for its balsa wood handicraft creations of parrots, macaws and toucans, tour members have the opportunity for an optional lunch before we begin our walking tour. This will take place at the House of Balsa Wood in order to experience the intricate manufacturing process of 
creating the town’s handicrafts. Depending on your preference, after the demonstration you can visit Trapiche to see a display of the rustic extraction process of liquor from sugar cane or you may want to visit the botanical park, Omaere, where you will learn about medicinal plants as well as the Shuar and Achuar cultures
Later in the afternoon we will depart for the city of Baños. Arriving in time to check into our accommodations and enjoy an optional dinner.
B
Day 6, Baños-Riobamba: 
We will enjoy an early breakfast before departing from Baños through Ambato and Chimborazo’s National Park on the way to Guaranda. The tour will visit “El Arenal” to see local vicuñas (the South American llama) and continue on to the shelter where you will take in a beautiful panoramic view.
An early afternoon lunch is option before arriving to Riobamba for a city tour and check in at your hotel. Dinner here is also optional.
B
Day 7, Riobamba-Devil’s Nose-Ingapirca-Cuenca:
After an early breakfast the second day of the tour begins departing Riobamba to the south, as we head for Alausi where we will board the train to “The Devil’s Nose.” En-route we will make several stops, visiting the Balbanera Church, Colta Lake,
and the indigenous town of Guamote (Note, Thursday is market day). Mid-morning we will arrival at the town of Alausi where we will begin our adventure on Ecuador’s famous “Devil’s Nose” train. After about a four hour ride, we will return to Alausi in the early afternoon. Our bus will be waiting to take us to Ingapirca, and tour members are more than welcome to pack a box lunch to enjoy along the journey.
Continuing on, we will pay a visit the Ingapirca fortress, located at 3100m above sea level. These ancient ruins are the most important in the country. Their true history is still a mystery, as studies differ on if they were a fortress, an observatory or a temple.
After visiting the ruins we will finish our trip on the road to Cuenca, arriving in the early evening for an optional dinner and free evening.
Attention: The public train runs on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. These are the only days available for individual travelers; charters can be arranged for groups. We cannot guarantee the operation of the train route, as the railway suffers continuous damages.
B
Day 8, Cuenca-Cajas-Guayaquil:
Just after breakfast, the tour will depart, heading northwest towards Cajas National Park. After a short drive, arrival in Cajas
National Park will allow us to take part in different activities such as hiking, fishing, bird-watching, viewing flora and fauna, and more. We can visit the Interpretation Center placed in La Toreadora Lake (the biggest and the most important in the whole complex). Here we will see pictures and interpretations of the park.
A midday lunch is option before our departure heading towards the city of Guayaquil. On the road we will find mountain scenery and a delightful change of vegetation as we encounter the glorious Ecuadorian coastline. If so desired, we can make a short stop to visit a banana plantation in Puerto Inca (Hacienda Jambeli).
The tour will arrive in the city of Guayaquil in the early evening, just in time for an optional dinner and check in at your hotel.
Day 9, Guayaquil
After a light breakfast, our guides will transfer your party to the airport and assist with your departure needs.