On this roundtrip you will get to know the beautiful colonial town Cuenca and visit Ingapirca, Ecuador’s biggest Inca ruin. Furthermore this trip will lead you into regions that are only visited by few tourists in the south of Ecuador. A special secret tip is the "Bosque Petrificado Puyango" (Petrified Forest). The petrified plants, shells and snails represent a paleontology singularity.
Day 01: Arrival in Guayaquil
Arrival in Guayaquil and transfer to the Hotel Oro Verde. Hotel accommodation, welcome cocktail and dinner. -/-/D
Day 02: Guayaquil - Cuenca
You travel from Guayaquil to Cuenca, a colonial city with many churches, arts and craft shops and the well-known flower market. First you drive along the broadest river of South America, which flows into the Pacific the three kilometers broad river Río Guayas. You discover plantations of bananas, pineapples, rice, and sugar cane and much more besides. You will make a short stop there, in order to come into the benefit of some fresh fruits to. Later you go on to the Andes toward Cuenca on a height of 3.000 to 4000 m and pass thereby the Cajas national park. There it gives at an altitude of 3.150 to 4,450 m approx. 200 lagoons, which are remnants of the ice age and represent today an extensive recreation area. The lakes are connected among themselves with small rivers, whose crystal-clear water flows into both the Pacific and the Atlantic. Finally you reach the city of Cuenca. Accommodation in the colonial Hotel Mansion Alcazar. B/L/D
Day 03: Cuenca City tour and Ingapirca
Cuenca in the south of Ecuador is praised as one of the most beautiful colonial cities of South America. On a walk you become acquainted with the colonial old part of the town with its innumerable churches and cathedrals, cozy places and the many small roads with reconditioned colonial houses. The special charm of the city results also from the many family led manufactures, in which e.g. artful ceramic(s) or gold and silver jewels are manufactured. You visit the well-known flower market, whose odor and color splendor is overwhelming. In the afternoon you visit the interesting "Ethnographic museum" from Cuenca, in which the different old cultures are near-brought to you. The later afternoon and evening you can use for own investigations of this beautiful city. Overnight accommodation in the Hotel Mansion Alcazar. B/L/D
Day 04 : Ingapirca, Gualaceo, Chordeleg
 Today you explore Ingapirca, which means "Stonewall of the Inka" in the Quechua language. The fortress or sun temple has been established around 1500 on earlier Cañari buildings and is the largest Inca ruin in Ecuador. After the visit of the interesting museum you have the opportunity to see further certifications of the Inka as the "face of the Inka", an impressive rock formation. You return via Gualaceo and Chordeleg in the afternoon to Cuenca. In Gualaceo you can admire the riggings the village is famous for. Sundays one of the largest markets of the region takes place here. The market is still relatively unaffected by tourism. Chordeleg offers handmade gold and silver jewels. Accommodation in the Hotel Mansion Alcazar. B/L/D
Day 05 : Cuenca - Loja City tour
After the breakfast you travel toward the south passing Saraguro and Oña until Loja. The Saraguro Indians come originally from Bolivia from the environment of the Titicaca Lake and were obligatorily resettled by the Inka. Loja is also well-known as the Botanic garden of Ecuador and it is an excellent starting point to visit southern Ecuador. You will stay overnight in the hotel la Casa Lojana. In the afternoon you make a city tour in Loja. B/L/D
Day 06 : Loja - Podocarpus – Vilcabamba
In the morning departure to the east toward Zamora and after approx. 35 minutes you reach the German scientific station of San Francisco at the tropical cloud forest at the edge of the national park Podocarpus. There is a natural history museum, which is worth a visit! After a walk in the environment you eat your lunch and later continue the journey to Vilcabamba. Vilcabamba is well-known as the valley of the hundred-year olds. Due to the mild and stable climate in this region a particularly high life expectancy is after-said. Relaxation and Fitness are here guaranteed. Accommodation in the Hosteria Izhcayluma. B/L/D
Day 07 : Vilcabamba – Zaruma – Machala
The journey leads you today to the coast. After 3 hours you reach the small gold digger town Zaruma on 1.200m altitude. It remained so far completely exempted from the tourism. Far-traveled globetrotters did not even find the winding way into this marvelous angle of our planet. Therefore Zaruma is a secret tip, a small architectural jewel in South America with a flowering, gold-yellow past. After the lunch in a good local cafe you continue to the coastal town Machala. Accommodation in the hotel Oro Verde. B/L/-
Day 08 : Machala Puyango – Guayaquil
You drive toward the south into the fossil-rich Petrified Forest "Bosque Petrificado de Puyango" at the Peruvian border. In this approx. 2,700 hectares large protected area in an altitude from 250 to 750 m one finds a paleontology singularity of stone trunks, shell and snail ammonites of up to 1 m diameter as well as fossil fern and seed sheets of smaller extents. The Flora and Fauna contain variants, which cannot be found otherwise in Ecuador. Trees such as Arrayan, Guayacan, Algarrobo, Chaquino, Puyango or Ceibo, 130 kinds of bird, reptiles and insects are the today's inhabitants of this endangered ecological system. Later you follow an impressive road along the coast through extensive banana plantations (Ecuador is the biggest banana exporter world-wide) to Guayaquil, the pulsating metropolis and port. Accommodation in the first-class hotel Oro Verde. B/L/-
Day 09 : Guayaquil City Tour– Transfer to the airport
After the breakfast you undertake a city tour in the largest city of Ecuador, which at the same time is also the finance -, economic and industrial centre of the country. The tour includes the visit of the cathedral, Parque de las Iguanas, Centenario, el Malecon 2000, Palacio Municipal, Government Palace and the old quarter Peñas. After the city tour you leave Guayaquil and visit the Cerro Blanco forest reservation. This reservation is located in the tropical dry forest and hosts an impressing quantity of birds (more than 190 kinds), e.g. the green parrot of Guayaquil. Under many other animals live here e.g. falcons, snails, roaring apes, Ocelots, Pumas, Jaguars and wild boars. In this environment you make an approx. 3 hours stop and have your lunch. In the late afternoon you leave the reservation and drive back to Guayaquil. Transfer out to the airport. Return flight home. B/-/-
B: Breakfast / L: Lunch / D: Dinner
Prices 2008:
USD 2.178.- per person
Single Supplement: USD 540.-
Minimum 2 People.
Included in the price:
Included: All transfers, private transportation according to the program, English speaking competent guide, meals according to the program (B = breakfast; L = Lunch; D = dinner) accommodation in the hotels mentioned based on double room with private bath, national park fees and entrance fees.
Not included in the price:
International flight airport tax (USD 41.- per person)
If you need any additional information please write us:
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South America 
