Walk in the otherworldly highlands of El Cajas National Park, where a string of glacial lagoons mirrors rugged ridges and wind-sculpted páramo. Boardwalks and trails thread past cushion plants and stunted Polylepis forests clinging to granite outcrops.

With elevations reaching over 3,900 metres, the silence carries only wind and water. Your guide highlights endemic flora and birdlife while sharing the park’s role as Cuenca’s vital watershed.

Discover UNESCO-listed Cuenca as you join a guided city tour along cobbled streets and flower-filled plazas to the blue-domed New Cathedral. Marvel at elegant balconies and riverside avenues that showcase the city’s colonial grace.

Visit a Panama hat workshop to see weaving, shaping and finishing, then browse a bustling local market where Andean textiles, produce and crafts reflect a living heritage.

Walk a lava-fringed path to La Lobería beach, where sea lions doze on sand and marine iguanas basking warm themselves on black rocks. Slip into clear water to snorkel with playful sea lions amid swaying sea grass and schools of reef fish.

Guides share tips for respectful wildlife encounters while pointing out damselfish, surgeonfish and resting turtles along this rugged, wave-washed shoreline.

Board a small boat to Isla Lobos for close views of blue-footed boobies and frigatebirds nesting on lava ledges. After a light lunch on deck, fins and mask on for a snorkel in a sheltered lagoon frequented by curious sea lions and rays.

Naturalist guides interpret courtship displays and marine life, while rocky paths ashore reward careful steps with intimate seabird encounters and ocean panoramas.

Explore the San Cristóbal Interpretation Center, a thoughtful introduction to Galápagos conservation and the archipelago’s human timeline. Interactive exhibits trace volcanic origins, ocean currents and species evolution linked to Charles Darwin’s voyage.

Learn how park rangers, scientists and residents collaborate to protect fragile habitats, manage invasive species and sustain island communities for future generations.

Walk the highlands trails of El Chato Reserve to encounter giant tortoises roaming through pasture and fern-fringed pools. With a helmet and torch, walk through ancient lava tubes that reveal the island’s fiery past.

Guides explain seasonal movements, wallowing behaviours and habitat protection while you observe these emblematic reptiles at a respectful distance in their natural environment.

Savour a traditional highlands lunch at a local farm, featuring island produce and homestyle recipes. Continue to visit an artisanal distillery to see small-batch techniques and sample a local digestif crafted from sugarcane or fruit.

Amid orchards and pasture, your hosts share stories of self-sufficient island life, where careful stewardship of soil and water sustains families and flavours.

Cast off into Academy Bay to explore quiet coves and black-lava shores. Drop anchor to snorkel over volcanic reefs where parrotfish graze and sleek sea turtles and rays glide through shafts of sunlight.

From mangrove edges to rocky points, your guide interprets the bay’s habitats and identifies seabirds riding the thermals above glassy Pacific waters.

Visit the Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora to meet the science driving Galápagos protection. View the preserved “Lonesome George” and observe tortoise breeding pens where juveniles are reared before release.

Exhibits and labs reveal restoration projects, biosecurity efforts and the global collaboration that keeps these extraordinary islands thriving.

Fly across the cloud forest on a guided zip-line canopy adventure, linking platforms over misty mountain slopes with a series of pulse-quickening crossings. Expect sweeping views, bird calls and rainforest scents on the wind.

This activity is at additional cost and bookable on tour. Guides brief techniques and safety, letting you focus on the thrill and the emerald world unfolding below.

Join a hands-on cacao session to roast and grind cacao, exploring aromas from fruit to spice as you taste single-origin Ecuadorian chocolate. Learn bean-to-bar techniques from fermentation to tempering with expert guidance.

This workshop is at additional cost and bookable on tour. Discover how terroir, fermentation and roasting shape flavour before sampling warm, freshly made chocolate.

Set sail to Santa Fe Island, landing on a white-sand cove for a guided walk among towering cacti in search of pale land iguanas. A wet landing may be required before you snorkel with sea lions in luminous water.

This excursion is at additional cost and bookable on tour, subject to weather and park permits. Naturalists lead both the short hike and supervised snorkelling.

Cruise to Bartolomé Island for a guided ascent of boardwalk steps to the Pinnacle Rock viewpoint, a perfect vantage over Twin Bays and black-lava flows. Afterward, snorkel with Galápagos penguins and sea turtles in clear, cool waters.

This full-day adventure is at additional cost and bookable on tour, with timings dependent on weather and currents in the Itabaca Channel area.

Stand astride the planet at 0° latitude and stand astride the Equator beside the iconic Mitad del Mundo monument. Mark the moment with photos on the equatorial line and take in broad views toward the Pacific-Andean ridges that frame the valley.

Discover the science and stories behind 0° latitude, from early geodesic missions to local cosmologies, and browse exhibits that explore how cartographers confirmed the equator’s course through these Ecuadorian highlands.

Glide above the misty canopy as you ride the tarabita cable car, floating over mist-wreathed canopies alive with birdsong. Continue on foot along waterfall trails, where orchids cling to mossy trunks and darting hummingbirds flash iridescent greens and blues.

At 1,300 metres, Mindo’s warm, rain-fed microclimates nurture astonishing biodiversity. Your naturalist introduces cloud-forest ecology while pointing out tanagers, toucan barbets and bromeliads thriving in the damp, filtered light.

Visit the dramatic rim of the Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve, gazing across one of the world’s few inhabited volcanic calderas. Quilt-like fields spread across the crater floor, while clouds drift through steep green walls rising to the Andean sky.

Formed by explosive eruptions, Pululahua shelters unique flora and fertile soils. Pause for panoramic rim views and learn how farmers cultivate maize and quinoa within this extraordinary natural amphitheatre.

Enter Cotopaxi National Park for stirring views of the volcano’s perfect snow-capped cone, rising above tawny grasslands and glacial valleys. Stroll short trails through high-altitude páramo, where hardy shrubs and lichens carpet the windswept slopes.

Part of Ecuador’s Avenue of the Volcanoes, Cotopaxi (5,897 m) anchors Andean lore and landscape. Look for caracaras and wild horses while your guide explains the park’s geology and conservation.

Step behind the scenes to visit a working rose farm, where equatorial sunlight and cool highland nights produce Ecuador’s world-leading roses. Walk past fragrant greenhouse rows as teams tend buds, measure stems and prepare flawless blooms.

Learn how altitude, climate and meticulous grading create export-quality flowers in every hue. Your hosts demonstrate cutting, hydrating and packing techniques that send these long-stemmed beauties around the globe.

Meet local families near your historic estate to meet local communities and glimpse traditional Andean life. Walk the hacienda grounds and nearby fields as your guide explains seasonal crops, irrigation channels and ancestral ties to the land.

Conversations with residents reveal regional customs, from market days to harvest feasts, adding human texture to the sweeping Andean landscapes seen along the Pan-American route.

Explore Quito’s UNESCO-listed old town on a guided walking tour around the elegant Independence Square, framed by the Presidential Palace, Cathedral and Archbishop’s Palace. Step into the city’s baroque heart at La Compañía de Jesús, where gold leaf shimmers across pillars and vaults, and wander the cloisters of the San Francisco Church and Convent.

Set at 2,850 metres in the Andean highlands, Quito’s colonial grid reveals centuries of faith, art and civic life, from ornate Jesuit facades to lively plazas animated by flower vendors and street musicians.