Mist-covered forests give way to the wild Amazon
When to go
Year-Round
Trip length
10 days / 9 nights
Typical investmentPrice
from $3,500 pp
From mist-covered forests to the depths of the Amazon, this 9-night journey traces Ecuador's most biodiverse landscapes. Walk cloud-forest trails alive with birds, gaze across volcanic highlands, and paddle blackwater lakes beneath towering rainforest canopies.
Along the way
Spot parrots, monkeys, caimans, and nocturnal rainforest wildlife
Explore Quilotoa's volcanic crater and Andean highlands
Paddle blackwater lakes and hidden creeks in the Amazon
Walk cloud-forest trails alive with hummingbirds and orchids
Your route
Highland arrival & volcanic horizons
Arrive in Quito and transfer privately to your hotel. The rest of the day is left open to settle in, adjust to altitude, and enjoy a quiet evening beneath the surrounding volcanic peaks.
Travel into the central Andes on a shared journey to Quilotoa Crater Lake. Walk along the rim at an easy pace, taking in the vivid turquoise waters below, with time to explore nearby villages and wide-open landscapes before returning to Quito.
Cloud forest crossings
Leave the highlands behind and descend into Ecuador's lush cloud forest. Mist gathers in the trees as you arrive at your lodge, surrounded by orchids, moss, and birdlife. A guided afternoon walk introduces the forest's layered ecosystem.
Wake to birdsong and spend the day exploring canopy paths and forest trails with a naturalist guide. The pace is unhurried, with time to observe hummingbirds, butterflies, and the quiet movement of the forest before a relaxed evening back at the lodge.
A flexible day to rest or explore independently. Hike, add an adventure, or simply enjoy downtime before heading into the hot and humid Amazon.
Into the Amazon basin
Climb above the forest canopy for sweeping views across endless green. Continue by canoe through nearby lakes, watching for monkeys, birds, and otters along the shoreline. After sunset, explore the forest again on a guided night walk.
Visit a parrot clay lick where colorful flocks gather in the early light. Later, spend time with a local Indigenous community, learning about daily life and forest traditions. In the afternoon, walk medicinal forest trails before returning by canoe.
Spend another day on the lodge's guided forest or river outings, with the route chosen around weather and wildlife activity. Return to the lodge before the final full day in the rainforest.
Explore the protected forests of Yasuní National Park, one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth. Paddle narrow creeks shaded by palms and learn how different rainforest ecosystems support life. A final evening in the jungle closes the experience.
After an early breakfast, travel by river back to Coca for your onward flight.
Let's discover your next adventure
Our top picks
Casa Gangotena occupies a restored mansion facing Plaza San Francisco in Quito’s historic center. Its 31 rooms, rooftop terrace, garden, and Ecuadorian restaurant place guests directly inside the architecture and daily life of the old city.
Illa Experience Hotel contains only 10 rooms in Quito’s quiet San Marcos neighborhood. Colonial, Republican, and contemporary design layers are joined by daily artisan experiences, a private spa, and an ambitious restaurant.
Mashpi Lodge places 20 Wayra Rooms and three Yaku Suites behind floor-to-ceiling glass in a private Ecuadorian cloud-forest reserve. Guided expeditions, waterfalls, research, observation platforms, and the Dragonfly canopy gondola are included in the lodge experience.
Napo Wildlife Center places 12 standard cabins and eight suites around Añangu Lagoon inside Yasuní National Park. Kichwa guides, paddle-canoe access, a seven-level observation tower, and community ownership make the Amazon wildlife program the center of the stay.
La Selva has 19 staterooms beside Garzacocha Lagoon within the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve. Fifteen panoramic rooms and four family rooms support guided canoe trips, rainforest walks, a 38-meter observation tower, parrot clay licks, community visits, and four-night Amazon programs.
A restored 1925 mansion run personally by hosts Mario and Blanca, one block from the Sucre National Theater in Quito's UNESCO World Heritage Centro Histórico, with a rooftop terrace looking out over Old Town. It's a very small, 6-room property with no restaurant, spa, or elevator, street-facing rooms can pick up traffic noise into the evening, and Quito's high altitude, about 2,850 meters, is worth planning around.
A restored 1905 mansion, once the family home of Doña Carlota Echeverría de Moreno, reopened in 2017 as one of the first LEED-certified heritage-building hotels in Ecuador and also B Corp certified, with on-site solar power, water recycling, and a rooftop garden supplying its kitchen. There's no full-service spa despite the hotel's wellness-adjacent design, only 12 rooms means it books out quickly, ground-floor rooms can run smaller and noisier than upper-floor ones, and the historic-center location trades Quito's modern nightlife, concentrated in La Mariscal, for immersion in the old town.
Keep exploring
Let’s start planning
Tell us a little about your plans. We’ll be in touch to talk through this trip with you.
