Activities in Ecuador
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FEATURED
Full Day Tour to Inca Ruins of Ingapirca with Lunch
7 hours (Departs Cuenca, Ecuador)
by Viator
Venture from Cuenca to Ingapirca for a guided tour of the largest Inca ruins in Ecuador. Learn about the historical significance of this temple complex as you…Not LP reviewed
from USD$49.99 - All activities
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River People
River People, run by English guide Gary Dent, his sons and one of his daughters, is a top-notch outfitter that consistently gets rave reviews. Day trips to the Jatunyacu are $50. Trips also run the Quijos (Class IV) for $70 per day, the spectacular Jondachi and the very remote Hollin (in Sumaco-Galera), Class III/IV. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, try the Upper Hollin (Class V) between September and January, a $100, two-day trip. Guides have a minimum of eight years’ experience and speak English. Jungle camping, kayaking instruction and tailor-made trips are possible. Check out the Dent family’s café, Sticky Fingers.
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Mountain Biking
Several companies rent out mountain bikes starting at about around US$5 per day, but check the equipment carefully as maintenance is sometimes poor. The most popular ride is the dramatic descent to Puyo, which is about 61km to the east on the edge of the Oriente. You pass the spectacular Pailón del Diablo waterfall on the way. There is a passport control at Mera, and again at Shell, so carry your documents.
From Puyo (or anytime before), you can simply take a bus back to Baños, putting your bike on the roof. Various other mountain-biking options are available, and the outfitters will be happy to tell you about them.
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Horse Riding
Horse rentals cost around US$5 per hour or around US$35 per day. Many half- or full-day trips start with a long jeep ride out of town, and the actual riding time is short. Inquire carefully to get what you want. Ángel Aldáz (274 0175; Montalvo & Mera) and José & Two Dogs (274 0746; josebalu_99@yahoo.com; cnr Maldonado & Martínez) are both good.
Christián, at Hostal Isla de Baños (fax 274 0609, 274 1511; islabanos@andinanet.net; Halflants 1-31), arranges guided horseback-riding trips that last a half day, a full day, or from two to nine days. Christián speaks English and German.
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Climbing & Hiking
Climbers are advised not to ascend the currently erupting Volcán Tungurahua (5016m). The refuge on that volcano has been destroyed - although some people still climb up to it, it is not recommended.
Climbs of Cotopaxi and Chimborazo can also be arranged. A reputable climbing outfitter is Expediciones Amazónicas. It has rental equipment and can arrange licensed guides. Rainforestur has rental equipment and licensed climbing guides, and can tailor your itinerary to include acclimatization. The going rate for climbs with a minimum of two people is around US$65 to around US$80 per person per day, plus park fees.
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Ríos Ecuador/Yacu Amu
Ríos Ecuador/Yacu Amu is a popular outfitter that offers trips for all tastes. Its most popular one is a $59 day trip down the Upper Napo (Class III), which runs daily. Trips down the Misahuallí (November to March) promise more thrills, with Class-IV rapids and a waterfall portage for $69 per person. Ask about other rivers and multiday trips. If you’re itching to go solo, a four-day white-water kayaking school (suitable for beginners) costs $330. The company is owned by Australian Steve Nomchong, who has been rafting and kayaking since the mid-’80s. English and French are spoken.
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Río Muchacho Organic Farm
The Río Muchacho Organic Farm is a tropical organic farm where guests and locals get their hands dirty engaging in and learning about sustainable farming practices. The farm is proactive in the community and built a primary school that teaches children about reforestation and waste management as well as their ABCs. Lying along the river of the same name, Río Muchacho Organic Farm is reached by a rough 8km track branching inland from the road north of Canoa. Transportation to the farm is normally on horseback, which is how the local montubios (coastal farmers) get around.
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Las Piscinas de La Virgen
The best-known baths in Baños are Las Piscinas de La Virgen, the only hot pools in town. Built as a community project in 1928, they are named for the Virgin María, who is said to have come here to dip her own feet. One bath is cold, another warm and a third reaches an intense 42°C (118°F). If you go early in the morning, it’ll just be you and a few old-timers. If you’re curious, ask the basket woman to show you the ojo del agua, where the water, heated by the volcano, gushes from the earth at a scorching 50°C (122°F).
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Mountain Climbing & Mountain Biking
Riobamba is an excellent base for climbing Chimborazo (and many other nearby peaks) and is home to several of Ecuador's top mountain guides. For more information on climbing Chimborazo, and always keep in mind that there is no guarantee you'll reach the summit. Two-day summit trips include guides, climbing gear, transportation and meals. Rates rarely include park entrance fees.
Downhill descents from the refuge on Chimborazo - an exhilarating way to take in the views - are very popular.
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Veloz Coronado Expeditions
A pioneer in Ecuadorian mountaineering, and owner of Veloz Coronado Expeditions, Enrique Veloz is practically a historical personage in Ecuador. He and his sons are both certified with ASEGUIM (Asociación Ecuatoriana de Guias de Montaña; Ecuadorian Mountain Guides Association), and Veloz himself has climbed Chimborazo more than 500 times. They have high standards for safety, climb most of the peaks in the central sierra, and also offer mountain-climbing courses.
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Zulaytur
Anthropologist Rodrigo Mora is an invaluable source of local information and his company Zulaytur has many reader recommendations. Guided bilingual tours to village indigenous homes offer a rare opportunity to glimpse the conditions of working artisans and interact with them while learning about the weaving process. Tours cost around US$16 per person. Zulaytur also offers trips to hike to Lagunas de Mojanda and Laguna de Cuicocha. Don't mistake similarly named operations.
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Runa Tupari Native Travel
Renowned for its approach to community tourism, Runa Tupari has partnered with 44 indigenous, mestizo and Afro-Ecuadorian rural communities to offer sightseeing, hiking, horseback riding and biking trips. Rural homestays are $25 per night. Offbeat options include a bumpy 2000m mountain-bike descent into the Intag’s tropical cloud forest, a round-trip 10-hour hike up ‘Mama’ Volcán Cotacachi (4939m) and some culinary adventuring. It also sells Intag coffee and local crafts.
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Papangu-Atacapi Tours
An indigenous-run agency with a focus on community tourism. Trips go to Sarayaku and Mango Wasi (Quichua communities) and Cueva de los Tuyos (Shuar). Sarayacu (www.sarayaku.com/tourism) requires a rural charter flight ($125 round-trip per person) and the cost is $63 per day for a two-night trip. Other trips start at $40 per day. Guides are indigenous and speak Spanish and Quichua, and some of the fees go to participating communities. Highly recommended by travelers.
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Yacu Amu Rafting/Ríos Ecuador
Excellent river-rafting operator with daily departures to the Río Toachi and Río Blanco and several other Class III–IV options. Located between Mera and Avenida Amazonas, rates start around $75 per person. Other trips range from two to eight days. There is also a four-day kayaking school. Owner Steve Nomchong has competed and worked as a judge and safety inspector on the international circuit, so you’re in good hands. He now owns Ríos Ecuador, based in Tena.
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Tour Companies
Several companies around town, particularly around the intersection of Martínez and 16 de Diciembre, offer chiva tours (tours in traditional open-sided buses). They all charge around US$3 to around US$5 per person and are pretty damn goofy; you have to get in the spirit. Chivas also drive around town looking for people to pick up, so you could just jump on. Night tours to the volcano are not worth it unless volcanic activity is up.
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Rocódromo
Climbers can get a serious fix at the Rocódromo, a 25m-high climbing facility across from the Estadio Rumiñahui. There are more than a dozen routes (some as hard as class 5.12, or 7C on the French scale) on the three main walls, a four-face bouldering structure and a rock building. Shoes, ropes, harnesses, chalk bags and carabiners are all available for rental. If you rent equipment, the staff will belay you.
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Amarongachi Tours
Offers various good-time jungle excursions. During its tours ($45 per person per day) you can stay with a family in the jungle, eat local food, go for hikes, climb up waterfalls, pan for gold and swim in the rivers. Amarongachi also operates the lovely Amarongachi and Shangrila cabins; the latter are on a bluff 100m above Río Anzu (a tributary of Río Napo) and feature great views of the river and more-mellow activities.
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Pro Bici
Pro Bici is one of the country’s best mountain-bike operators, with many years of experience and excellent trip reports from clients. It offers mountain bike rentals (per day $15 to $25, depending on the bike), excellent maps, good safety practices and fascinating day tours. The friendly owners speak English, and the store is located on the second floor of a fabric factory.
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Otobo’s Amazon Safari
Operated by indigenous Huaorani Otobo and his family, this remote site on the Río Cononaco has platform tents and a thatched-roof lodge. Visitors hike in the Parque Nacional Yasuní with a native English-speaking guide, visit lagoons and a local village. The site can be reached by small plane from Shell/Puyo and motorized canoe, from Coca and the Vía Auca or by canoe only at a reduced price.
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GeoTours
Long in the business, GeoTours offers half-day trips on the Río Patate for $30. Trips last four hours (only two hours are spent on the river) and a snack is included. Also available is a full-day trip to Río Pastaza for $100 that takes 10 hours, with four hours on the river, lunch included and complete gear provided. GeoTours also offers a three-day kayaking course ($150).
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Galapagos Islands Explorer Package from Santa Cruz Island
Varies (Departs Galapagos Islands, Ecuador)
by Viator
lt;pgt;Take a 4- or 5- day trip to the Galapagos Islands aboard a yacht! Explore six different islands, and see their amazing array of plant and animal life,…Not LP reviewed
from USD$678.99 Advertisement
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Ecotrek
Ecotrek is recommended for trekking, mountaineering (rock and ice) and Amazon travel - especially to the southern Oriente. It also goes to the Galápagos.
Local tour operators offer day trips to Ingapirca, Parque Nacional Cajas, nearby villages and markets, and other local attractions. Note that entrance fees are generally not included in many tours - ask when you book.
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Kem Pery Tours
Leads tours to Bataburo Lodge, on the edge of Huaorani territory, about nine hours from Coca by boat and bus. Canoes motor into the remote Ríos Tiguino and Cononaco and tours combine wildlife viewing with cultural visits. There is a $20 fee to enter Huaorani territory. Guides are both bilingual and native. The agency also runs longer trips in the same area that involve camping.
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Bahía Dolphin Tours
Bahía Dolphin Tours owns the Chirije archaeological site, and offers day visits or overnight tours to the site. The staff can arrange packages with overnight stays at Chirije and in Bahía, combined with visits to panama-hat workshops, an organic shrimp farm, frigate-bird islands and other local points of interest. Guides speak English, French and German.
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Compañía de Guías de Montaña Tours
A top-notch mountain-climbing operator whose guides are all ASEGUIM (Asociación Ecuatoriana de Guías de Montaña; Ecuadorian Association of Mountain Guides) instructors and speak several languages. Two-day trips cost around US$220 per person, three days around US$330, not including park entrance fees. Tailor-made trips are available.
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Caballos Gavilan
Caballos Gavilan is run by the highly recommended Gavin, a New Zealander who has lived here for years. He guides two- to three-day horse hikes with overnight stays in his refuge near the park. Gavin’s excursions cost a bit more at $50 per day, but he’s one of the town’s best guides and his horses are treated superbly.
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