All About Perú and Ecuador

Day notes

Today, your city tour begins downtown, passing through the modern section of Quito towards the city's historic district. Sit in Independence Square, flanked by the Presidential Palace, the Cathedral, the Archbishop's Palace and the City Hall. Stroll past El Sagrario Church and marvel at the exquisite stone facade of La Compañía Church. Visit the San Francisco Church, built over the ruins of an Inca Palace in the 16th century. Ride up the road to the Panecillo or the Itchimbia hills for a breathtaking view of Quito. Your private guide will enlighten you on the history of Quito.

During this tour, savour a delicious chocolate tasting in Galeria Ecuador, where you will learn how to cultivate cacao plants, and the process of transforming the cacao plant into chocolate. Play an interactive game, where kids and adults can practice how to sow and cultivate cacao. You will be provided with cooking implements to prepare chocolate truffles, and a variety of delectable ingredients including cinnamon, salt from Cuzco, chocolate nibs, peanuts, almonds, cacao, sugar, etc. A guide specialising in chocolate will teach you how to prepare these ingredients, and in just a few minutes, you will be relishing scrumptious self-made truffles.

After this tasty activity, you will be driven to the Café Plaza Grande where you will participate in a Cooking Class with the opportunity to create two typical Ecuadorian dishes. A professional chef will be your teacher during this activity. You will be shown how to prepare "ceviche" and the famous "helado de Paila" (an ice cream made with fresh typical pulp fruits, considered one of the most iconic foods of Ecuador). The chef will guide you, and once your ceviche is ready, you will continue with the preparation of the dessert. Then it will be time to sit down and enjoy your delicious lunch.

Afterwards you will visit the Equatorial Monument, built as a tribute to the French scientists who determined the shape of the earth in the 1700’s. Visit the Ethnographic Museum inside the monument, where the colourful way of life of the different ethnic groups of Ecuador is on display. There is also the Intiñan interactive museum that reveals the different theories around the Incas.

Day notes

You will have a full day for enjoy the activities available at the reserve.

Air Tram (Canopy Gondola): The highlight of any trip to Mashpi is the canopy gondola or air tram. The four gondolas will take you through and above the canopy to an exciting exploration of the Reserve.

The air tram consisting of two stations, six towers (with an intermediate station, which you can embark and disembark), and four gondolas which are equidistantly arranged and separated by a distance of 500 meters (20 minutes) were designed to explore the forest from within. The gondolas travels through a cable 2000 m long at low speed (3 km / h to 50 m / min) and in certain occasions, the guides can stop the gondola allowing a longer observation of flora and fauna. Each lap takes about 40 minutes to complete.

The entire system were designed to combine some trails with a gondola ride, and the capacity each gondola is four person plus a guide.

Life Center: Located near the lodge, the Life Center was conceived as a place for learn and discover, but also where you can disconnect, while they admire the scenery and lie comfortably in a lazy chair.

You will learn about many butterflies found in this region. You will see the process of metamorphosis from eggs into a beautiful butterflies. About 200 species of butterflies have been identified to date in the Reserve, and about a dozen can be seen in the center.

In the center, we have established a small orchard with medicinal and ornamental plants and many varieties of shrubs and fruit trees, including banana and plantain, cassava and cocoa. This attracts all kinds of wildlife, from birds to mammals - which facilitates the observation from the large wooden deck. Most of the interpretation in the center will be provided by our local and naturalist guides or people from the local community involved in the project. You will find several of the ingredients from these gardens in the dishes prepared in the restaurant.

Trails: Within the reserve we have 11 trails, where we do nature walks always accompanied by a bilingual naturalist guide and a local guide, they are responsible to teach you about the different wildlife: plants, insects and animal of this biodiverse forest. The guides they are not only environmental interpreters, they are also responsible for the safely and they will watch that everybody follow the rules for the conservation and protection of the reserve.

Because of the mountainous topography of Mashpi, the trails have steep slopes and for that reason we have to place recycled plastic crates in order to make steps. The most of the trails are of moderate difficulty, but the inclination of the trails is an advantage because the slopes allow more light to penetrate into the different strata of the forest, increasing the diversity of plants and animals that can be observed at every level.

Observation Tower: One of the best ways to enjoy the beauty of Mashpi is from the observation tower. From here, you can see the wonderful view of the canopy and the complex structure of the tropical forest, and in a clear day you can see the lodge imbibe within the forest. The tower is a metal structure with a staircase that rises about eight floors (26 m) ideal point for the wildlife lovers, the species spotted from here include toucans, woodpeckers, tanagers and parrots as well as birds of prey.

Night Walks: The Mashpi forest transformed at night, with much more activity than during the day. Optional night walks they will be undertaken before or after dinner to discover their nocturnal creatures and their behaviors. We can find insects of all sizes, glass frogs, tree frogs, nocturnal birds or mammals, and the glowing bioluminescence of a mushroom. It's a magical world, often surprising the micro level rarely explored, and ready to be discovered in the company of experts.

Sky Bike: Located near the hotel, Sky bike offers an original and exciting way to explore the forest canopy up close. Designated for two people to use it simultaneously. A person pedal the bike along the cable that runs between two points in the woods, with a distance of about 200 m, crossing a ravine on a river flowing between rocks and trees. Quiet, easy to use and fun, is an activity for everyone, providing you the opportunity to observe the natural world near the Lodge.

Refreshing Waterfalls: Water is essential for life on Mashpi, and there is nothing more refreshing than a dip at the end of a hike. Several rivers flow through the Reserve forming small and big waterfalls and pools. The water temperature varies between 18 and 20 ° C.

Day notes

After breakfast, a panga ride takes us to Eden Islet, located off the coast of Santa Cruz, where we can observe blue-footed boobies diving into the water, reef sharks and frigates. There is a chance to snorkel and, if weather condition permits, ride in the glass-bottom boat. 
 
Sombrero Chino Islet  The tiny island of Sombrero Chino gets its name from its appearance: a Chinese hat. This islet, only formed fairly recently, makes a beautiful visit as one explores the wildlife along its 400metre long trail, which begins at a crescent-shaped white sandy beach. The cove offers excellent swimming and snorkeling opportunities with white-tipped reef sharks and Galápagos penguins. 

Day notes

This morning, a Galápagos icon awaits Bartolome Island. A great way to start the day, with a steep climb up a wooden staircase: the view from the top is worth the effort! Following the walk, we take to the dinghies for a ride around colossal Pinnacle Rock, followed by time to enjoy the beach and some snorkeling. We can also ride in the glass-bottom boat for great views of the underwater world.  
 
Sullivan Bay (Santiago Island) After lunch, we board the pangas to land at Sullivan Bay on the east coast of Santiago, a white coral sand beach great for swimming and snorkeling, and with a trail over a lava field that flowed here less than 100 years ago. This is the perfect place to see and feel the volcanic origin of Galápagos while observing its wildlife.

Day notes

In the morning, we begin our exploration of this island with an easy stroll to observe marine and land birds. There is an optional walk over sharp lava and uneven terrain for dramatic views, or else we can return to the beach to enjoy swimming and snorkeling at this beautiful natural harbor. The more adventurous can snorkel along the cliffs or Paddle Sea kayaks.  
 
Prince Philip's Steps (Genovesa Island) The afternoon starts with a very interesting panga ride along the cliffs before we disembark for a short but steep climb up a wooden staircase. Once at the top, the land is flat, allowing for a captivating walk of about a mile to the other side of this small island, observing large colonies of Nazca boobies, frigate birds and storm petrels and the elusive short-eared owl

Day notes

Today after your breakfast, your guide will meet you at the hotel lobby for today’s tour. Driving into the Lima’s Historic downtown to visit San Martin Square, Aliaga House and the Main Square (“Plaza de Armas”) where the Government Palace, the Archbishop’s Palace, the Cathedral, and Town Hall are located. Afterwards enter the San Francisco Church, a masterpiece of Colonial architecture, preserving the best examples of Colonial religious art in America. Drive through the exclusive areas of San Isidro and the touristic district of Miraflores where you will enjoy magnificent panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and its beaches.

Your next visit will be the exceptional Larco Herrera Museum that was founded in 1926. Browse the museum display of 45,000 archaeological objects, considered to be pre-Columbian art icons. Everything is exhibited chronologically in impressive galleries, showing the continuous development of 3,000 years of Peru’s pre-Columbian history. Enjoy the view of their beautiful gardens, located inside a unique viceroyalty mansion dating back to the XVIII century, and appreciate the museum’s finest old Peruvian gold and silver collection.

Day notes

Today, you will be travelling to Machu Picchu