Ecuador Suggested Itineraries Unseen Treasures of the Pacific Coast

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1 Ecuador Suggested Itineraries Unseen Treasures of the Pacific Coast Destinations: Quito, Galapagos, Guayaquil, Ballenita, Puerto López & Manta Length: 12 Days / 11 Nights Take time to visit the undiscovered treasures of the Pacific Coast, get to know the world famous Natural Heritage Site The Galapagos Islands or travel alongside the continental coastline where you will enjoy of pristine beaches, interesting coastal full of history and complement your trip with an extraordinary excursion through the continent coastal border offering warm climate and great sea temperatures all year around. Quito, with the largest and best preserved colonial area in South America is an extra plus in this fantastic program that offers sun, beaches, archeology, cultures and beautiful natural landscapes. Detailed Itinerary: Day 1 Arrival to Quito (-) Arrival in Quito, assistance and transfer from airport Mariscal Sucre to hotel. Time to relax and adapt to the attitude. Quito is located at 2800 mts. Above sea level. Overnight at selected hotel in Quito Page 1

2 Day 2-5 Quito / The Galápagos Islands Assistance and transfer from hotel to airport in order to take flight to the Galápagos Islands At Galápagos, assistance and transfer from airport to selected program Discover the Enchanted Galapagos, 1000 kilometers directly across from the coast of Ecuador, in the Pacific Ocean, the Galapagos Islands are one of the world s most unique and extraordinary places. A natural paradise where you find yourself magically transported to eras far bygone. Visiting Galapagos is a lifetime s experience.some of your special momentums may include walking through nesting colonies of blue or red-footed boobies, sitting on a lava rock, surrounded by unconcerned and prehistoric looking marine iguanas or swimming in the unusual company of playful penguins or frolicking sea-lions. Meals included: Since dinner on your arrival date until breakfast on your departure date. On day 05, departure to city of Quito. At your arrival in Quito, assistance and transfer from airport to hotel Overnight in Quito Day 6 Guayaquil / El Morro / Ballenita (B,L) Your tour begins with the transfer from the port to El Morro. El Morro is located at the south west in the Guayas province. Its principal attractive is the Isla de los Pajaros (Birds Island) and, if the sea level is right, we might see a variety of dolphins searching for food in the channels of the islands. Enjoy the spectacular mangroves landscape and the dense activity of birds. Watch the magnificent Frigate birds nesting around the shrimp pools, or check out the more than fifty species of migratory birds resting and feeding in the area. Then continue to Ballenita. Lunch included in route. Overnight in Ballenita Page 2

3 Day 7 The Route of the Sun (B,L) The Route of the Sun, known as Ruta del Sol in Ecuador is a beautiful coastal scenery road that runs all the way to Esmeraldas, heading north from Salinas (The main starting point for The Route of the Sun), Santa Elena, or La LIbertad, crossing the Chongón-Colonche coastal range with stunning beach resorts and unforgettable colorful villages on the road as you pass by. The road also houses hundreds of commercial salt pans that form small white hills and attract teems of shoreline and water birds as well as flamingoes. Lunch included in local restaurant. The archaeological site of Real Alto is a Valdivia culture site, located on the Chanduy Valley less than 3 kilometers in from the coast of southwestern Ecuador. Discovered in the 1970s by Jorge Marcos, the site has been the focus of intensive investigations by several resarchers, including Donald Lathrap, Jonathon Damp, Peter Stahl, Betsy Hill, and James Zeidler. The site includes a long deep midden deposit, a residential zone, and a central plaza, and was occupied between about the fourth millennium BC and 1700 BC. Visit as well Ecuasal and Mar Bravo. Overnight in Ballenita. Day 8 Ballenita /Cantalapiedra / Port Lopez (B,L) Cantalapiedra is located in the heart of Ayampe s River basin, next to the Machalilla National Park and it conserves, in its interior, one of the best Tropical Humid Forests of the Chongón-Colonche Coastal Range. This is a wild life sanctuary where many animals inhabited very well protected. Among these animals we have: the howl monkey, ant-eaters bears, yaguarundis, trigillos, etc Cantalapiedra is crosswise by a river of clean waters which has a very rich flora and fauna life. It is important to mention the more than 200 species of birds that live there as well as the native bamboo forest and magic gardens. Puerto López is a pleasant small fishing village set in an arched bay, with some 16,000 inhabitants. Towards the north of the beach is very nice and clean, away from the fleet of fishing boats. This is the nearest town from where you can visit the Machalilla National Park. Many tourists come to Puerto López between June and September for whale watching tours. Is an additional option for tourist that won t go to the Galápagos islands. There is snorkeling and many other things to do in the Machalilla National Park. Lunch included in route. Overnight in Puerto Lopez Page 3

4 Day 9 Full day Isla de la Plata (B,L) In English, Isla de la Plata translates to Silver Island, a name given to this piece of land through the buried treasure legend when Sir Francis Drake landed there many epochs past. The island area has an abundance of bird life including seabirds, blue and red footed bobbies, pelicans and frigate birds as well as albatrosses from mid April to October. Snorkeling is also permitted (extra-cost), enjoy the coral reefs as well as a swim with the local dolphins who parade themselves frequently around this area. There are also some very nice 3-4 hour walks on the island as well as pre- Colombian sites housing various pottery finds. Lunch included. NOTE: This tour operates with minimum 8 pax, if less, we must inquire for the supplement once we get firm bookings Or Complete day to visit Los Frailes, considered one of the best beaches on the whole pacific coastline. Visit as well Salango, a village located nearby that is worth visiting for its museum The Presley Norton archaeological museum, which houses several interesting artefacts and exhibits and Agua Blanca, 5km from Puerto López in a northerly direction you will hit Buena Vista and a sign marked Agua Blanca which takes you to the National park where there is a small village. Overnight in Puerto Lopez Day 10 Port Lopez (B,L) This day spend at Pto. Lopez either visit to the Isla de la Plata or visit this day Los Frailes Overnight in Puerto López Day 11 Port Lopez / Montecristi Manta (B,L) Departure to Guayaquil via Montecristi. In Montecristi, Ecuador live a handful of master weavers, the creators of the finest straw hats in the world "Montecristi Panama Hats". Hats so fine, they almost defy description. Montecristi panama hats are made from toquilla straw, hand-split into strands not much thicker than thread and woven so finely, at first a panama hat appears to be made from linen. Masterpieces of detail, the edges of these panama hats are woven back into the brim never trimmed and sewn like lesser quality panama hats. Each Panama hat is woven by a single Page 4

5 artisan, hand-blocked, and takes months to complete. Because there are so few master weavers of panama hats left (two generations ago there were 2000 Panama hat weavers; today there are about 20 weavers of panama hats), these works of woven art are becoming endangered to the point of disappearing. Lunch included in route. Arrival at Guayaquil and transfer to the hotel. Overnight in Guayaquil Day 12 Quito / International Departure (B) Assistance and transfer from the hotel to the airport to take international flight back home. End of our services. Page 5