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Cloud Forest to Highland Ride
This adventure ride takes you through the very heart of the Western
Andes and their unbroken beauty, winding through their hidden depths and
heights. Certainly more challenging and demanding than a hacienda riding
vacation, this ride addresses the nature lover with adventurous spirit,
not minding the lack of luxury in the outdoors and some long riding days
through difficult terrain. Amazing scenery that changes from day to day
will accompany you throughout the whole trip and more than compensate
your efforts. We'll come across lush green cloud forests, as well as
desert like landscapes, deep river canyons and steep mountain slopes,
hot sunny valleys and cool windy heights, picturesque farming land and
silent crater lakes. Cultural encounters range from pre-historical
testimonies to Spanish upper class descendents, from proud indigenous
identity to hard working mestizo farmers. Get into contact with the
hidden Ecuador, its natural wealth, its people and lifestyles, while
enjoying your ride on great, lively and very reliable horses!
 IT-ECRT01
Rates include: Accommodations in small inns, lodges, farms, all meals
except in Quito (B&B only), 7 riding days,
Quito city tour on day one, park entrance fees.
11 days/ 10 nights $ 1,680
Single + $270
Non-riders $1,250
2008 Dates:
01/14-01/24
02/07-02/17 03/17-03/27
04/17-04/27 05/15-05/25
06/09-06/19
07/03-07/13
07/24-08/03
09/15-09/25 10/16-10/26
11/13-11/23 12/11-12/21
availability & reservations
and upon request with 3+ riders
Small groups: 2 riders only +375 per person
... a shorter
8 day/ 7 night
version is $1325
HT SPECIAL $130 OFF
for trips in 2007
Level:
Intermediate+
Tack:
English and Western, also Colombian saddles that
are like a mixture between English and Western
(deeper English or: flatter Western)
Horses:
Creole, Paso Fino, Polo, American Paint, mix
with Anglo-Arab
Meeting:
Quito Hotel
Airport:
Quito
Transfer: Included
on Day 1
Pace:
Daily 3-9 hours. Mountainous terrain, trip is
designed as a trekking with the horse through the
Andes, therefore our main pace is walking, but
always nice trot-, canter- and gallop- sections as
well.
Min/Max Riders:
3-8
Weight limit: 190 lbs.
Min Age:
14 years
Note:
Riders should have a good fitness level Riders will have to lead their
horses on steep areas of the trail. Your help in cleaning and
saddling the horses is required.
Shared bathrooms at some places.
The last 2 riding days are HARD. And this is what some clients WANT and
don't get anywhere else. Less seasoned riders can
choose to ride only the first 8 days and then
transfer back to Quito !
Accommodations:
We are constantly upgrading the comforts of this
remote trip - two nights are a bit rustic, but the
other nights make up for it - and then some! It is
still the real Ecuadorian backcountry
Bellavista -
upgraded private accommodations with private rooms
Nono - spacious
cabanas with private bath and fireplaces
Pululahua -
charming artsy country hotel with gourmet meals and
spectacular views
Aguacatal -
the remotest place on earth,
now has hot solar showers and three separate rooms -
a little bar and pool table
Cuicocha Crater
- amazing cabanas with private heaters and the best
hot showers in Ecuador, incredible food, fantastic
views
Amboisy &
San Jose de Minas
- rustic -- many riders love one of these two places
specially, because they have conserved their very
special character, and give an authentic insight
into Ecuadorian living style, but it is certainly
more rustic at these two locations.
Itinerary
Day 1:
Arrival day. Pick up from the airport or meeting point in Quito and
transfer to a local hotel. Trip briefing and afternoon guided tour of
the colonial town center of Quito while
enjoying views of the surrounding snow-capped mountains. Quito, with
it’s beautifully restored colonial center, as the first town worldwide,
has been declared cultural patrimony of humanity in 1975. With 7 tons of
gold along its walls, roof and altar, “La Compañía” is supposed to be
the richest decorated church in the world. After nightfall, take a ride
in a horse-carriage over the center’s old cobbled stone roads and
experience a glimpse of colonial life centuries ago. We recommend you to
arrive few days earlier for better acclimatization.
Day 2:
From Quito we'll drive you over the western
cordillera in direction to the Pacific cloud
forest.. Scenery and microclimate change around each
major road-turn, and you might get an impression of
what variety awaits us on our ride. On the way, we
have the chance to visit the Ecuadorian Monument
15-km north from Quito as well as the QUITSA-TO
scientific project about the most ancient culture
that has determined the equator line more than
thousand years ago. We’ll learn some interesting
facts about the people which once lived on "the
Center of the Earth" and who’s fascinating knowledge
has mostly been destroyed. Typical Ecuadorian lunch
on the Equator and drive to "Bellavista" nature
reserve where we'll be welcomed into a cozy lodge
with hot showers and delicious, whole-some food. The
bamboo-built, rounded "dome house", that will be our
home for tonight, allows a 360-degree few on the
vivid bird- and plant-life around us: The place is
surrounded by hundreds of colorful hummingbirds,
often Toucans and bright blue shining Jays. From the
balcony of our shared room, we can enjoy a
breath-taking view far over the cloud forest and
listen to the sounds of exotic birds, before the
mist races in.
Day 3:
About 40 minutes further down the road we shall meet
our horses, choose the right one for each and start
riding through a lush green region of virgin forests
studded with waterfalls, while steadily climbing
uphill, drawing closer to Pichincha volcano, which
towers above us at almost 4800 m. If lucky with the
weather, we might find us riding close to Guagua
Pichincha’s ashy crater slopes and its ridge, often
enough steaming with sulfur fumerolas. Just before
reaching the tiny, picturesque village of Nono,
nestling at the northern face of the volcano, we’ll
be crossing over a ridge that divides the Western
Cordillera from the Inter Andean Valley where we
shall be surprised by the dramatic change of
scenery. Spacious country-style-cabins with a
beautiful view over the valley await us. Next to a
hot chimney fire, the farmer’s family might tell us
some interesting stories about people and lifestyles
and spoil us with the chefs cuisine.
Day 4:
Today, we'll be riding along green, hilly pastures,
wealthy Andean agriculture land, passing several
stately farms, where we can observe fighting bulls
and flower crop for exportation, getting a good
impression about present and past of the country.
This picturesque valley is also the home and
breading place of many beautiful horses. Enjoy some
nice canters along the fields and pastures. Crossing
the Pucara hot springs around noon, we have the
chance to relax our mussels in sulfur mountain
water. Accommodation in the 350 years old, up to
1-meter thick colonial walls of a romantic country
Inn. This Hacienda was already the home of the
"Count of Amboise", one of the members of the french
geodesic commission that measured the Equator midst
of the 18th century. Measuring instruments bought in
Paris 300 years ago and old Luis XIV- furniture can
be admired in our fabulous dining room. Bring your
bathing dress for the springs or the mineral water
Jacuzzi!
Day 5: After breakfast in
the mighty colonial chamber, we ride out crossing
the Equator from the southern to the northern part
of the globe. While slowly winding downhill through
forests of bamboo, we only come across a few small
farmhouses along the way, where the highland farmers
scratch a meager income from the steep, infertile
land beside the forest. We keep approaching the
impacting scenery of the ancient volcano "Pululahua",
with the biggest crater in the whole Americas and
one of only two inhabited volcanoes worldwide! At
the bottom of the crater, a mystical and very
peaceful place, we can observe farmers plugging
their fields with sticks and oxen, like they did 300
years ago. The green corn fields, swaying gently in
the breeze, paint the picture you’ll take home from
this part of your journey. Accommodation in
comfortable country Inn in the mystical surroundings
of the crater walls.
Day 6: After cantering
around the central volcanic core, we shall be
leaving the volcano through a small breech in its
crater walls, passing by deep gorges, carved by lava
streams thousands of years ago. Riding along steep
mountain slopes covered with mossy cloud-forest,
crossing eroded lahar fields blooming with wild
orchids, we finally enter the narrow valley of the
Rio Blanco with its warm and tropical climate where
we shall find coffee trees, fields of sugar cane and
a lot of tropical fruits. Legendary historical sites
can be observed along the way. When the afternoon
light breaks through the clouds over the
pre-Inca-fortress "Portalanza" , this
mountain-valley looks most certainly like taken from
a fairy tale. "Aguacatal" is the name of the very
remote (no electricity!) and beautiful farm that
offers us beds for tonight.
Day 7:
Having gone half our way to Otavalo, we will make a
rest day today, - enjoying some leisure activities
and refilling our energies with Mrs. Hildas Austrian
"Kaiserschmarrn" in the middle of nowhere. In the
morning we invite you for a 2-3 hours hike or ride,
to take a look at mysterious 1300 years old
stone-carvings from the Yumbo-culture. The visit of
a nearby Hacienda that was ruled by the
Jesuit-community during colonial time and shows
interesting historical evidences, is another option.
Those, who'd like to change activity for a while,
can go for a walk, collecting tropical fruit, head
for a shower under a natural waterfall or just hang
out for a day, enjoying the enchanted and unique
scenery of our rest place.
Day 8: This is the day of the
adventurous! After crossing the bridge over the
furious and turbulent river Guayllabamba, we'll be
trekking along a nerve-wrecking trail above the
river for several hours, following its direction
upstream, leading us through the most hallucinating
and breathtaking landscapes you can possibly
imagine. You should not be afraid of heights. We
will have to dismount on several sections of this
trail and hike in difficult steep terrain. Fitness
required! In the late afternoon we'll reach the
"wild-west-town" of San José de Minas, which has
lost its glory as an important mining place when the
new road from Quito to Otavalo was built, leaving
San José de Minas out of the way. The view of the
town is dominated by a mighty colonial church with
stories to tell about. In its stony archways,
Marcelo and Janet run a Flintstone-designed fancy
little hostel that offers us shelter for tonight.
When Marcelo takes out his strange collection of
German and American Country music and the Cuba
Libres are served, the mood is rising.
Day 9:
Today we’ll be climbing another 4,000 feet in
altitude, up to the cool and windy heights of the
Paramo. Leaving the fertile valley of Minas behind
us, we start riding and climbing along and across
the fields and pastures of the authentic, charming
Andean Highland, with cattle grazing on over 60
degrees inclined mountain-slopes. As we precede,
housing, clothing and features get more and more
indigenous: we are entering the land of the Otavalo
tribe, one the few indigenous cultures worldwide who
have managed to integrate and to succeed in a
globalized world without loosing their identity.
We’ll reach the beautiful Cuicocha Crater Lake in
the afternoon, encircled by rugged mountain walls.
Here, we spend our last night in comfortable double
room "cabañas" with the best hot showers in Ecuador,
while the cold Andean winds are blowing outdoors. A
beautiful, picturesque hiking trail winds down from
our hotel-yard to the lagoon, for those who still
want to do some exercise.
Day 10:
After a hearty breakfast in the wooden built
cafeteria, and after waving good-bye to our horses,
our accompanying vehicle will pick us up and drive
us down to Otavalo with a far-reaching view over the
valley and the surrounding mountains. In the small
Andean town, world-famous for its handicrafts and
wool products, we'll have the chance to visit its
lively, colorful indigenous market. Nowadays, these
textile products are successfully sold around the
world, and as poor as the mountain housings were we
have seen yesterday, it’s also here in Otavalo where
you can see more Mercedes Benz than anywhere else in
Ecuador. After lunch in an exquisite local
restaurant, our main program has ended and
participants will have the choice either to stay in
Otavalo on their own (nearby attractions are the
lakes of Mojanda and the Peguche waterfall) or to
drive back with us to their Bed and Breakfast
accommodation in Quito.
Day 11: Departure after breakfast and transfer to the airport.
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