Ecuadorian Hacienda and Wildlife Adventure

Year round

From £12,380pp

Cruise & Land

12 Nights

From cloud forest lodges and Andean haciendas to the wildlife-rich waters of the Galapagos, the very best of Ecuador in one journey

Ecuador contains more within its borders than most continents, and this journey explores three of its most compelling worlds in thoughtful succession. Quito’s UNESCO-listed colonial quarter provides the opening chapter, a city of gilded churches and Andean light that repays every hour spent within it. From there, the Mashpi Biodiversity Reserve draws you into the extraordinary ecosystem of the Chocó cloud forest, one of the most species-rich habitats on earth. An Andean hacienda in the highlands of Imbabura follows, where working farmland, condor conservation, and centuries of living history combine in a setting of rare elegance. The journey then moves to the Galapagos Islands, where four days aboard the intimate M/C Elite catamaran place you among the archipelago’s wildlife in the company of expert naturalist guides. Across its twelve nights, this itinerary draws together everything Ecuador does best.

Itinerary highlights

Explore the UNESCO-listed colonial streets of Quito from Casa Gangotena, a beautifully restored mansion on Plaza San Francisco in the very heart of the old city.

Immerse yourself in the Chocó cloud forest at Mashpi Lodge, a celebrated eco-retreat within a private biodiversity reserve where guided walks and specialist naturalists reveal one of the richest ecosystems on the planet.

Spend two days at Hacienda Zuleta, a working Andean estate in the highlands of Imbabura where condor conservation, horseriding, and centuries of history give a stay a depth and character found nowhere else in Ecuador.

Board the intimate M/C Elite catamaran and spend four days exploring the Galapagos Islands under the guidance of expert naturalists, encountering the extraordinary endemic wildlife that made this archipelago world-famous.

Snorkel, kayak, and land on remote islands across four days at sea, meeting sea lions, marine iguanas, giant tortoises, blue-footed boobies, and Galapagos penguins in their natural habitat with very few fellow visitors.

From cloud forest lodges and Andean haciendas to the wildlife-rich waters of the Galapagos, the very best of Ecuador in one journey

Itinerary highlights

Explore the UNESCO-listed colonial streets of Quito from Casa Gangotena, a beautifully restored mansion on Plaza San Francisco in the very heart of the old city.

Day 1

Your journey begins

Your journey begins tonight as you board your flight to Quito, one of the highest capital cities in the world and one of the finest examples of colonial urban architecture anywhere in the Americas. Ecuador awaits in all its improbable variety.

Day 1-2

Quito, Ecuador

You arrive in Quito and transfer to Casa Gangotena, a magnificently restored mansion on the corner of Plaza San Francisco in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage old town. After settling in and adjusting to the altitude, the afternoon is yours to explore at your own pace, with the plazas, churches, and backstreets of Baščaršija one of the world's great colonial neighbourhoods within easy walking distance. The following day, a guided tour moves through the city's most extraordinary sites: the gold-encrusted interior of La Compañía de Jesús, the vast atrium of the Monastery of San Francisco, the Palacio del Arzobispado, and the sweeping panorama from El Panecillo where the winged Virgin watches over the city below. Over a leisurely lunch in the old quarter, the energy and character of Quito begin to settle into something that feels entirely its own.

Day 3-4

Mashpi Biodiversity Reserve, Ecuador

You leave Quito and descend from the Andes into the Chocó bioregion, one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, arriving at Mashpi Lodge, a celebrated glass-and-steel retreat set within a private 1,200-hectare reserve in the cloud forest. The drive itself is a transition worth savouring, the landscape shifting from high Andean moorland through agricultural terraces and into the warm, dense green of the forest below. At Mashpi, life is organised around the forest and its inhabitants: guided walks along the reserve's trails reveal an abundance of orchids, hummingbirds, and amphibians, while the lodge's canopy bike and life-centre gondola offer perspectives on the cloud forest canopy that most visitors never experience. The following day allows time for longer excursions deeper into the reserve, with specialist naturalists whose knowledge of this ecosystem is exceptional. Meals at the lodge are outstanding, and the nights, once the forest falls quiet, are complete.

Day 5-6

Hacienda Zuleta

The drive north carries you through the Avenue of the Volcanoes, Ecuador's dramatic Andean corridor, to Hacienda Zuleta, a 4,000-acre working estate in the Imbabura highlands that has been in the same family for over three centuries. The hacienda was once the home of two Ecuadorian presidents, and the weight of that history sits lightly but perceptibly in its library-lined rooms, antique furniture, and the quiet rituals of a household that has operated continuously for centuries. A full day here can be spent on horseback through the estate's farmland and highland moorland, visiting the condor conservation project where Andean condors are bred and released back into the wild, joining the kitchen for a cooking lesson, or simply walking the grounds as the Cotacachi and Cayambe volcanoes frame the horizon. Dinner is taken at the long communal table, where the hacienda's own dairy, vegetables, and trout from the estate's stream come together in a meal that is as locally rooted as any you will find.

Day 7

Quito to the Galapagos: Board M/C Elite

An early transfer to the airport and a flight west across the Ecuadorian coastline and out over the Pacific bring you to the Galapagos Islands, an archipelago that occupies a category entirely its own in the natural world. You board the M/C Elite, an intimate luxury catamaran that will be your home for the next four days, and meet your naturalist guide over the first dinner at sea. The islands that surround you have been shaped by volcanic forces, isolated for millions of years, and left to develop wildlife that has evolved without fear of predators and shows no fear of human presence. The journey is about to begin in the most extraordinary way.

Day 8-10

Exploring the Galapagos Islands

Four days of guided exploration aboard the M/C Elite, visiting a succession of islands each with its own character, its own resident species, and its own extraordinary encounters. On land, your naturalist guide leads you through sites where sea lions bask within arm's reach, marine iguanas crowd the lava shoreline, giant tortoises move with unhurried authority across the highland grassland, and blue-footed boobies perform their courtship displays on open rock as though you were not there. In the water, snorkelling sessions reveal an entirely different world: sea turtles glide overhead, Galapagos penguins dart past, white-tipped reef sharks hold station in the current below, and sea lion pups tumble and play with a curiosity that matches your own. The M/C Elite carries a small number of guests, which means landings are quiet, encounters are unhurried, and the rhythm of the days is set entirely by the wildlife and the tides.

Day 11

Depart the Galapagos

A final morning on the water before your flight back to mainland Ecuador, where you transfer to the Eurobuilding Hotel in Quito for one last night. The evening is yours to spend as you choose, whether revisiting a restaurant, taking a final walk through the old town, or sitting with the accumulated impressions of twelve days that have moved through colonial history, cloud forest wilderness, Andean hacienda life, and the most remarkable wildlife destination on earth.

Day 12

Depart Quito

A final breakfast before transferring to the airport for your overnight flight back to London. Ecuador is a country of extraordinary contrasts and exceptional rewards, and it is one that tends to stay with you considerably longer than the journey itself.

Day 13

Arrive home

You arrive back in the UK, the journey complete.

What's Included

International return flights from the UK
All domestic and regional flights within Ecuador
Seamless ground transfers throughout
Handpicked accommodations and cruise throughout
Meals as indicated
Curated tours and experiences, including entrance fees
Expert English-speaking local guides throughout
Naturalist English-speaking guide for all Galapagos excursions

What's Included

International return flights from the UK
All domestic and regional flights within Ecuador
Seamless ground transfers throughout
Handpicked accommodations and cruise throughout
Meals as indicated
Curated tours and experiences, including entrance fees
Expert English-speaking local guides throughout
Naturalist English-speaking guide for all Galapagos excursions

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Every journey I plan starts with a conversation. Tell me what excites you, what you've always dreamed of experiencing, and I'll craft something extraordinary. The best expeditions begin with a single question: What would make this unforgettable for you?

Ashley | Expedition Planner

Ecuadorian Hacienda and Wildlife Adventure