6 Days in Quito & the Ecuadorian Cloud Forests
Quito sits at 9,350 feet in eternal spring, where winter never arrives—perfect for couples escaping cold. Explore the UNESCO Historic Center's convents and plazas, ride mountain trains through cloud forests, spot hummingbirds and orchids on private reserves, and sleep in isolated eco-lodges. It's remote, romantic, and refreshingly off the standard winter-escape radar.
What to expect
- Wander Quito's cobbled plazas and colonial churches in the Historic Center.
- Ride the Tren Crucero through Andean valleys to Otavalo market.
- Hike in Mindo Cloud Forest; spot resplendent quetzals and poison frogs.
- Stay at a private orchid reserve and wake to mountain silence.
- Bathe in thermal hot springs at Papallacta.
Day by day
Land at Mariscal Sucre airport; transfer to a hotel in the Historic Center near Plaza Grande.
Acclimatize (you're at 9,350 feet); gentle walk through cobblestone plazas and alleyways.
Dinner at Zazu, a Michelin-listed restaurant celebrating Ecuadorian ingredients; early bed to aid altitude adjustment.
Basilica del Voto Nacional (take the tower stairs for city views); explore the cloister and rose garden.
San Francisco Convent and its baroque church; wander the narrow Ronda neighbourhood with street art.
Sunset from El Panecillo (the hill behind the city); local restaurant dinner with roasted guinea pig.
Drive west into Mindo Cloud Forest Reserve (2 hours); check into a jungle lodge with veranda views.
Guided hike with a naturalist; spot resplendent quetzals, toucans, poison dart frogs, and rare orchids.
Firefly night walk; candlelit dinner on the lodge veranda with sound of tree frogs.
Hike to Rio Blanco waterfall; swim in natural pools surrounded by ferns and mossy rocks.
Visit a family cacao farm; learn chocolate-making and taste fresh cacao fruit right off the tree.
Couples massage at the lodge; quiet night listening to the forest canopy.
Drive back towards Quito; detour to Papallacta thermal springs (1.5 hours north).
Soak in natural hot pools surrounded by paramo grassland and mountain views; stay at a spa resort.
Private hot-spring bath under stars; light dinner at the lodge.
Return to Quito; last stroll through the Historic Center and a final look at the Plaza Grande.
Visit the Equatorial Monument (Ciudad Mitad del Mundo) just outside the city; stand with one foot in each hemisphere.
Transfer to airport; depart.
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