Quito to Cuenca Tour: Exciting 4 or 5 Day Exploring Cotopaxi, Quilotoa, Baños, and Chimborazo
5.0
32 Ratings
Embark on an exciting 4 or 5-day tour from Quito to Cuenca, exploring Cotopaxi, Quilotoa, Baños, and Chimborazo. Experience the best of Ecuador with accommodation, transportation, and a private guide.
Duration: 5 days
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights

Quito - Cotopaxi - Quilotoa - Latacunga

Cotopaxi National Park - 06:30 Early in the morning, the guide will pick you up from your hotel in Quito to begin the tour, first visit the Cotopaxi National Park, you will walk around the Limpiopungo Lake,and if the weather is clear you will have time to enjoy the scenery of one of the highest volcanoes of Ecuador and one of the most active in the world.

Laguna Quilotoa - After visiting Cotopaxi National Park, you will go to Quilotoa Lake, for many the most beautiful place in Ecuador, here you will walk to the bottom of the lake and for the return you can walk up or if you prefer you can rent a horse to ascend..

Finally you will travel to Latacunga to rest in your assigned hotel.

Canon del Rio Toachi - After visiting Quilotoa, you will have a short visit to the most impressive canyon in Ecuador. the Toachi canyon located next to the parish of Sumbahua. Finally you will travel to Latacunga City.

Latacunga - Baños-Riobamba

Laguna de Yambo - The first stop of this day will be the viewpoint of the enchanted lagoon of Yambo. from here you will enjoy an amazing scenery.

Banos - 09:00am-After visiting Yambo Lake you will go to the charming city of Baños to enjoy the famous” Av. De las Cascadas”, after visiting the waterfall of Pailon del Diablo, you will have time for a delicious lunch and then you will travel in one of the nicest cable cars over Pastaza river.

La Casa del Arbol - After your lunch, you will take the “Swing at the end of the world”, one of the most famous swings in Latin America. After this experience you will travel aroun 1:30 hours to Riobamba city.

Riobamba-Chimborazo-Ingapirca-Cuenca

Mount Chimborazo - 07:15am- After breakfast, the guide will pick you up to travel to Chimborazo Faunistic Reserve, there you will walk and enjoy the scenery of the highest mountain en Ecuador “Chimborazo”, also there you will see several vicuñas. In this place you will arrive by car till the first refuge (4800masl) and from there if you agree, you could walk up 200mts to the second refuge of Chimborazo located at 5000masl.
After this you will have time for your box lunch.

Iglesia de Balbanera - Here you will visit the oldest church of Ecuador, La Balbanera is located very close to Colta lake , and is considered one of the most important churches in Ecuador.

Ingapirca Archaeological Complex - Here you will visit an archaeological complex of Ecuador “Ingapirca” here you will learn about the Cañari and Inca cultures.
For people who start their tour on Fridays or Saturdays, the complex will be visited from outside since the Ingapirca ruins are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and will be complemented with a visit to the mountain called “face of the Inca”.
Then you will travel 1:30hours to Cuenca.
Stay overnight .

Cuenca - Then you will travel for 1:30 min. to arrive to Cuenca to stay at the assigned hotel. Cuenca is considered one of the most beautiful cities in Ecuador and Southamerica (two nights in Cuenca)

Cuenca city tour + Gualaceo and Chordeleg

Cuenca - 08:30am- On this day you will have a half day city tour of Cuenca considered the most beautiful in Ecuador, here you will visit its historic center that was declared a Cultural Heritage Site in 1999, also you will walk by the riverbank of Tomebamba river. and is possible to visit a Panama Hat Factory.

Gualaceo - In the afternoon you will visit the cantons of Gualaceo and Chordeleg to learn about jewelry and the manufacture of textiles in a traditional technique called IKAT, after that you will return to your hotel in Cuenca

Cajas National Park + Piedra de Agua Spa (only 5 day tour option)

El Cajas National Park - This day you will visit the Cajas National Park, considered one of the most beautiful places in South America, here you can walk one of its trails and admire the beauty of its mountains, lagoons and Polylepis forests.
In the afternoon after lunch you will go to the parish of Baños to relax your body in one of the best SPAs in the country.

Cuenca - After doing the activities the tour guide will drop you off in your hotel in Cuenca.
End of services.

What's Included
  • Dinner included daily
  • Breakfast included daily
  • Personalized transportation with options: SUV (2-3 people), Minivan (4-6 people), or Minibus (7-15 people)
  • 4 or 5 nights’ accommodation (double occupancy, varies with tour option)
  • All entrance fees to scheduled activities covered
What's Not Included
  • Meals
  • Personal expenses
  • Tips
  • Optional Horse at Quilotoa Lake ($10)
Additional Information

If you’re short on time and want to see all that Ecuador has to offer, take a comprehensive four or five-day tour. Accommodation and transportation is included between your visits to Quito,Cotopaxi Quilotoa ,Banos, Chimborazo, Cuenca, and more. Every step of the way, your private guide will be with you to narrate your experience. Where you begin is up to you, as the tour can begin from either Quito or Cuenca.

-Enjoy four nights arranged accommodation
-Relax in comfortable transportation between each destination
-Experience a huge amount of Ecuador in just few days
-Get an immersive and personalized experience with a private guide

(OPTIONAL: after fihishing your tour in Cuenca if you need to travel to Guayaquil, you can have a Transfer tour to Guayaquil with an extra charge)

  • Child rate applies only when sharing with 1 paying adult
  • If you are staying in a place different than a hotel, the guide will pick you up from your airBnB or house(please let us know the exact address)
  • Passport name, number,date of birth, expiry and country is required at time of booking for all participants
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(32 Ratings)
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772alrashidr
Dec 28, 2023
Wonderful tour that exceeded all expectations - Amazing tour that shows you authentic Ecuador and amazing sights in a quick period of time. My guide Andrés was by far the best tour guide I’ve ever had in any country. He went above and beyond, was extremely knowledgeable, and great to get along with! I would highly recommend this tour if you want to learn about Ecuadorian culture, cuisine, and nature.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bettyps2433ib
Oct 2, 2023
Absolutely wonderful - Just completed the 5 day tour and it was absolutely fantastic. Eddie and Cristian provided a trip way beyond what we were expecting. There is so much to see and do in Ecuador and their knowledge is superb.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tomas
Sep 9, 2023
Great experience! - I would really recommend this tour. You will see a lot in such a short time. I really enjoyed this experience. My guide was Diego and he did a great job. He gave me so much informations about Ecuador.. He drove safely all the way to Cuenca and also.. he was giving me good tips where to go eat in places we stayed. Definitely would do it again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Edgarb602
Aug 23, 2023
100% valuable & recomendable - Reliable tour operator in Ecuador. Excellent communication and good tours, hotels and restaurants. I highly recommend Polylepis Tours. We had a great time and all was set on time. Thanks Edison and Wilson!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
B8539vgannab
Aug 21, 2023
Wonderful trip - Our favorite was on the one hand visiting Mindo. It is a beautiful small city with its own charm. Visiting Quiolotoa was also a wonderful experience. On the other hand we really enjoyed climbing the Chimborazo. Even though it wasn't easy and a bit challenging, we did it. And standing up there was amazing:) But all in all the whole tour was a highlight! Thanks to our guide Diego! :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Z8760exphilipp
Jul 31, 2023
A truly special place and wonderful trip - The previous reviews all indicated this trip was excellent; so cutting to the chase was it worth it? It most certainly was and my overall summary is it exceeded our expectations and they were high to start with. My wife and I were hosted by Diego and we enjoyed his company enormously. He was a font of information and we spent much of our time swapping information and laughing. Whether is was Diego and my wife nailing the species names of plants, whether trivial or the Latin binomial classification or me discussing the difference between C3 and C4 photosynthesis in plants it was just easy going and informative. It fed into lively discussions of the role of eucalypts in Ecuador from Diego and me discussing the role of epicormic shoots in fire regeneration of the more than 600 species of eucalypts (note the old genus Eucalyptus is now split into several genera). The wonderful fauna, staggeringly beautiful scenery and majestic mountains will take your breath away. Diego hosted us wonderfully and it wasn’t just biology, his knowledge of the history of Ecuador, its people’s and landscape was first rate. Visiting the craft workshops was another high point for us. Finally, I should add how we laughed with Diego about the vagaries of English pronunciation, as my wife is English and I am Australian and many of the families he hosts are American. When we are back in the bubble of Oxford, dodging the tourists, or grappling with our research projects, I am sure we will keep a special place in our hearts for this beautiful country and how special Diego made it. Thank you Diego, my friend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jim
Jul 2, 2023
Once in a Lifetime Views and Experiences - Our guide, Diego, provided us with an incredible adventure with breathtaking sights on a private tour from Quito to Cuenca. Diego was an amazing driver, guide and Spanish (and native language) tutor as we experienced beautiful Andean mountains, lagoons, fauna, flowers and local food and culture along the way. The views over the Quilotoa lagoon and those of Chimborazo were "once in a lifetime" experiences for us. I highly recommend taking this tour rather than flying from Quito to Cuenca.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Akobmo
Apr 28, 2023
Amazing 3 day tour from Quito to Cuenca - Our trip with Edison from Quito to Cuenca was amazing. We only had 3 days in our overall itinerary for this trip and Edison was very accommodating in making sure we could see as many of the key sites as possible without feeling rushed. Edison was very responsive on WhatsApp as we were planning the trip. He is a knowledgeable guide, a really enjoyable person to be around and a great driver. We will never forget these three days and are so grateful that Edison made it all happen. Highly recommend!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hvwriter
Mar 17, 2023
Really is magical!! - The four day tour from Quito to Cuenca with Polylepis Tours is a winner! Diego is a great guide, knowledgeable about local history, fauna and flora and so much more. The four days flew by and were very informative. For a first-time visitor to Ecuador, the trip opens up the country and shows some of its best assets. Give it a try!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hugoar4461
Mar 7, 2023
Beautiful landscape - Climbing Chimborazo was definitely my favorite part of the tour . Our guide vast knowledge of the Fauna and flora was notable and his knowledge of the Ecuadorian culture was excellent and very educational. Altitude sickness is a real thing and future travelers should be mindful.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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May 2024
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