LTE-QTP007: Two days Northern Andes and Otavalo Market/ Haciendas

We head north from Quito and visit small village artisan workshops. We will visit the Otavalo Market; here we can experience the most important indigenous trade gathering in South America. Learn to bargain for ponchos, sweaters, and local handcrafted goods. We will then visit another small town, where we will visit local artisan homes. You will also have the chance to visit the Cuicocha Crater Lake. We include stays at historic haciendas, country inns or with indigenous families.

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1. Quito – Otavalo:   North of Quito, we will visit the small villages of the northern Andes. On our way to the Otavalo Market, we will have the chance to stop at Miralago: a scenic lookout point from where we will have a great view of the Imbabura Volcano and the San Pablo Lake. At the Otavalo Indigenous Market, the most important in South America, where we will spend some time bartering and trading for ponchos, wall hangings, wool hats and other artisan crafts from the surrounding villages. Optional lunch. Accommodations, relaxation, and dinner at a historical Hacienda or Country Inn.

Day 2.   Otavalo – Quito:  Visit Cuicocha, a volcanic crater lake, and small indigenous villages. Cuicocha Crater Lake (“lake of the guinea pigs” by its indigenous name) is a remote, gorgeous spot with 200m deep clear water. Created by a volcanic eruption about 3100 years ago, it is located in the Cuicocha Volcano at an altitude of 3.200m. Optional lunch, return to Quito.
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What to Bring

Passport, comfortable walking shoes/tennis shoes, warm clothing, windbreaker, rain ponchos in winter months, hat or cap, plastic water bottle, sun-block, sunglasses, waterproof small backpack, camera with high and low speed film, cash or travellers checks.  

Highlights

Cayambe Volcano If the weather is good, we will be able to view one of the most beautiful mountains in the country with its perfect cone shaped summit, covered by eternal snow and crossed by the Equator line.
Cuicocha Crater Lake Cuicocha (lake of the guinea pigs by its indigenous name) is a remote, gorgeous spot with 200m deep clear water. Created by a volcanic eruption about 3100 years ago, it is located in the Cuicocha Volcano at an altitude of 3.200m.

Hacienda Stay Enjoy a relaxing a tranquil stay in comfortable country houses where it seems like time has stood still. Haciendas are farms first built during the colonial times, when the Spanish King gave out land to the most influential people in the area. Today, many haciendas are remodelled, with all the daily comforts you are used to, to provide a unique experience for its visitors.

The Otavalo Market A famous indigenous gathering, where local communities get together and share their social life and bring out their goods - such as woodcarvings, tapestries, wool sweaters, ponchos, Andean musical instruments, paintings, etc -  for sale and trade. Many different forms of folk art can be appreciated and bought at very low prices.