Itinerary
FRIDAY
Escorted transfer from airport to hotel in Quito - shared
Baggage handling of two pieces of luggage per person at airport and at hotel is included.
Overnight at Hotel Hilton Colon Quito - deluxe room
SATURDAY (B, L, D)
Quito - Tabacundo - Cuicocha
From our starting point in the northern central part of the city of Quito we will see a volcano on our western (left) side, which is called Carcacha. Carcacha like the majority of Ecuador’s volcanoes is extinct. Together with a volcanic lava dome, the famous Panecillo, being part of the Pichincha Volcanic Complex (PVC). The PVC on our western (left) side is composed of five different volcanoes, of which two oldest, namely El Cinto and Rucu Pichincha (both extinct and older than 900,000 years) are visible to us and the youngest three ones (Guagua Pichincha, Toaza and Cristal) are behind the green mountain we see to our left. The only really active volcano of this volcanic complex is Cristal volcano, which frequently covered the city and parts of the country with ash; the last time this happened was in 1999.
Continue on for a visit to the Crater Lake Cuicocha, in the Province of Imbabura. From the Cuicocha volcanic lake we will leave towards the southeast crossing the Equator Line at Cayambe, observing some of the deposits of this active volcano. Overnight at Hacienda Guachala – standard room
SUNDAY (B, L, D)
Cangahua – Oyacachi – Papallacta
After breakfast, continue in the direction of the faulted area of Oyacachi, famous for its hot springs. From there we will intersect the Coca-Cayambe National Park along amazing landscapes with of many natural lakes and finally, shortly before reaching the thermal springs of Papallacta, we will be able to observe an obsidian lava flow with perlitic structures. Overnight at Thermas de Papallacta - standard room
MONDAY (B, L)
Papallacta - Cotopaxi National Park
Early the next morning, another highlight of the Andes mountains awaits us: the Cotopaxi Volcano, one of the worlds highest volcanoes with historical activity. With a summit elevation of 5,897 m.a.s.l., the Cotopaxi pleistocene stratovolcano, has an ice cap from which 23 outlet glaciers flow (total area of 19.09 square kilometers) even though it's located less than 100 km from Earth's equator. The cone was formed by lava and pyroclastic materials with vast amounts of lahars making up the plains that surround it. Beginning in December 2001 after decades of silence, the volcano began showing clear signs of unrest, including earthquakes, increased fumarolic activity from the summit crater, and small phreatic explosions. Much of the fumarolic activity in the crater today comes from this smaller crater, especially on the western side. Cotopaxi is surrounded by rocky massifs of extinct volcanoes: Rumiñahui on the NW side (4782m), Sincholagua on the NE side (4893m), and Quilindana on the SE side (4878 m), all separated by flat passes 3800-4000 m in height. The base of the cone is 22 km in diameter, its surface is 380 square km., and volume 272 cubic km. There are ice caps at the elevation greater than 4800m on the NW slope and 4550 m on the SE slope. Numerous lahar valleys diverge from below this ice cap. On the southern flank, there are some as deep as 100-300m yielding outcrops that are nearly vertical. All around the surface of the cone, it is covered with 0.5 to 2 m thick of an ash-lapilli layer from 18th century eruptions. We will be able to observe laharic deposits, andesitic lava flows, various pyroclastic deposits with big pumices and also pyroclastic flow deposits with covered paleosoils and datable vegetation (with C14 isotopic method). Furthermore, we will cross parts of hummocks, evidences of previous partial collapses of the majestic volcano as well as ignimbrites form another giants of northern South America, from the Chalupas caldera, besides some andesitic domes including feeding dykes and with some luck maybe spot a condor, before starting back to Quito, to prepare for the trip to the Galápagos Islands. Hotel Hilton Colon – 1 deluxe room, tax and breakfast included.
TUESDAY (B, D)
Transfer from hotel to airport in Quito for your flight to Galapagos Islands and assistance with check-in and Galapagos Park pre-boarding requirements. Upon arrival to the Islands, transfer to Yacht Isabela II, your home for the next 7 nights.
Tuesday/Tuesday (B, L, D): Galapagos Islands on board the Yacht Isabela II, 7 nights
The geodynamic origin of the Galapagos Islands is a highly debated topic. The most common (but not overall accepted theory) demonstrates a “Hot Spot” in the mantle as their most likely origin. However, the interaction of the presumed Hot Spot together with the given plate movements gave rise to different morphological features such as the Caribbean Large Igneous Province, the break-up of the Farallon plate into the Cocos and Nazca Plate. Ongoing drifting of the continents and creation of Hot-Spot related volcanoes created the prominent Cocos and Carnegie Ridges and also the smaller Malpelo and Coiba Ridges. The story about birth, life and death of a typical volcanic island of the Galapagos may best explain how life arrived in the distant islands and come to evolve differently than in South America. The very best way to discuss such topics together with the marvelous own observation of the endemic life in a habitat of shieldvolcanoes, calderas, spatter, cinder and ash cones with their pahoehoe and aa lava flows, lava tubes, uplifted pillow lava, lava ponds, lava curtains, columnar joints, dikes, hornitos, subaerial and submarine fumaroles, majestic crater pits, Pele´s hair and tears, reticulites, beaches of seven different colors including an olivine beach and many more features is to visit the Galapagos Island and prove wrong the very first impression of the islands most famous visitor Charles Darwin, a biologist and geologist by profession, who stated that “nothing could be less inviting than the first appearance: “A broken field of black basaltic lava, thrown into the most rugged waves and crossed by great fissures which show little signs of life”.
The expedition includes a cross section through all stages of island development with the oldest and most eroded but still amazingly well preserved islands to the east until the freshest lava flows of the activities of the last view years.
Islands included in the expedition: North Seymour, Hood, Floreana, Santa Cruz, Tower, Fernandina, Isabela, Bartolome, James and Baltra.
TUESDAY (B)
After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight back to Guayaquil. Upon arrival, transfer to the hotel. Hotel Hilton Colon Guayaquil – 1 deluxe room, tax and breakfast include
Afternoon City tour of Guayaquil-semi private
The visit includes the main attractions of the Port of Guayaquil, starting with the Centennial Plaza that honors the heroes of Guayaquil’s independence, the Park of the Iguanas and the pride of Guayaquil, its waterfront Malecon 2000.
WEDNESDAY (B)
Transfer from hotel to airport in Guayaquil-semi private
Escorted transfer to the airport for your flight back home.
Important Note
Itineraries and program are subject to change without previous notice due mainly to readjustment of the Galapagos National Park policies and regulations, weather conditions, seasonal changes or safety reasons.
Handbook Isabela II
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