Otavalo tours
Overview
Adventures in Otavalo and Imbabura Province
Barely two hours from Quito, the town of Otavalo draws visitors every week who come to this native community to shop at the world-famous handicraft market. The market features a dazzling array of handicrafts including tapestries, hammocks, jewellery, paintings and colourful native clothing.
Otavalo itself lies in scenic northern Ecuador (Imbabura Province), surrounded by volcanoes, rivers and lakes. For lodging, there wonderful local haciendas: centuries-old estates now converted into elegant hotels.
The Otavaleños are a very prosperous community of skilled textile weavers, who gather to sell their products at the market in the city of Otavalo as they have done for centuries, as regional markets have played an important role in Indian life, providing regular gathering places for trade and socializing. Today, increasing numbers of Otavaleños have also been traveling overseas to sell their handcrafts in Europe and North America. The Otavaleños are proud of their cultural heritage, hard working people who have managed to overcome poverty without changing their way of life, their traditions or their dress, while at the same time taking advantage of technological advances.
Packages
A full-day hands-on experience of the northern Andes, with the added twist of an encounter with the colours and flavours of Ecuadorian cuisine.
This overnighter is one of the most popular journeys to Otavalo,allowing guests to explore the fertile valley, enjoy its landscapes of mountains, lakes and corn fields, its craft centers, and wonderful people. Spend the night at an hacienda or hostal in the area and the next day, arrive early at the handcraft market.
This full-day excursion offers an in-depth experience into the traditional way of living of the Otavalo people, their history, customs, handicrafts and, very importantly, music. Lunch is at an Indian home, lovingly prepared in the traditional way, so guests have the opportunity to taste the Andean delicacies.
This three-day trip to the Otavalo area allows time for guests to leisurely enjoy the many aspects of the journey and a close encounter with the communities and the Otavalo people.
This one-day excursion takes in dramatic Andean scenery, with an earlier departure to arrive in time to appreciate the activity of the Otavalo Market, visit the town of Peguche and observe the weaving processes at a textile workshop.
Its natural beauty, its ancestral culture and traditions, visit the craft centers for weavings, wood carving, leather goods, the fantastic crater-lake Cuicocha and a close encounter with the communities and the Otavalo people.
This one-day excursion takes in dramatic Andean scenery, with an earlier departure to arrive in time to appreciate the activity of the Otavalo Market, visit the towns of Peguche to observe the weaving process and Cotacachi, for leather goods.
This overnighter is one of the most popular journeys to Otavalo, allowing guests to explore the fertile valley, enjoy its landscapes of mountains, lakes and corn fields, its craft centers, and wonderful people. Spend the night at an hacienda or hostal in the area and the next day, arrive early at the handcraft market.
