Ecuador Highlands: Self-Launched Quito, Amazon & Cotopaxi Loop

Fly into Mariscal Sucre Airport (UIO) and take an authorised airport taxi or the shared Aeropuerto–Centro bus into town (~£2 bus, £20-25 taxi). Check into a hostel in the Centro Histórico or La Mariscal. Spend the afternoon walking Plaza Grande, the Basílica del Voto Nacional and Calle La Ronda, then eat at a local almuerzo spot (£4-6 for soup, main and juice). Optional: book the Quito Legends and Culture walking tour via Urban Adventures or GetYourGuide (~£25), or simply do a self-guided loop of the churches and plazas.

🚌Airport bus ~£2 or taxi ~£22

🛏Hostel dorm or private in Centro Histórico, £12-18/night

• →Self-guided walk of Quito Old Town
• →Basílica del Voto Nacional (~£2 entry)
• →Calle La Ronda evening stroll

Public buses to Tena leave from Quito's Terminal Quitumbe — the direct service with transport companies such as Baños Express or Flota Pelileo covers the ~4-5 hour route for roughly £8-10. Alternatively take a bus to Baños and connect onward. Arrive in Tena, a steamy Amazon foothills town, and continue by local taxi or pickup to an eco-lodge on the Arajuno riverbank (~£5-10 shared). Afternoon to swim and settle in; in the evening join a lodge-run night walk through the secondary forest to spot frogs, insects and night birds — book directly with the lodge, typically £12-20 including a local guide.

🚌Public bus Quito–Tena ~£9 (4-5 hrs) + shared taxi to lodge

🛏Eco-lodge cabaña near Arajuno River, £15-22/night incl. basic meals

• →Night walk in secondary rainforest with lodge guide (~£15)

Arrange a full-day guided rainforest hike through your lodge or a local Kichwa-run operator in Tena — rates are typically £25-40 per person for a small-group day including a local guide, river transport and lunch. Learn about medicinal plants, river ecology and traditional land use. Pair it with a visit to a local animal rescue and rehabilitation centre (e.g. one of the wildlife rescue projects around AmaZOOnico/Puyo area, entry ~£5-8), reachable by local bus or arranged transfer. Keep the pace slow — it's hot and humid.

🚌River canoe / local bus transfers ~£8

🛏Eco-lodge cabaña near Arajuno River, £15-22/night

• →Guided rainforest hike with Kichwa guide (~£35)
• →Animal rescue centre visit (~£6)

Take the morning bus from Tena towards Baños via Puyo and Ambato (~4-5 hours, £7-9) — the road winds down from the Andean foothills past waterfalls. Arrive in Baños, the adventure capital of Ecuador. Take yourself on a walking loop of the town's churches, markets and viewpoints, then catch a local bus or shared taxi out to Pailón del Diablo waterfall on the Ruta de las Cascadas (~£1-2 each way, entry ~£2). Evening: soak in the town's thermal springs (Termas de la Virgen, ~£3-4).

🚌Bus Tena–Baños ~£8; local bus to waterfall ~£1.50 each way

🛏Hostel private room or dorm in Baños, £12-18/night

• →Pailón del Diablo waterfall (~£2 entry)
• →Self-guided Baños town walk
• →Termas de la Virgen hot springs (~£4)

Hike or take a local bus up to the Casa del Árbol for the famous 'Swing at the End of the World' over the valley (~£1 entry, small tip for the swing operator). Continue on foot or by bike to the Bellavista viewpoint for views towards Tungurahua volcano — some hostels rent bikes for ~£5-8/day. In the afternoon take a local bus to one of the smaller cascadas on the Ruta de las Cascadas, or simply spend the afternoon in the hot springs. Optional canyoning or rafting can be booked same-day in town for £25-40.

🚌Local buses and walking, ~£5

🛏Hostel private room or dorm in Baños, £12-18/night

• →Swing at the End of the World (~£1)
• →Hike to Bellavista viewpoint
• →Waterfall bus loop (~£3)
• →Optional rafting (~£30)

This is the logistically tightest day — book a small-group Cotopaxi day tour from Baños or Quito in advance (GetYourGuide/Klook, £35-55, includes park entry ~£10 and transport to Limpiopungo Lagoon at 3,800m). Alternatively take the morning bus to Latacunga (~£3) and pick up a shared tour there. Walk the flat Limpiopungo Lagoon loop (~1.5-2 hours) with views of Cotopaxi — go slow and watch for altitude sickness. En route, stop at a working flower plantation (roses are one of Ecuador's biggest exports; several around Latacunga/Cayambe offer tours with a flower-cutting demo for ~£5-10) and, if time allows, a stroll through the gardens and chapel at the historic La Cienega hacienda (~£5). Continue by bus to Quito (~£4) in the evening.

🚌Bus Baños–Latacunga ~£3, Cotopaxi tour transport ~£25-40, Latacunga–Quito bus ~£4

🛏Hostel in Quito (La Mariscal or Centro), £12-20/night

• →Limpiopungo Lagoon hike (park entry ~£10)
• →Flower plantation tour (~£7)
• →La Cienega hacienda visit (~£5)

Bus from Quito's Terminal Carcelén to Otavalo/Cotacachi (~2.5 hours, £3-4), then a local taxi into the countryside and the La Calera community area (~£4 shared). Stay with a local Indigenous family through a community tourism project — book direct via community tourism networks or a Cotacachi guesthouse, roughly £15-25 including meals. In the afternoon join a pachamanca ceremony: meat and vegetables cooked in a volcanic-stone earth oven, often with a demonstration of Andean traditions (£15-25 per person, arranged by the family or hostal). Depending on season you may be able to feed animals, milk cows or harvest vegetables alongside your hosts.

🚌Bus Quito–Otavalo/Cotacachi ~£4 (2.5 hrs) + shared taxi ~£4

🛏Community family homestay near Cotacachi, £15-25/night incl. dinner and breakfast

• →Pachamanca earth-oven food ceremony (~£20)
• →Community cultural exchange with local families
• →Optional farm activities (seasonal)

After a home-cooked breakfast with your host family, take a local taxi or bus to Cuicocha Lagoon for the rim viewpoint walk (~£3 transport, no entry fee for the short viewpoint trails; boat trips on the lake ~£5). Continue to Otavalo and spend the afternoon at the Plaza de Ponchos market — Ecuador's most famous Indigenous textile market, with haggling expected and no entry fee. Buses back to Quito run until early evening (~£3-4, 2 hours). Optional final group dinner in La Mariscal (~£10-15 for a proper meal).

🚌Shared taxis and buses Cotacachi–Cuicocha–Otavalo–Quito, ~£8 total

🛏Hostel in Quito, £12-20/night

• →Cuicocha Lagoon viewpoint walk
• →Otavalo Indigenous market browsing and shopping

Breakfast at the hostel, a final wander through the La Mariscal craft market or a coffee in the Centro Histórico, then take the airport bus or an authorised taxi to Mariscal Sucre for your flight home. If you're heading onwards, Quito is a good jumping-off point for the Quilotoa Loop, Mindo cloud forest or the Galápagos.

🚌Airport bus ~£2 or taxi ~£22

🛏None (departure day)

• →Last-minute souvenir shopping
• →Airport transfer