Ecuador and Peru, Spring 2016

Banos

We will fly into Quito, and drive to Banos, Ecuador. Banos is the adventure capital of Ecuador and home of Pailon Del Diablo, devil’s cauldron. Ellen and I will not do white water rafting, kayaking, or mountaineering here. We will visit the cauldron, take a zip line, and relax in at spa resort. Banos is “on the way” from Quito to Guayaquil.

we may stay at the Samari Spa Resort, Banos. Here are a few photos from the hotel’s stock photos.

Pailon del diablo

One of the reasons to visit Banos is to see this dramatic waterfall. A big “thank you” to Jim for posting this some time ago. I do not think he knew we would be anywhere near Pailon del Diablo and he probably thought it was one very crazy place as if, “Who would want to go there? This is insane!” Well we will be traveling close enough to make a trip to Banos and this waterfall possible. Both the waterfall and what I’ve read about Banos makes it a nearly “must do” for me.

Rio Verde and the Pailon del Diablo, Ecuador

Pailon del Diablo Waterfall, Ecuador

Galapagos

From Banos we will drive to Guayaquil and meet up with the Galapagos Expedition on a National Geographic boat. We posted details of that leg of our trip in a prior post. It will be a ten day tour of some of the islands returning to Guayaquil.

Lima

We will stay a few days in Miraflores, Lima. Miraflores is right on the coast with high-rise buildings and a craggy shoreline.

Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, and Manu

From Guayaquil, we will take a short bus ride from Ecuador just over the border into Peru, then take a flight to Lima. Here we will hook up with our second series of tours and an expedition down one of the tributaries of the Amazon River to Manu. Nick has provided a remarkable itinerary for us for an additional two weeks, giving us time to acclimate to the altitude at Cusco, visit Machu Picchu, and the Sacred Valley on a private tour, and adventure down one of the tributaries of the Amazon, in the Amazon Rain Forest.