Cloud Forest, Andes and Galapagos

Summary of Trip

• Specially chartered private yacht in the Galapagos
• Experience some of best and easiest birding in the world
• Led by top guides in Galapagos and Ecuador
• Small group of up to 15 guests

A 14-day journey that takes you from the tropical cloud forests literally buzzing with humming birds, to Ecuador’s Avenue of Volcanoes with its dramatic scenery and colourful markets, then onto Galapagos for an eight day cruise on a luxury motor yacht visiting some of the most spectacular islands in this remarkable archipelago. The trip will be fully escorted by Santiago Bejarano, one of the leading naturalists in the Galapagos.

Details

• Trip begins in Quito and ends in Guayaquil
• 8 days/7 nights on board the yacht, 3 nights at Septimo Pariso, 3 hotel nights in Quito,
• Full escorted by Santiago Bejarano with services of top guides in Ecuador and Galapagos.
• All meals, accommodation, transport and internal flights included.
• Tour Cost £3439 per person, excluding international flights
• Flights from the UK to Quito and Guayaquil start at around £850. We can help guests co-ordinate their international flights which are available from local UK airports.

Outline Itinerary
18th May – Arrive in Quito
19th May - 22nd May – Cloud Forest
23rd May – Saquisili - Avenue of Volcanoes
24th May - 31st May – Galapagos

NOTE:

Land cost includes:

• Domestic flight Quito-Galapagos-Guayaquil.
• All accommodation meals and soft drinks in mainland Ecuador and aboard the yacht in the Galapagos.
• The price is based on 2 people sharing a double room.
• $10 Galapagos Migration Card.
• The services of expert local naturalists and all transport in the Galapagos.

Land Cost Does Not Include:

• International airfare
• Galapagos National Park Entrance Fee ($100 per person)
• Alcoholic beverages. Gratuities

Single Supplement:

If you prefer your own room, there is a single supplement cost of £240 per person for the time in mainland Ecuador. All boat cabins must be shared, except by special arrangement - **Two single cabins are available on the yacht for single guests on a first come first served basis for no additional cost.

** Single supplement for mainland Ecuador £240 per person – all yacht cabins to be shared except by special arrangement.

If you would like any more information or to chat over the details of the trip we would be delighted to help. Telephone 01482 872 716 for more information or email us today.

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Itinerary

18th May We can help book your international flight with KLM – which allows you to fly from your local airport via Amsterdam arriving in Quito mid-afternoon. The group will then be met at the airport in Quito and taken to our hotel – Hotel Quito, which has one of the best locations in Quito with beautiful views across the city on one side and the valley of Tumbaco on the other. A light evening meal together.

19th May - 22nd May – Cloud Forest After breakfast we set straight off to the Andes to the west of Quito and the area of Mindo. Approximately 1.30 minute drive, the cloud forest here has some of the best and easiest birding in the world that will thrill both the novice and experienced birders alike! It also has the highest diversity of epiphytes (plants that grow on top of other plants) of anywhere in the world, along with an array of orchids and other stunning tropical flora, including a host of butterflies and moths (which we get to photograph during a visit to a butterfly farm, as well as around the lodge). The forest, boasts some 9,000 species of plant with over 320 bird species recorded in the valley near to our lodge, Septimo Paraiso.

The area around the lodge has easy trails and a hummingbird feeding area outside which is literally buzzing with hummingbirds. The location of our lodge also allows us to visit some of the best reserves in the area like Mindo, Los Bancos and the Milpe Sanctuaries. For those who wish to we will be visiting a nearby Cock of the Rock lek, with a chance to see and photograph these rare and beautiful birds.

After breakfast on 22nd May we set off to the Equator Monument then onto Quito for a tour of the historical old section of the city. Declared a world heritage site by UNESCO the historical centre of Quito has some beautiful colonial buildings and gives a real taste of Andean culture. In the afternoon we will drive on to a beautiful 200 year old colonial hacienda in the valley of Los Chillos called La Carriona where we spend the night.

23rd May– Avenue of Volcanoes After breakfast we drive south through Ecuador’s Avenue of Volcanoes, with spectacular scenery punctuated by snow capped peaks and onto the Saquisili market, to see their main market day.

This market, which is where the Indian communities from the region trade their produce, will provide you with a colourful and fascinating glimpse of Andean culture as they trade everything from llamas and sheep, to pots and pans. We then head back to Quito, to the Hotel Quito. Evening meal together with a pre-Galapagos briefing.

24th May - 31st May – Galapagos After breakfast we take our flight to the Galapagos Islands, arriving to Baltra airport at around noon. From here we will be transferred to our private yacht, the Tip Top III, a spacious and comfortable motor yacht which was fully refurbished in 2008, which has a fantastic friendly crew and is run by one of the oldest families in the Galapagos.

The yacht accommodates 16 passengers in 10 double cabins each with private shower and toilet. Just some of the luxuries you'll enjoy on the yacht's three decks are air conditioning, a TV, a VCR, a full sound system, an inviting dining room, a fully equipped bar, a library filled with a variety of reading materials, a spacious sundeck, and snorkelling equipment. Moreover, each of the craft's homey cabins is outfitted with a private bathroom with both hot and cold water, a personal safe, and a wardrobe. The vessel is also equipped with the most advanced navigational and safety equipment, all of which meets or exceeds international Coast Guard safety regulations.

The next glorious 8 days will be spent cruising the Galapagos:

Santa Cruz - Charles Darwin Research Station The Charles Darwin Research Station offers a great chance to learn about the work being done to conserve and protect the islands wildlife. For some visitors (depending on the time of year) this is the only time to see Giant Tortoises and certainly the closest range opportunity. It is also a great chance to see the Tortoise Rearing Centre.

25th May – Santa Fe The island is home to its own unique species of Land Iguanas (Conolophus pallidus). Amazing landscape dominated by very tall and wide perkily pear cactus. The swimming and snorkelling around this island is also wonderful, with sea lions, rays and a host of colourful fish.

South Plaza South Plaza is the best island for observing land iguanas, along with cactus finches, tropic birds and sea lions. One of your first stops will be through a small “forest” of prickly pear (Opuntia) cactus. The walk along the sea cliffs is a wonderful experience, with Audubon’s shearwaters and red-billed tropicbirds gliding by. Towards the end of the walk is a bachelor sea lion colony, with a battle-scared collection of old bulls in various states of recuperation or total retirement!

26th May – Sombrero Chino A great chance to swim with sea lions and if we are lucky, Galapagos penguins in the crystal clear waters around this huge cinder cone which is shaped like a Chinese hat (hence its name!). It is also a fantastic location for sea lions and an incredible volcanic landscape
with the brightly coloured sally lightfoot crabs in stark contrast against the black rock.

Rabida A red sandy beach with sea lions and nesting Brown Pelicans, which sometimes afford a rare glimpse of chick feeding. A short walk from the beach is a sea water lagoon, where flamingos can sometimes be seen. Geologically, Rabida is said to have the most diversified volcanic rocks of all the islands. It also provides a great opportunity to snorkel with sea lions and has a great diversity of near-shore and pelagic fish.

27th May – Black Turtle Cove A beautiful mangrove lagoon on the north shore of Santa Cruz Island.
The yacht anchors just outside the cove and you enter on a dingy, paddling through the calm water which is a resting site for Green Sea Turtles (they are on the rare and endangered species list). A wonderfully quiet journey, through a beautiful and unique habitat and with good luck as well as the marine turtles you will see different types of sharks and schools of Golden Rays swimming just below the surface, whilst yellow warblers sing from above.

Cerro Dragon You visit an area in the western-side of Santa Cruz Island which has seen a remarkable recovery of its land iguana population in recent years thanks to the work of the Galapagos National Park and Charles Darwin Research Station.

28th May – Floreana This is the Island where Charles Darwin discovered for the first time about the
different varieties of Giant Tortoises in the Galapagos. This morning we will be following his footsteps, in the highlands of Floreana – in search of the Medium Tree Finch, found nowhere else in the archipelago, as well as seeing a variety of Giant Tortoises that are part of theongoing project to repopulate the island with tortoises by the Galapagos National Park – a great chance to see these magnificent giants in semi-wild conditions.

Floreana - Punta Cormorant At Punta Cormorant you’ll walk on an olivine beach (a mineral known for its olive-green quality, that is found in meteorites, the moon and mars as well as on earth), visit a large lagoon where great flamingos sometimes nest, and walk over to Flour Beach, a beautiful white sandy beach to look for green sea turtle nests.

29th May – Espanola (Hood) This island is one of the highlights of any visit to Galapagos (it is Santiago Bejarano’s favourite island). Espanola is the southernmost island in the Galapagos, and is considered the oldest. Numerous sea lions are seen here, plus hundreds of marine iguanas basking on the rocks. Espanola’s marine iguanas are unlike other Galapagos marine iguanas in their bright colouring, and the lava lizards are distinctive too.

Espanola is home to thousands of nesting seabirds between April and November, with the Waved Albatross, perhaps the most spectacular of Galapagos birds, returning to Espanola by the thousands in late March to perform their amazing mating dance and produce the next generation. Almost the entire population breeds on this island April through November; they spend the rest of the year at sea. You’ll also witness courting blue-footed and masked boobies, and hopefully see their offspring of the year.

There will also be Blue-footed Boobies, and Nazca boobies along the path as we walk through the island. The island is also home to a spectacular white sandy beach at Gardner Bay which is a favourite with sea lions which we will also visit.

30th May – San Cristobal - Punta Pitt Located in the northwest of the island, this is a large eroded ash cone with dramatic volcanic scenery and is home to a large colony of sea lions, as well as red-footed boobies, blue-footed boobies and Nazca boobies.

San Cristobal - Cerro Brujo The striking, eroded tuff cone was one of the first sites visited by Charles Darwin, it is has a beautiful white coral sand beach where you can take a leisurely walk (depending on time of year) visited by Brown Pelicas, Blue-footed Boobies, and Swallow Tail Gulls as well as marine iguanas and sea lions. The beauty of this dramatic area can also be explored by ‘panga’ or small dingy where you can explore a tunnel that goes all the way through the eroded rock formation.

31st May – North Seymour A great variety of Galapagos wildlife is provided in the loop trail on this small island. The highlight of your visit here will be the largest colony of magnificent frigatebirds in the Galapagos as well as a colony of blue-footed boobies. In addition there are sea lions, marine iguanas, lava lizards, swallow-tailed gulls, and a few secretive, but very large, land iguanas.

Baltra We return to the islet of Baltra today – where you take your flight back to Guayaquil on the coast of Ecuador. Here we will go to the nearby Hilton for a light snack and the chance to relax, before you return to the airport for your flight to the UK late afternoon.

Please note: In Galapagos itineraries are unlikely to change significantly but are subject to change. Weather, wildlife breeding, instructions from the Galapagos National Park, specific abilities and interests of passengers as well as operational matters may cause your guide or captain to change the times or nature of your visits. Your guide will always endeavour to have the best itinerary for you within these constraints.

If you would like any more information or to chat over the details of the trip we would be delighted to help. Telephone 01482 872 716 for more information or email us today.

Accommodation

If you would like any more information or to chat over the details of the trip we would be delighted to help. Telephone 01482 872 716 for more information or email us today.