4 Days: Into the Jungle!

The 4 day experience begins with visits to local dairy/vegetable/trout farms and with a guided tour of nearby cloud forest.  The following 3 days are spent in close contact with unspoilt nature in the spectacular settings of the Cotachai-Cayapas and San Venancio Nature Reserves.
Day 1: Bird`s eye view of the Jungle
One of the main attractions of San Antonio is its nearness to the amazing Cotacachi-cayapas Nature Reserve, and today we take advantage of our close proximity to the jungle in a fabulous day trip to explore the edge of the reserve, and experience awesome views across its 620,000 acre expanse of jungle.

Soon after breakfast we walk or ride 2km across attractive farmland to th edge of the jungle.  Here is our first viewpoint of the day: turning around, we are treated to a wonderful view across the western Andes, taking in Cotacachi, Cayambe, and Pichincha volcanoes and a host of lesser peaks, clear in the morning sun.

We begin a further 2km ascent through the jungle, pausing frequently to enjoy the orchids, colourful vicundas ( a type of pitcher plant), trees absolutely enveloped in moss from trunk to topmost twigs, birds such as wild turkeys, toucans, and hummingbirds, and palm shoots gnawed by spectacled bears.

3 Days: Culture, horses and sugar cane

Day 1: Local people and their way of life

8-9 am  Leisurely breakfast, accompanied by hummingbirds and clucking hens, followed by a short walk through the woods to meet your first guide for the day, who will show you the dairy farm and help you to hand milk the cows and make cheeses. Photo opportunities abound!

11am  Meet your next guide, who will take you on horseback (or on foot if you prefer) to a nearby organic vegetable farm.  After an excellent lunch served at the farm, skillfully prepared by Marcela Torres using home-produced, organic ingredients, you will enjoy a really first-class demonstration of the pleasures and perils of producing abundant, quality food to feed the whole family.  We are proud to place emphasis on ‘hands-on’ practice rather than just demonstration, and are confident that you will thoroughly enjoy your visit to this farm.

2pm  Brief but fun-packed visit to the community trout farm, where you will take part in the organized chaos of sport fishing, Ecuadorean style!

3pm  A fine conclusion to the day`s activities; you are treated to a guided tour of the trees, birds and wildlife in the beautiful cloud-forests adjoining the guest houses, before returning to a supper of trout, grilled over a wood fire.

Day 2: Bird`s eye view of the Western Andes/Meet the Rodriguez family!

Day 2 begins with a fine horseback ride or walk, enjoying a series of wonderful views and stunning landscapes.  Our route takes us alongside streams of crystal clear water, and through tranquil, scented woodland.  We stop for an al fresco riverside lunch, and then continue to the entrancing setting of a deserted farm house (which, incidentally, is available for amazingly cheap rental as a holiday home), before a leisurely descent back to the guesthouses, with plenty of stops to enjoy and photograph the extraordinary views of volcanoes, highland, cloud forest and meadows..

Throughout the ride we offer free optional demonstrations on the Ecuadorean way of managing horses: catching, saddling, riding, use of the lassoo and the fascinating skill of using horses as pack animals.