14-Day Ecuador Nature Trip
From Condors in the Andes to Tapirs in the Amazon — One Country, Two Worlds.
Most Amazon trips start with a flight to Coca and never look back. This one doesn’t skip the journey — it makes the journey the point.
Starting high in the Ecuadorian Andes, this 14-day trip follows the natural course of water downhill: from windswept páramo grasslands where Andean condors soar and hummingbirds work high-altitude flowers, through cloud forest territory that’s home to the elusive spectacled bear — South America’s only bear species — and finally down into the Amazon lowlands, ending at Shiripuno Lodge itself, deep in the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve.
It’s not two separate trips bolted together. It’s a single, continuous descent through some of the most biodiverse terrain on the planet, with Shiripuno’s remote rainforest as the final, and most immersive, chapter.
Who this is for: Travelers with the time to do Ecuador properly — not a highlight reel, but the full ecological range the country offers, from 4,000+ meters down to the rainforest floor.
Price: Contact us directly for current pricing and departure planning — this itinerary is more customized than the fixed-length trips, since it depends on specific Andean sites and timing.
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- The White-eared Jacamar is a species of bird in the family Galbulidae. It is found in the Amazon Basin of western Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru. Wikipedia
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- The Ruddy Quail-Dove in the Yasuni Biosphere Reserve in Ecuador.
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- Curious to photograph butterflies like these up close? Our Wildlife Photography Week is built around exactly this kind of patient, close-up encounter with the rainforest. Link to our Wildlife Photography Week page.
Overview
During our 14-day Ecuador Nature trip, we will cover 300 kms in 7 days, driving and exploring from the top of Andean snow-covered volcanoes to the very bottom of the eastern Andean slope, ending our journey in the bustling frontier town of Coca.
Along the way, we will take in the great physical features of the land: its broad valleys, steep canyons, billowing clouds and mist, and rushing rivers.
We will pass through many elevations, and amazing communities of plants and animals: paramo, polylepis woodland, cloud forest, subtropical and tropical forest.
The abundance and diversity of life here is mind-boggling, from hummingbirds at the snowline, to booming orchids in the cloud forest, rich assemblages of birds in the foothills, to, finally, an ocean of trees in the Amazon lowlands.
Description:
Nine-banded Armadillo
We set off our adventure from the Andean Páramo to the Amazon Rainforest, stopping to explore several nature destinations along the way, such as Guango Lodge (Páramo & Andean Forest), from where we will search for Mountain Tapirs, spectacled bears, and hummingbirds, and Cabanas San Isidro
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- Roadtrip to the Amazon Rainforest following the water, from the high Andes to the Amazon Lowlands in Coca.
(Eastern Cloud Forest) Perfect location in the Eastern Cloud Forest to search for colorful tanagers and orchids, San Rafael Waterfalls (Tallest in Ecuador), the foothills of the Wild Sumaco (Eastern Foothill), and to end up in Shiripuno Lodge, the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Itinerary*
| Time | Destination | Activity | Destinations |
| Day 1 | Arrival | Airport – Hotel in Puembo | Briefing/td> |
| Day 2 | Guango Lodge | Interest | Antisana Reserve |
| Day 3 | Guango Lodge | Landscape, Wildlife Photography, Ecology | Cayambe Coca Reserve |
| Day 4 | Cabañas San Isidro | Hummingbird feeders & Trails | Antisana Reserve |
| Day 5 | Cabañas San Isidro | Waterfall, Wildlife Photography, Ecology | Cayambe Coca Ecological Reserve |
| Day 6 | Wild Sumaco | Waterfall & Trails | Sumaco Biosphere Reserve |
| Day 7 | Wild Sumaco | Hummingbird feeders & Trails | Sumaco Biosphere Reserve |
| Day 8 | Coca – Shiripuno Lodge | Travel Day | Yasuní Biosphere Reserve |
| Day 9 | Shiripuno Lodge | Wildlife Photography, Ecology, Trails | Yasuní Biosphere Reserve |
| Day 10 | Shiripuno Lodge | Wildlife Photography, Ecology, Trails | Yasuní Biosphere Reserve |
| Day 11 | Shiripuno Lodge | Wildlife Photography, Ecology, Trails | Yasuní Biosphere Reserve |
| Day 12 | Shiripuno Lodge – Coca | Wildlife Photography, Ecology, Trails | Yasuní Biosphere Reserve |
| Day 13 | Coca – Quito | Travel Day + Hotel in Quito | Yasuní Biosphere Reserve |
| Day 14 | Departure | Airport | Quito |
* Note: Itinerary might change due to weather conditions, nature of the trip, personal interest, and others.
What to bring for the day trip at hand?
- Hiking boots
- All-weather clothing
- Day Pack
- Water Bottle
- Sun protection
- Camera and spare battery and extra memory cards
Included
- Transfer in and out
- Hotel In Puembo
- Hotel in Quito
- Private Transportation
- Accommodation in double bedrooms with private bathrooms at each destination
- Meals at each destination during trip
- Bilingual Nature Guides
Not included
- Entrance fees
- Alcoholic beverages & drinks during trip
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