Shiripuno, quichua community in Amazonia at the Rio Napo edge

There are 3 words to describe this community project

• “Sustainable”, respecting nature and people, contributing to the community weel being
• “Green” with buildings and lifestyle which don’t hurt the environment
• “Solidarity”, the benefits are made to finance the community’s projets In harmony with

In harmony with a smart nature, confortable Lodges are provided for visitors with showers and organic toilets. Typical food is cooked by women and many activities are available with a local guide, such as looking for gold in the river, a tour of the botanical garden, a night out to find alligators, learning craft with women and many others activities which are proposed.

Quilla Pacari, a Quichua community in the Andean mountains near Chimborazo

A warm and a familial reception are dispatched in this community tourism house. Surrounded by magnificient Andean landscape, this community tourism project has been created by the Women Association and accompanied by other developments such as the marmalade factory. In the nearby community, Palacio Real, the tourism development is called “The Llama Museum”. In this place, you have the possibility to try the llama meat and have a short hike conducted by a guide and a llama. For the most adventurous, horseback or walking excursions are available on the footsteps of the last “hielero” of Chimborazo up to 4800 m altitude.

The Secretary of State has indicated that $ 874,105 were invested to strengthen this important business segment for seven regions of the country. “This will consolidate the action lines with application programs such as Training, Guide Services, and the Integral Marketing Plan of Ecuador.

SOME FIGURES ABOUT COMMUNITY TOURISM IN 2009

- This activity has generated 200 tourism entrepreneurships in the three regions: The coast, the Andes and the Amazon

- A budget of $ 604,305 to promote organization and working consensus between the community tourism actors
- 1,600 direct jobs and 3,200 indirect jobs were created, contributing to poverty alleviation and natural resources conservation.

The minister also talked about stimulation and goals accomplishments for this activity in Ecuador, as an economic boost, promoting ecotourism actions, ethnic tourism and cultural tourism compatible with the nature conservation assets and Ecuadorian culture.

COMMUNITY TOURISM EVENTS

-   Forum between villages and Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador: Quito June 23, 2010

The Villages Secretary, Social Movements and Urban Participation, The Federation of Community in Ecuador (FEPTCE), the CODENPE, with support from the “Catedra Indigena” at the Simón Bolívar Andean University, will conduct a Community Tourism forum, with participation of over 100 representatives and leaders at the national level.

 Meeting Proposal: to analyze and discuss the community tourism situation and prospects in national and international context, considering this as an economic alternative for communities.

Various presentations will be offered on the following topics:

• The history of the community tourism in Ecuador
• Communities experiences in the three regions
• The legislative proposal for community tourism in Ecuador
• Finally, we will identify the different criteria and gaps to strengthen the proposal

- Last year: The intercultural Community Tourism night in Guayaquil

This is a cultural celebration with the participation of 10 groups belonging to different communities and villages. The objective is to “know a part of the cultural diversity and especially to gather with the message of life expressed in music and traditional dances.”

FROM £2592

12 DAYS / 11 NIGHTS

FROM QUITO – ECUADOR

SANTIAGO PTO. MONTT – PTO VARAS – PEULLA – BARILOCH – BUENOS AIRES

SPECIAL DATES TO TRAVEL IN GROUPS

18 TO 29, JUNE OR 1 TO 12, OCTOBER

PROGRAM INCLUDES

• Air ticket: Quito – Santiago de Chile – Buenos Aires – Quito

SANTIAGO

• Airport / Hotel / Airport
• 2 nights, daily breakfast and hotel taxes
• Panoramic City Tour (duration 3 hours)
• Viña del Mar and Valparaiso with lunch
• Airline ticket Santiago Puerto Montt

PUERTO MONTT – PUERTO VARAS

• Airport / Hotel / Airport
• 1 night in Puerto Varas, breakfast and hotel taxes
• Fast crossing of All Saints Lake fast
• 1 night in Peulla, breakfasts and hotel taxes
• 1 dinner in Hotel Puella
• Transfer from Peulla to Puerto Frias
• Ferry to cross the Frias Lake to Puerto Alegre

BARILOCHE

• Transfer to the Bus Station / Hotel Bariloche
• 2 nights, breakfast and hotel tax
• Excursion “Circuito Chico”
• Transfer to the Hotel / Airport
• Air ticket Bariloche 6 Buenos Aires

BUENOS AIRES

• Transfer to Aeroparc station or Bus / Hotel in Buenos Aires
• 3 nights, breakfast and hotel taxes
• Visit of the city / excursion Tigre and train of the coast / Dinner Show Tabga / Hiking
• Fiesta Gaucha
• Shopping Tour among others
• Transfer to Ezeiza Hotel

PRICES

• Double room adult: $2792
• Double room senior: $2592

TRAVEL INSURANCE DURING YOUR TRIP

1 TRAVELER KIT PER PERSON

INTERNAL TICKETS INCLUDED

• Santiago – Puerto Montt
• Air (1 hour 30 min)
• Bariloche – Buenos Aires

CATHOLIC TRADITION

This place is one of the largest exhibition of the art school of Quito. You can also see the choir and the principal cloister of Fransicans.

It is located inside the convent church of San Francisco in Cuenca street and Sucre street, in Quito.

Entrance: $2 adults and $1 children. It is open from Monday to Saturday 9:00 to 17:30 and Sunday 9:00 to 13:00

The place, the church, the chapel, the convent and the old urban features surronded by a beautiful landscape, make it one of the most beautiful places in Latin America. Located in the bigger San Francisco Convent, the museum has the largest collection of religious art in the country. The museum displays an impressive collection including paintings, sculptures, textiles and furniture of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and exposes some of the most exquisite works of famous authors as Caspicara, Legarda, Miguel de Santiago, and others.

FROM $1220

9 DAYS / 8 NIGHTS

Group in departure date 23 to 31 March

INCLUDED:

• Air tkt from Ecuador: Quito – México – Quito
• Transfer Airport – Hotel 6 Airport
• 5 nights in a hotel
• Breakfasts, lunches and buffet dinners (according to the itinerary)
• Tour basilica + pyramids of Teotihuacan
• City Tour to see Plaza Mayor, 3 cultures, Plaza Garibaldi and visit to Xochimilco
• Welcome night in Mexico “FOLKLORE DINNER SHOW”
• Dinner with dpecialities from Argentina and sangria
• 1 night in the city of Taxco, hotel at your choice
• Breakfast and dinner buffet with a welcoming cocktail
• Tour shopping in Taxco (craft – jewellery silver center)
• 2 nights at the beautiful Acapulco Port, Hotel at your choice
• All included system, soft drinks and happy hour included
• Tour on St. Lucia’s Bay in the famous Bonanza Yatch, Visit to the “Quebrada de Acapulco” to enjoy the show of the “clavadistas” – divers -
• Modern and private transportation during the whole trip
• professional bilingual guides
• Serivces guaranteed

CATEGORIES OF HOTELS

• México 4* double room
• Taxco 4* PLUS double room
• Acapulco 4* PLUS / or 5*

NOT INCLUDED

• Additional and personal fees
• 5% discount for senior
• Drinks in México City and Taxco’s restaurants
• Tips in the hotels, restaurants, tour guides and drivers

OPTIONAL TOURS

• Full day in Puebla including lunch $45
• Museum tour, lunch in Chapultepec $31

TO FREEZE THE PRICE A PAYMENT OF $150 IS REQUIRED

REGISTRATION FEE $100

PRICES CAN BE MODIFIED, LIKE AVAILABILITY OF HOTEL AND PLANE

This village is internationally renowned for the high quality of the “Panama Hats” they produce (yes, you read correctly, Panama Hats are and always have been from Ecuador and not from Panama). Lying at the foot of a large hill called Montecristi, the small town of the same name has many attractions such as Eloy Alfaro’s (an ex-Ecuadorian President) house, the Hermanas Largacha Museum, and the Monserrate Sanctuary, where thousands of Ecuadorian and foreign pilgrims traditionally flock, especially on the weekends. Another place of interest is La Pila, whose artisans make a variety of sculptures and replicas of Pre-Colombian ceramics. In addition to hats, these artisan centers display other handmade crafts made of different types of straw and iron.

Ecuador’s “Avenue of the Volcanoes” is a 325 km. long valley between the major Cordillera ranges. Massive and standing alone, the volcanoes provide brooding, snow-covered contrast to the green equatorial lushness. They also provide mountaineers a rare opportunity to achieve very high altitudes without technical difficulty. Volcano climbing offers an exciting, unforgettable challenge. In the Indian language, Chimborazo means “mountain of snow”. It is an enormous mass of overwhelming scale. Alexander Von Humboldt made an unsuccessful attempt to climb the Chimborazo in 1802, and believed it to be the highest mountain in the world (6,526 feet). This distinction lasted until the discovery of Mt. Everest fifty years later. Chimborazo was finally climbed by Edward Whimper in 1880. Today it is climbed fairly frequently, but less than Cotopaxi, which is the highest active volcano of the world (6,005 meters).