Southern Paradise Trous Travel Blog / Blog de viaje de Southern Paradise Tours

Train to the Devil’s Nose-Ecuador

Fernanda Borja — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 22:45:16 +0000

Ecuador government is renovating all the railroad of the country, and now the service and tours are a real trip for visiting the Andes of Ecuador.
This time we go to the south of Quito, you need several days to visit the area around and also enjoy of the train ride. We start with a train ride from Quito to Boliche Park, this Park is near the Cotopaxi National Park, it has a pine forest and an interpretation center for a good knowledge of the flora and fauna found around this area. After this visit, we continue by car to the Cotopaxi National Park where we have a stop at Limpiopungo lagoon and then a visit through the moorlands. Lunch will be served in a local hacienda.
We continue our road to the south all the way to Riobamba. We spend the night at this city.
Early in the morning, after a good breakfast, we go to Alausi where we start the train ride to the Devil’s Nose, this is an admirable example of the old architecture, as the train will gon on zig-.zag up and down the mountain. This train ride will take you to beautiful landscapes and a great time around the area.
After this visit we stop for a good lunch in Alausi and then continue the road to Ingapirca Ruins, this is the biggest Inca fortress found in Ecuador until now. We continue the road to Cuenca.
The next day we have a city tour around Cuenca, visiting the different plazas , churches, the Museum of the Central Bank, the Panaman hat and pottery workshops.
The next day is at leisure, some of you would like to stay longer and some would take a flight to Quito or Guayaquil for the next destination.

Click here for more details and options for the Andes train rides

Otavalo Ecuador

Fernanda Borja — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 21:31:50 +0000

Visiting the northern Andes could be a good option for a short trip. It is a two hour drive from Quito. We pass by the village of Cayambe, and if weather allows, we will have a great view of the snow- capped volcano with the same name. Continue the road and make another small stop at the Equator Monument, the Equator corsses Cayambe as well.
From the road you will be able to see a great landscape of the Imbabura volcano and the San Pablo Lake, we make a quick stop for pictures from a specific point. On your left hand side, you will be able to see the Cotacachi volcano as well. After a 15 minute ride, we arrive to Otavalo where we allow some time for enjoying of the Indigenous market. This market is very known due to the local handcrafts made by the Otavalos and the local communities around this town. The main day of the market is Saturday, however, the market is available to be visited on any day of the week.
Continue the road to the little village of Peguche, here you will find a workshop of local music instruments they make for their festivities.
If time allows we visit the Cotacachi town which is known for its leather goods and the famous Cuicocha lake, which is a volcanic crater.
Return to Quito after a good lunch in one of the local haciendas.

Important facts:
The Otavalo Market can be visited any day of the week, however on Saturday is the biggest Otavalo Market so many people from other parts of the country and some outside of the country visit this market to offer and sell their products, so a big market day is expected on this day. The rest of the days the market is smaller and is more local.
This trip can be also done for several days and visit different parts of the province, getting to know the lakes around the area and some other great sites such as Mojanda, Imbabura volcano or San Antonio or Ibarra city.

Click here to check on more options about Otavalo and its surroundings

Would you like to have a private or shared tour?
Contact us! info@southernparadisetours.com

Ibarra, Otavalo, y más….

Fernanda Borja — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:23:02 +0000

Ecuador es un pequeño país, pero tiene muchas cosas lindas por explorar!
Esta vez les invito a conocer el norte de los Andes. Saliendo desde Quito 2 horas hacia el norte se encuentra la provincia de Imbabura, talvez muchos de ustedes puedan haber leído sobre el famoso mercado de ponchos de Otavalo, es en esta provincia!
Otavalo y su mercado es muy famoso a nivel mundial por los tejidos a mano que hacen los indígenas de este sector, pero no solo este mercado es un atractivo en esta provincia.
Les recomiendo visitar sus alrededores! Cerca de Otavalo tienen los pueblitos pequeños que también son muy coloridos y ofrecen artesanías hechas a mano con unos bordados bastante especiales, visiten el pueblito de Peguche donde van a encontrar cosas muy bonitas!
Continuando con el viaje, pueden visitar el famoso crater volcánico que ahora es una laguna muy especial, llamado cuicocha, esta laguna es un ícono muy importante para las comunidades cercanas, ya que la veneran y es donde hacen sus rituales en las fiestas del Sol o Inti Raymi que se celebran en Junio y que son muy especiales para ellos. Esta laguna está en las faldas del volcán Cotacachi, si el clima lo permite, van a tener una vista muy linda de este volcán junto con la laguna.
En esta parte, se puede hacer un recorrido a pie por toda la laguna con unos paisajes muy especiales o a su vez, pueden tomar un pequeño botesito que los lleva a dar una vuelta a la laguna y el guía que acompaña a este recorrido contará la historia de Cuicocha.
En el pueblito principal de cuicocha, Cotacachi, se puede hacer un recorrido por el centro y por las tiendas en donde se encuentra la confección de artículos de cuero a precios bastante convenientes.
Seguimos el recorrido hacia el Norte y ahora pasamos por otro pueblito llamado San Antonio de Ibarra, en este pequeño pueblo se puede ver otro tipo de arte, ellos se dedican a confeccionar artículos en madera, son unos verdaderos artistas y ofrecen una gran variedad de figuras y muebles hechos a mano.
Finalmente la última parada es la ciudad de Ibarra, es la ciudad principal de la provincia, en esta ciudad se puede conocer sus parques y plazas que son muy bonitas y saborear los famosos helados de paila, que son hechos con jugos de frutas naturales y de forma muy artesanal.
En esta ciudad se puede conocer el mirador famoso del Angel San Miguel y se puede ver desde este punto la laguna de Yahuarcocha, esta laguna es muy famosa y conocida en la historia del Ecuador y ahora es usada para realizar todo tipo de carreras de autos y motos, ya que alrededor de la laguna hay una autódromo.
Si la historia les interesa, pues Ibarra tiene en uno de sus barrios, un templo de los Incas, que fue el templo del Sol y es ahora un museo donde se explica en detalle el reloj de sol que los incas usaban para sus cosechas y siembras.
Se recomienda visitar estos lugares! Para esto necesitan unos 3 días en este sector.
Al regresar a Quito, no olviden visitar las lagunas de mojanda, son unas lagunas muy especiales en donde van a poder encontrar unos paisajes andinos muy especiales. Si les gusta las caminatas, este lugar es uno de los más lindos para esto, no se lo pierdan!!

Necesita ayuda para organizar este viaje? Contáctenos: info@spviajes.com

Christmas in Ecuador

Fernanda Borja — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:25:43 +0000

Fernanda Borja

As you probably know, Ecuador is mainly Catholic so all the festivities celebrated in Ecuador are normally part the Catholic Religion calendar.

Christmas is a big event in Ecuador, we celebrate the birth of the child from Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. Most of families decorate their houses with Christmas colours and all ornaments, but the most important is the Nativity, this is not missing in any home! There may not be the Christmas Tree but for sure will be the Nativity. Big families have the Baby Christ that has been from generations in the family and therefore is the main icon of the decoration.

Nine days before 25 December is the famous “Novena” and this is very special for the Catholic Religion as each day the family gather at night in front of the Nativity and they tell the story of what happened before Baby Jesus was born, they read a part from the bible, then pray, sign special Christmas songs and then have a little snack that is served by the owner of th house. This is done 9 days before Christmas and on 24 December Baby Jesus is born, all family gather for a final pray and have a special dinner. When there are children is quite special because they get presents that Baby Jesus brought. Some families go to the famous “Misa del Gallo” which is a mass that is held at mid night celebrating Jesus birth. Some families also go outside of their homes and start the firreworks before dinner.

There is also a lot of influence from othe countries and children believe on Santa Clause, so many decorations will be with this icon, although there is no white Christmas in Ecuador, a lot of snowmen decorations will be found everywhere…however the main icon for all families will be the Baby Jesus.

The indigenous families do not celebrate too much as the mestizos, they normally go to church, pray and have a special dinner with their families, but is not as big as it could be for others…Ecuador has many different ways of celebrating certain festivities and due to this what you have read is what normally a “mestizo” will do…

How is Christmas at your home?? Would you like to share it with us??

Papallacta, Ecuador

Fernanda Borja — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 17:07:48 +0000

The little town of Papallacta in Ecuador is known due to its thermal waters. Located one hour from Quito and it can be visited in one full day with no problem.

The landscape of the road from Quito to Papallacta is great! the mountains, the moorlands and the andean forest is very special, if the weather allows, you can even see the beautiful Antisana snow-capped volcano as part of the landscape. Just a few months ago, a local family saw the native bears of the zone walking through the highway andgetting into the forest…This can give you an idea of how rich the nature is and what you can find around this area.

There are many options to visit Papallacta and also different options depending on your budget. Papallacta is growing witht the community projects that have seen the Thermal pools a good option for tourism, but since they are starting, there is still a lot do do around. However they have started now offering a some options for visiting the area and helping them.

There is a first class hotel in this area, which is quite famous for travellers, this hotel is the best in the area, is not part of the community and offers overnight in villas, suites or standard rooms, it has thermal pools near the rooms for the guests or also you can visit the semi private thermal pools that have different options and also there is a more expensive thermal area where the SPA is located and that you can get a good massage and a good relaxation treatment, the pools in this area have jets that will help with the relaxation.

For passengers that are travelling with a tight budget and wish to visit this area, there are also cheaper hotels around the area that have one or two pools with thermal waters as well. However the community is now offering the thermal pools that cost half of the price than the others and that you will be helping the community. The Thermal pools are called JAMANCO, they are not very known by the travellers from outside the country, they mostly have local tourists, however for passengers travelling with a limited budget this could be a good option. The infraestructure is fine, there is still a lot that it can be done, however, they have now an additional income that will help them to improve their way of living.
The landscape from this place is much nicer as well due to the location they have.

Also, in this place you can find tipical food that they offer, such as corn, habas and if you wish also try the famous fried trout that is served with french fries and rice, which is not the healthiest food, but is a very good and fresh dish!!

We suggest you to visit this on your way to the Amazon or perhaps, as complement after rafting!

Do you need help organizing this?? Contact us for good suggestions!!

info@southernparadisetours.com

Foros y comentarios sobre Ecuador

Fernanda Borja — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:45:33 +0000

http://www.tripadvisor.es/members/ferb06

Forums and information on certain tips of Ecuador

Fernanda Borja — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:43:10 +0000

http://www.tripadvisor.es/members/ferb06

Papallacta, Ecuador

Fernanda Borja — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:22:51 +0000

El pueblito de Papallacta en el Ecuador es pequeño pero muy conocido por sus aguas termales. Está localizado a una hora desde Quito y se lo puede visitar en un día sin problema.

El paisaje que tiene la carretera Quito-Papallacta es genial, las montañas, el páramo y el bosque andino es inspirador, se puede inclusive ver el famoso volcán Antisana. Hace poco tiempo una familia de turistas nacionales pudo ver unos osos de anteojos que tranquilos caminaban en la carretera…esto nos da una idea de lo rico y especial que este bosque andino es!!

Hay varias formas de visitar el lugar…y varias opciones para todos los presupuestos. Papallacta aún no está muy explotado por las comunidades, pero ahora se está viendo un mejor progreso. En este lugar hay un hotel de primera clase que es el mejor en la zona y que ofrece, estadía en villas, suites o habitaciones, tienen piscinas termales cerca de las habitaciones o se puede tambien visitar las termas semi privadas que tienen con un costo adicional o si desea relajarse, hay también el SPA que cuesta casi el doble del valor de las otras piscinas pero se ofrece un ambiente más privado, piscinas con chorros de aguas termales y se puede contratar un masaje o tratamiento.

Para las personas que no tengan un presupuesto tan alto, hay hoteles cercanos que tienen una o dos piscinas termales y que pueden también ser una buena opción de estadía. Sin embargo, la comunidad cercana se ha organizado y ha creado unas piscinas de agua termal que cuestan la mitad de precio, estas se llaman Termas de JAMANCO, pero aún no son tan conocidas ni tienen una imagen tan comercial como las termas de Papallacta, sin embargo, para personas que tienen un presupuesto limitado vale la pena!! El paisaje desde este lugar es mucho más bonito. Estas termas son más visitadas por gente Ecuatoriana, casi no hay extranjeros.

En este lugar se puede comer comida típica, hay un bar que ofrece los productos de la zona: Choclos cocinados con queso de la zona o habas cocinadas con mellocos, vale la pena probar!! Si desean, también pueden conseguir el plato principal del lugar que es trucha frita con papas fritas..No muy saludable pero muy sabroso!

Les recomiendo lo visiten!!

Necesitan ayuda organizando esto? contáctenos!!

info@spviajes.com

Laguna Quilotoa, Ecuador

Fernanda Borja — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 17:43:46 +0000

Hace algunas semanas visité el Quilotoa y quería sugerirles que visiten este lugar!!
La Laguna turques del Quilotoa es única! Se puede ir desde Quito al Quilotoa en un día, toma alrededor de 4 horas, al momento la vía está pavimentada hasta casi el Quilotoa, hay aún unos 2 o 3 km que tiene la vía de tierra, pero está en buenas condiciones.

Se recomienda ir hasta la laguna, van a ver unos paisajes muy bonitos de la zona y además van a encontrarse con los locales que están pastando sus ovejas o con las llamas que usan para transportar sus cosas. Para los que quieran bajar hasta la laguna, es muy bonito y si subir les cuesta un poco, los locales les ayudan alquilando sus mulas o caballitos que los suben sin mucho esfuerzo por un poco de dinero.
Para almorzar, hay un restaurante de la comunidad, que personalmente no recomiendo, primero porque es bastante caro para los estándares del lugar y segundo, porque el servicio, de los administradores, que no son de la comunidad, es bastante pobre y muy malo. Al parecer la comunidad trabaja para ellos pero no administran nada…me quedé un poco decepcionada con esto! Si solo tienen un día, pues luego del almuerzo pueden regresar hasta Quito.

Si se quedan, les recomiendo seguir su viaje hasta Chugchilán, es un pueblito que queda a una hora aproximadamente desde Quilotoa, aquí van a encontrar 3 hoteles que son buenos, limpios y dan un buen servicio! El hotel que les recomiendo por no ser tan caro y los dueños son muy amables es Mama Hilda. Son bastante informales, pero dan buen servicio!
Hay otras caminatas que también se pueden hacer o se puede alquilar caballos y pasear por la zona que es muy bonita!

Vale la pena visitar este lugar en los Andes Ecuatorianos!!
Si necesitan que se los organicemos, Southern Paradise Tours les ayuda!!

Fernanda

Fernanda Borja

Quilotoa Lake Ecuador

Fernanda Borja — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 17:29:25 +0000

I visited Quilotoa a few weeks ago and wanted to suggest visiting this destination.
The tuquoise lake of Quilotoa is unique, you can go from Quito to the Quilotoa in one day, it takes around 4 hours to travel, the road is now very good and there is only a few kms (2 or 3 ) with the dirt old road.
The suggestion is to go down to the lake, you will see a great landscape and perhaps meet the locals with the sheeps or llamas going up and down.
Getting back up is very good exorsice, but you can also rent horses, from the locals and they will guide you all they way up.
For lunch you have the community restaurant that I personally did not like it very much, is very expensive for the place and the friendlyness of the ones who run the place is very bad…I suggest visiting the locals and their lunch, is very good and costs half the price.
For overnighting, you can stay there ot go a litle further to the small town called Chugchilan, the road is not the best, is a dirt road, however, the hotels are much nicer and in better shape than the ones in Quilotoa. Mama Hilda is a good option!
You can stay one or two nights and do some other hikes or visit the nearby villages that are very colourful!
This trip is worth doing if you visit the Andes!

Do you need reservations, Southern Paradise Tours will be happy to help you!!

Fernanda Borja