Andes → Amazon → Galápagos · 12–15 days
Ecuador Adventure Tours: Andes, Amazon & Galápagos
The whole country in one journey — one of the few Ecuador adventure tours built around a real multi-day Andes trek, an Amazon rainforest lodge and island-hopping the Galápagos. The grand tour that actually puts a trek at its heart.
What is the Gran Travesía de Ecuador?
Ecuador packs three of the planet's great ecosystems into one small country: the high Andes, the Amazon headwaters and the Galápagos. Most operators string them together as a series of comfortable transfers and day visits. We do it differently — we open with a genuine multi-day Andes trek on foot, then drop to the rainforest and finish in the islands. It's a grand tour with a trekker's spine — the most complete of our Ecuador adventure tours.
From the páramo we fly east into the Amazon for several nights at a rainforest lodge — canoe trips, jungle trails, a canopy tower and a visit to a local community. Then west again and out to the Galápagos for land-based island-hopping: walking Sierra Negra's crater rim, snorkelling with sea lions, and tracking giant tortoises and blue-footed boobies with a naturalist guide. Three worlds, twelve to fifteen days, one connected expedition.
What's a real trek here — and what isn't
We're straight about how each leg works, because the regions don't all allow the same thing. The Andes leg is a true multi-day trek — days on the trail, lodge to lodge. The Amazon leg is lodge-based: you explore by canoe and on jungle day-walks from a fixed rainforest lodge, not a point-to-point hike. And in the Galápagos a multi-day wilderness trek is simply not legal — the National Park requires a certified naturalist guide and only allows day visits to authorised sites, so that leg is land-based island-hopping with day hikes. No other 'Andes–Amazon–Galápagos' tour bothers to put a real trek in at all; we just won't oversell the jungle and the islands as something the rules don't permit.
The climb, day by day
Your itinerary
The three legs
Acclimatize in Quito, then a 2–3 day guided trek through Cotopaxi's páramo and the Quilotoa Loop, sleeping in haciendas and village lodges.
Fly to the rainforest for canoe expeditions, jungle trails, a canopy tower and a Kichwa or Siona community visit from a comfortable eco-lodge.
Fly to the islands for land-based island-hopping — Sierra Negra, highland tortoises, snorkelling and the wildlife, with a naturalist guide.
The 14-day flow, day by day
Arrive in the capital, walk the old town to start adjusting to 2,850 m, and prep gear for the trail.
Into Cotopaxi National Park and onto the Quilotoa Loop — a real multi-day trek, lodge to lodge, with the altitude paced day by day.
Fly east to Coca, canoe to a rainforest lodge, and explore by dugout, jungle trail and canopy tower, with a community visit.
Fly out to the archipelago for land-based island-hopping across Santa Cruz, Isabela and San Cristóbal — Sierra Negra's crater, snorkelling and the famous wildlife.
Stretch the islands to a fifth day or add a final night in Quito before your flight home — we tailor the ending to your dates.
Altitude on the Andes leg
Only the first leg is at altitude, but it matters — we open in Quito and trek the páramo before flying down to sea level in the Amazon and the islands:
What's included
Included
- ASEGUIM trekking guide (Andes) + certified naturalist guides (Amazon & Galápagos)
- Domestic flights: Quito–Coca and Quito–Galápagos
- Hacienda, rainforest-lodge and island-hotel accommodation
- Amazon canoe transfers + Galápagos inter-island transport
- Most meals — full board at the Amazon lodge
Not included
- International flights to and from Quito
- Galápagos National Park entry ($200) + Transit Control Card ($20)
- Travel insurance (required)
- Some city meals, drinks and gratuities
Gear & equipment
We provide
- Group first-aid & emergency kit
- All park permits & logistics
- Snorkel gear in the Galápagos
- Luggage transfer on the trek
You bring
- Hiking boots + layers for the cold páramo
- Light, quick-dry clothing for the Amazon
- Rain shell & insect repellent
- Swimwear, sun hat & reef-safe sunscreen
- Daypack & refillable water bottle
Guides & safety
- ASEGUIM-certified trek guide in the Andes
- Galápagos National Park-certified naturalist guides in the islands
- Local rainforest guides in the Amazon
- Altitude paced before any flight to sea level
Before you climb
Ecuador adventure tour FAQ
How long does a combined Ecuador Andes, Amazon and Galápagos tour take?
Plan 12 to 15 days. That's enough for a real 2–3 day Andes trek, three or four nights at an Amazon rainforest lodge, and four to five days of Galápagos island-hopping — without the whole trip turning into a string of airports. Shorter than 12 days and something has to be cut.
What is included in this Ecuador adventure tour?
The domestic flights (Quito–Coca and Quito–Galápagos), all accommodation from hacienda to rainforest lodge to island hotels, your guides in each region, Amazon canoe and Galápagos inter-island transport, and most meals. The main exclusions are international flights and the Galápagos park fees.
Can I combine the Galápagos with an Amazon lodge stay?
Yes — and this tour is built around exactly that, with a genuine Andes trek linking the two. The legs connect by short domestic flights through Quito, so you go from páramo to rainforest to islands inside a single guided itinerary.
Is there really a multi-day trek in this trip?
Yes, on the Andes leg — a 2–3 day guided trek through Cotopaxi's páramo and the Quilotoa Loop, lodge to lodge. We're honest that the Amazon leg is lodge-based and the Galápagos leg is day-hike island-hopping, because park rules don't allow a wilderness trek in the islands. The Andes trek is the real walking.
What fitness level do I need?
Moderate. If you can hike 4–6 hours on consecutive days at altitude on the Andes leg, the Amazon and Galápagos legs are easier — short walks, canoe trips and snorkelling. We pace the high-altitude days before any flight down to sea level.
When is the best time to do a multi-region Ecuador tour?
It runs year-round. June to September gives the driest Andes trekking; the Amazon is wettest — and liveliest — from roughly March to June; the Galápagos is good all year with calmer seas December–May. We help you pick dates that balance all three.
How much does a 12–15 day Ecuador tour like this cost?
It depends on group size, season and the standard of lodges you choose, and the Galápagos leg carries fixed park fees ($200 entry + $20 transit card). Tell us your dates and how many of you are travelling and we'll build a clear, itemised quote — no aggregator markup.
What makes this different from a standard operator's package?
Two things: it actually contains a multi-day Andes trek instead of only day visits, and you book direct with the people running the mountain leg — ASEGUIM-certified guides — rather than through a marketplace. We design the trip around the trekking, then add the rainforest and the islands.
Plan your ascent
Ready for the whole of Ecuador in one journey?
Tell us your dates and how hard you want to walk, and we'll shape your gran travesía — a real Andes trek, an Amazon lodge and the Galápagos — into one honest, well-paced expedition.