Day
1 -
Quito
QUITO ARRIVAL
Upon your arrival at the Quito International Airport Mariscal Sucre, you are welcomed by your guide and escorted to your hotel. The rest of the day is free at leisure.
Overnight: Quito
Day
2 -
Quito
QUITO'S UNESCO'S HISTORIC CENTRE DISCOVERY (B, D)
Your guide will take you for a walk to visit the colonial churches and monasteries of this urban jewel, nominates as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, starting at the Independence Square, flanked by the Presidential Palace, the Cathedral where you could go up to the copulas and enjoy a magnificent view of the centre. Get amazed by the stone façade and the interior of La Compañía, Jesuit church. Continue to San Francisco church and square, then at San Francisco market you can find several fresh fruits and vegetable from the region. Taste a delicious fruit juice or even try a ritual of purification. For the last visit of today, your guide will take you to San Diego convent; it is a beautiful Franciscan “recoleta”, a retreat for friar to gain spirituality and introspection. It is home to very interesting artwork; including what some believe is a work by none other than Hieronymus Bosch. You can also admire the colourful mural in honour of the Chinquinquirá Virgin, as well as the very special coffered ceilings, gallery, pulpit and the fabulous legend of Father Almeida. To end this cultural day tour, you have a dinner at a restaurant located inside a historic monument. The location is not the only great thing about this restaurant but its gourmet “patrimonial” menu that is trying to rescue ancient recipes, plates and ingredients of the Ecuadorian gastronomy.
Overnight: Quito
Day
3 -
Quito
QUITO: CAPILLA DEL HOMBRE & LA FLORIDA NECROPOLIS (B, L, A)
Today visit the house and main life’s work of the artist Oswaldo Guayasamin. The Capilla del Hombre is a magnus opus idealized in life by master painter Oswaldo Guayasamín himself and completed several years after his death, showcases the struggles endured by the native cultures of Spanish America through history. Huge paintings, and a magnificent installation piece with the backdrop of a fabulous view over Mount Pichincha. Before to continue with the day, you will have lunch on a small paradise within the city. Continue then with a visit of the necropolis of La Florida. The site museum of La Florida is a cemetery or necropolis of the ancient inhabitants of the valley of Quito. It is a small but valuable site. To understand the importance of this site, it is mandatory to understand the funeral religiousness of the ancient inhabitants of Quito called “the Quitus”. The Quitus believed that dead people were a link between Gods and alive human beings. This special status made of then the bearers of the fertility of people, animals and fields; For this reason their funerary and burial practices were plenty of ceremonies. To finish the day, take a freshening aperitif on the roof of your hotel offering amazing view of the colonial city. The barman missions is to surprise you with his creations. Cheers!!!!!!
On Option: Include a visit of the National Folkloric Ballet of Ecuador” into the evening program. It is a Cultural Investment Permanent consolidated, allowing maintain and restore the memory of a multicultural town, full of contrasts and unique colours, sheltered by volcanoes and glaciers, transmitting the joy of living with values and sensitivity as their own heritage.
Overnight: Quito
Day
4 -
Quito
QUTIO DEPARTURE (B)
According to your flight schedule, your are picked up at your hotel and transferred to the airport for your flight home or onward journey.