Upon arrival at the Quito airport, your guide will greet you and take you to your hotel. Check in and relax at the hotel tonight.

After breakfast in your Quito hotel, discover the city whose historical center was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site back in 1978 with a city tour. Afterwards, take an excursion to the Middle of the World complex, where you will walk along the bustling streets and squares of the largest historical old town in the Americas, a multi-ethnic, artistic and cultural heritage destination. Visit the Middle of the World monument, situated at 0º0’0″ latitude. In the afternoon, you have the day free to explore on your own. Spend the night at the hotel and prepare for an exciting Ecuador train tour to start tomorrow.

Rise and shine! Start the day departing Quito for an hour drive north until you reach the charming town of Otavalo. In Otavalo, surrounded by mountains is a beautifully restored steam engine awaiting your arrival.

Travel along the tracks at a slow pace, allowing you to discover the many wonders hidden in this region of the country. Meet musicians, painters, weavers and the skilled woodcarvers that have kept the originality of the Quito School alive over the past years. Later, experience the local flavors of the traditional Andean cuisine. Then, pay a visit to an incredibly special rose plantation before heading back to Quito.

After breakfast, board the train at Quito Chimbacalle station and begin your journey south along the majestic Avenue of the Volcanoes. With clear skies, you’ll be able to say twenty volcanoes from the train. After passing by the volcanoes, the Andes range will split into two paths running parallel down south. The bountiful valley enclosed between these stone walls hosts an abundance of biodiversity, flora, and wildlife. While resting in your panoramic car, watch as the landscape changes during your ascent of the Andean highlands to Urbina. After reaching the highest point in your itinerary, 11,800 feet above sea level, you will have a chance to meet the last ice merchant in the skirts of Mount Chimborazo. Learn about his family history and the world of trade.

After breakfast at the hotel, depart Riobamba. Gaze at the window as your journey continues to Colta, the province where the Spanish conquerors built their first settlement in Ecuador. Marvel at the colorful quinoa fields and alternating species of flora and wildlife as you travel along the train’s tracks. You may even be able to spot some of the indigenous settlements in the area and the remains of their ancient cultures.

Visit Guamote market before continuing south along the winding Devil’s Nose pass. Prepare yourself for exceptional views of the Andes, from every angle, as you zig zag from the Andean highlands down to the coastal plains. Then, continue your descent along the narrow Chanchán river gorge while crossing an impressive cloud forest towards the city of Bucay.

Enjoy breakfast before boarding the train for the last time. Enjoy the landscape as it changes once again as the train leaves the tropical forest behind. You’ll be able to see rice, sugarcane, pineapple, and banana plantations right outside your window.

Before reaching Guayaquil, have lunch at a traditional hacienda, where you can discover the secret to growing and harvesting the best cocoa beans in the world. Later, the steam engine will cross the fields towards the shores of the Pacific Ocean and end the train trip at a hotel in Guayaquil, where you will stay overnight.

Wake up and gaze at the captivating Pacific Ocean before heading to the airport to continue your trip through Ecuador and the other countries in South America.