Hiking and andean natural history around Papallacta hotsprings

Today, a rich journey awaits us. From the Ecuadorian capital, we will gradually ascend in altitude by motorized transport until we reach the high páramos of the Papallacta pass. Here, in the heart of a curious vegetation extremely well adapted to the altitude, we will begin a long hike through grandiose landscapes of high-altitude lagoons, swampy peat bogs, and jagged snowy peaks. With a bit of luck, we may have the chance to encounter some of the region's most emblematic inhabitants: the White-tailed Deer, the Andean Fox, the Brazilian Rabbit but also the Andean Condor... The slopes of these mountains also host the Spectacled Bear and the Andean Tapir, two of the region's rarest and most famous inhabitants. Thanks to the guidance of a naturalist guide, we will discover many facets of the ecology of these Andean ecosystems. After crossing the Cayambe Coca National Park, we will arrive in the afternoon at the village of Papallacta, where we can relax in the beautiful thermo-volcanic pool complexes, before heading back to Quito, where we will arrive in the late afternoon.