Arriving into Guayaquil, we take a short drive to your hotel for a good rest.

Board the train from Duran at the coast (near Guayaquil) early in the morning and soon the landscape change to scenery of sugarcane, banana, coffee and pineapple plantations. Switching to car, we climb 2000m up for our first dramatic view of the Andes Mountain range. The day ends in Alausi, a small town nestled in the sharp mountains.

Board a different train to the fearsome pass of La Nariz del Diablo (the Devil’s Nose); an intricate switch-back that allows the train to descend 511 meters in just 12 kilometers of railway. Back in Alausi, we visit the colourful market and depart for Colta where the Spanish conquerors built their first Ecuador settlement. We cross colorful quinoa fields, potatoes, onion and corn fields before arriving at Riobamba, ringed by hills and snow-capped mountains. Stroll the cobbler street town in the evening.

Enjoy a La Moya community morning show depicting the Andes’ ancestral way of life. Head to Urbina, the journey’s highest point at 3,600m above sea level! Here, you may meet Baltazar Ushca or the “iceman”, who along with his mule climbs Chimborazo, Ecuador’s highest mountain to harvest the glacier ice! Continue to Latacunga and along the way, a group of “masked devils” will take the train by surprise to celebrate “Diablada de Pillaro”. It is a parade of colours, music and joy believed to renew and purify the soul. The parade is declared a national heritage by Ecuador.

We travel to Cotopaxi National Park, one of the world’s highest active volcanoes. Enjoy a short hike to Limpiopungo Lagoon with beautiful views and prolific birdlife. Leaving the park, visit a Hacienda and be welcomed by the Andean “cowboys” and learn about their culture and traditions. Your nostalgic train journey comes to an end as it chugs its way into Quito.

Lying 2,800m above sea level at the foot of the Pichincha Volcano, we devote the day to explore the urban jewels of historic Quito (UNESCO). One of the largest and best-preserved colonial cities in South America, your tour of historic Quito will end with a birds-eye view of the city from the panoramic “Virgin of Quito” monument atop El Panecillo Hill. On a clear day, you can see the “Volcano Avenue” – two parallel mountain ranges containing eight of the country’s ten highest peaks.

In the afternoon, we head out to Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World), the monument on equator that was built to commemorate the French scientists who made history by determining the shape of the planet thanks to their studies at this location in the 1830s. Continue to the Intiñan Solar Museum, where you will have the opportunity to perform various unusual experiments like balancing an egg on a nail, losing weight in a second, or straddling the equatorial line that separates the two hemispheres.

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Galapagos Islands.

Upon arrival, you would be met and transferred to board your vessel and begin your amazing 5 days cruise.

A new day in the Galapagos begins its wildlife symphony. Giant tortoises grunt in distant highlands. Prehistoric marine iguanas spit their salty spray. Storm petrels “walk” across its surface and graceful red-billed tropicbirds screech across the sky. Flightless cormorants and penguins dart through the waters. With a Galapagos naturalist at our side, we set out each day in the early morning and afternoon, to remarkable ecosystems where the wildlife is most abundant and active. Inching our way past lounging iguanas and sea lions, scouting for breaching whales offshore and pink flamingos at hidden lagoons, we marvel at the inspirational Galapagos creatures on these desolate volcanic isles much as Charles Darwin did two centuries ago. The detailed daily itinerary depends on the cruise selected.

Other than the amazing wildlife, the Galapagos Islands’ landscape is also diverse. Born from fiery volcanoes deep in the Pacific Ocean, the region is constantly changing. White sandy beach with azure sea, striking ruggedness from the lava fields, mangrove lagoons and cactus forests are some of the stunning landscape you will come across.

How about going for a kayak or snorkel today? There are activities available on your cruise.

Disembark and transfer to the airport for flight to Quito or Guayaquil for your homebound journey.