Archaeology Tours in Mindo

Cochasqui Pyramids, Rose Plantation and Equator Line Day Tour

The pyramids were very...

The pyramids were very interesting. Our guide was really great. We loved the rose farm - it was better to see a small, family business, I think

4 or 5-Day Tour Cuenca,Alausi,Baños,Quilotoa,Cotopaxi and Quito

Interesting 4 day tour of Andes region of Ecuador; great tour guide

Our guide, Diego, was great. He was informative, and had a wealth of knowledge about Ecuador's history, geography and culture which he shared with us daily. He was a good driver, very friendly and concerned about our safety. As this was a private tour (just my wife and myself) he accommodated our requests for any special stops. We would be very happy to have Diego as a guide again. His English was very good. The pace of the tour was too rushed. In my opinion, I would have appreciated visiting fewer locations and spending more time in each location. Due to the roads in Ecuador, we had to drive for 1-2 hours off the main road to reach most attractions, spend only 30-45 minutes there, and then 1-2 hours backtracking on the same road in order to continue our trip. So we might get only 2 attractions in for a day, but spend 4 or 5 hours getting to those attractions. One day, because of unexpectedly bad traffic, we had a 15 hour day and had to skip dinner! Day 1, Cuenca and Cajas Nat'l Park was very nice. We took a short hike in the park, exploring the flora. Diego's narrative was great. We had time to walk around the old historic center of Cuenca including the colonial center, flower market, daily market, all interesting. Diego guided us to the interesting hot spots! Day 2 we visited Ingapirca, an ancient Inca ruin. Diego was great at explaining its significance and features. Visited panama hat museum. Short stop in Alausi then on to Riobamba, stayed in very nice hotel Abraspungo. Day 3 visit to Chimborazo mountain - a long drive to get there and had time for only a short hike. Be prepared for high altitude! I hiked up to 5100 m. Next, visited a city of Banos overlook; the drive up was a bit too long for the experience once there. It was cold and windy with clouds. We visited Ecuador's tallest waterfall. I would have preferred skipping the viewpoint/overlook and spending more time walking/hiking at the waterfall. Then we headed to Latacunga. Day 4: mostly driving. The hotel last night was pretty poor (Oro Verde Latacunga); since we had booked the superior trip experience (the most expensive) we should have had better accommodations (there were a few better hotels in the vicinity). Breakfast was unimpressive. We visited Quinotoa (crater lake) which was beautiful but we should have had more time there to hike down to the lake (which was listed in the original itinerary but in fact there was not time for it). Then visited Cotopaxi Nat'l park which we could have skipped: it is almost always cloudy and it is rare to see the mountain; the visible parts of the park are unimpressive. From there Diego delivered us to the airport in adequate time. Overall we enjoyed the experience, but would suggest more time in fewer places rather than trying to fit everything in 4 days. In summary, Tour guide Diego was fantastic. Overall planning and structure of the tour (by Polylepsis) would have been better, in my opinion, by skipping Cotopaxi park, skipping Banos viewpoint, and spending a little more time in historic town centers and walking around the natural sites.

Quito City Tour Experience: Learn & Taste

A day in Quito with Diego

We had an incredible time exploring Quito, and it was made even better by our guide, Diego. He is knowledgeable, professional, and clearly passionate about sharing the history and beauty of Ecuador. He went above and beyond to make sure we saw the highlights and felt comfortable throughout our stay. If you’re looking for a top-tier guide in Quito, I highly recommend booking with Diego!