Horse riding holidays, horseback trails and equestrian vacation in Ecuador (South America)

Day 1
Welcome at the airport and transfer from airport to the accommodation. Gabriel, the hacienda's "patron" will acquaint visitors with his hacienda in the country side, at 2800 meters! The hacienda will offer to you a new living room area with chimney and rooms with private bathroom and great view on the wonderful Pasochoa’s mountain…

Day 2
This morning, you will go to the arena to try out the horses and make sure each rider feels comfortable on his saddle and horse. A 4 hour ride to the Viudita mountain is scheduled in the morning or in the afternoon, depending on the weather. Lunch time at the Gabriel's Hacienda.
From its top you will be able to enjoy a spectacular sunset view of the volcano avenue, your riding area for the following days. Native moorland vegetation enriched with the humidity that rises from the coast provides the most unbelievable landscape and view of Quito and its surrounding valleys of Machachi, Pifo, and Puembo. This mountain is a perfect fit for a first day ride on Ecuador's highlands. In the evening, riders will return to the hacienda for dinner served in a cozy environment with a warm fireplace. You may later enjoy our bar and listen to the old farm tales.

Day 3
Riding time : above 4 - 5 hours
This morning, we have a special emotion discovering the local cow-boys demonstration and lasso practice : the Chagras! After the lunch at the Hacienda, we leave for a ride to Bomboli cloud forest, located on the skirts of Corazon, near 3500 mts. We could estimate the important biological variety. Then, we will arrive at the Hacienda located at 3000 mts, and will have time for a short walk, and appreciate beautiful orchids, fern trees and guneras before dinner.
Dinner and night in a hacienda.

Day 4
Riding time : above 5 hours.
After breakfast, we leave behind the cloud forest, and ascend to the Corazon Volcano up to 4,000 meters. From there, we can appreciate the green and fertile Machachi Valley and we can also see the routes we will take the next day. Crossing extensive pastures and eucalyptus forests, we initiate the descent toward the valley. Snack and continue to the valley.
Delicious dinner at the Gabriel’s hacienda.

Day 5
Riding time : above 4 hours.
We ride toward the west mountain range and through the valley toward Machachi. If we are on Sunday, we could have a stop at the Machachi market in order to discover this typical place. Then, we continue toward the Ruminahui skirts and have a stop at a beautiful hacienda for lunch. We follow the horse riding until we arrive to the Pedregal valley, where we stay overnight in a hacienda at 3,500 meters.

Day 6
Riding time : above 5+ hours.
We start our ride from the hacienda and get closer to the Cotopaxi Volcano. We enter the Cotopaxi National Park and visit the Inca ruins from Pucara of Salitre (Inca fortress built in the mountains). Then, we ascend to the east side of the Cotopaxi. After lunch, we continue until we arrive at the skirts of Quilindana. We ride in close proximity to berber breed wild horse herds that live in the park, and are descendants of the horses brought by the Spanish in the 16th century. At the hacienda, we learn how the chagras live and we may hear some traditional songs specific to the people of the mountains.

Day 7
Riding time : above 5 hours.
Today, we prepare our gear to transport it in our pack horses since we will be with no support vehicle for two days. We ride toward the south, and ascend to Morro Mountain 4,200 meters. At this point, we have covered ¾ around the Cotopaxi Volcano. From there, we can enjoy the view of the Latacunga valley with its roses and pines. It is possible to see a condor guarding its paramo. We speed up and arrive to the Hacienda, have lunch and later fish trout for dinner.

Day 8
Riding time : above 7 hours.
This day is the most remote and far away from civilization. We ride through the Guagui Valley and Secas until we arrive to the Vicious Valley. We will possibly meet some chagras that are taking care of the cattle, and we might see some deer, wild pigs (they run faster than a horse), and spectacle bears. Today, we have completed a circle around the Quillindana Volcano.

Day 9
Riding time : above 5+ hours.
We start riding toward the west, pass the Muchana rock (kissing rock), and Mudadero, where we can see hundreds of alpacas grazing. We pass the innumerable Cajas, Sto. Domingo lakes and get closer to the Cotopaxi Volcano. We pass the lava rocks, which had descended to the valley and are now static. Then, we arrive to the only structure that is our very comfortable and warm mountain refuge.

Day 10
Riding time : above 7+ hours.
Early wake up today ! Take a nutritious breakfast in order to get ready for our 7+ hour journey to the Lipiopungo plains (Cotopaxi base). It feels like if we were riding on the moon’s surface. Here, we do the highest gallop in the world! We continue on the edges of the rocks of the Ruminahui Volcano, where we pass to the highest point of our ride : 4200 mts. We follow our ride toward the green Machachi Valley, as always guarded by the Volcanoes Avenue. Then, we cross the Machachi plaza, where the horsemen are always welcomed! We pass the town of Aloag and arrive to the Gabriel’s Hacienda for a pleasant dinner and rest time.

Day 11
Transfert to the airport after breakfast.

Day 2
Riding time : above 3 hours
This morning, you will go to the arena to try out the horses and make sure each rider feels comfortable on his saddle and horse. Today’s ride is an acclimatizing ride around the hacienda surroundings. From its top you will be able to enjoy a spectacular sunset view of the Volcano Avenue, your riding area for the following days…Native moorland vegetation enriched with the humidity that rises from the coast provides the most unbelievable landscape and view of Quito and its surrounding valleys of Machachi, Pifo, and Puembo. This mountain is a perfect fit for a first day ride on Ecuador's highlands. In the evening, riders will return to the hacienda for dinner served in a cozy environment with a warm fireplace. You may later enjoy our bar and listen to the old farm tales.

Day 3
Today, we will have a very special day : we will discover a local Indian market ! As it is located in the small village of Saquisili, we join it by car.
This native’s market, one of the biggest of the region takes place each week. We can observe several specialties : animals, fruits, vegetables, herb… during this day, we will meet a lot of inhabitants!
Dinner and night at the Gabriel's hacienda close to Quito.

Day 4
Riding time : above 5 hours
Today, we get back on our horses and ride towards the west through the dairy farms. Up to 3500 m, we continue behind the Viudita mountain (3800 mts) with the opportunity to ascend to the top!
We will have a snack and come back to Hacienda for a late lunch.
During the afternoon, will take the car and it will be the time to visit a amazing rose flower breeding hacienda. Then, we will enjoy the evening in the fireplace room at the hacienda, listening to local music...
Night at the Gabriel's hacienda close to Quito.

Day 5
Riding time : above 4 - 5 hours
This morning, we have a special emotion discovering the local cow-boys demonstration and lasso practice : the Chagras! After the lunch at the Hacienda, we leave for a ride to Bomboli cloud forest, located on the skirts of Corazon, near 3500 mts. We could estimate the important biological variety. Then, we will arrive at the Hacienda located at 3000 mts, and will have time for a short walk, and appreciate beautiful orchids, fern trees and guneras before dinner.
Dinner and night in a hacienda.

Day 6
Riding time : above 5 hours
Today, we leave behind the cloud forest and ascend to the Corazon Volcano up to 4000 meters! From there, we can appreciate the green and fertile Machachi Valley. We can also see the routes that we will take the next day. Crossing extensive pastures and eucalyptus forests, we initiate the descent toward the valley. After the snack, we continue to the valley. Late afternoon, we arrive for a delicious lunch at the Gabriel's hacienda.

Day 7
Riding time : above 6 hours
After breakfast we continue the ride towards the Machachi Valley through secondary roads and dairy farms. The opportunity to meet new people and share experiences. For the lunch time, the Argentinean chef cooked a delicious barbecue. After this break, we continue our ride to Chaupi village, located at 3200 mts were we will stay the night.

Day 8
Riding time : above 4,5 hours
We start our ride from the hacienda, towards the Santa Cruz mountain, 3800 mts and have a last view of the Machachi Valley from the south side. From there, we will be able to observe closer the peaks of the two Illinizas located at 5100 mts! Finally, we will arrive at the Hacienda La Cienega, built 1570.
Dinner and night at the hacienda Cienega.

Day 9
Riding time : above 5 hours
After the breakfast, we join our horses and cross the flat lands of the Mulalo Valley. Then, we continue towards the east until arrive to our hacienda of the day, at 3600 mts, located at the skirts of the Cotopaxi Volcano.
Dinner and night in hacienda.

Day 10
Riding time : above 6 hours
After the breakfast, we start our ride from the hacienda, and continue ascending to Morro 4200 mts. We leave behind the pine forests and appreciate the change of vegetation from the valley to the paramo… We have our lunch, at hot spring, at the mountain, and continue towards the east to Volcan Quilindana. During the afternoon, we arrive to hacienda located at 3600 mts, for the dinner and the night.

Day 11
Riding time : above 5 hours
Today’s horse riding lead us towards the west, through the valleys that have been formed in the base of the Cotopaxi Volcano, by the lava. We ride up to 4200 mts and then down towards the valley to the refuge... On our ride we will see the wild horses and the majestic Cotopaxi. Finally, we join the only structure of the region : our welcoming refuge for the dinner and the night.

Day 12
Riding time : above 7,5 hours
Early wake up today ! Take a nutritious breakfast in order to get ready for our 7+ hour journey to the Lipiopungo plains (Cotopaxi base). It feels like if we were riding on the moon’s surface. Here, we do the highest gallop in the world on the edges of the rocks of the Ruminahui Volcano, where we pass to the highest point of our ride : 4200 mts. We follow our ride toward the green Machachi Valley, as always guarded by the Volcanoes Avenue. Then, we cross the Machachi plaza, where the horsemen are always welcomed! We pass the town of Aloag and arrive to the Gabriel’s Hacienda for a pleasant dinner and rest time.