Ecuador Trek Expedition: 3 Weeks

Explore Ecuador like never before on this 3 week adventure through the Amazon rainforest up to the Andes. You’ll work on meaningful community projects, experience local traditions, and prepare for a multi-day high-altitude trek in the shadow of Cotopaxi, one of the world’s most famous volcanoes.

  • Location Ecuador, South America
  • Duration 3 weeks
  • Expedition Type Trek

The expedition culminates with a challenging trek through the Andes, summiting peaks over 15,000 feet and exploring unique ecosystems like the páramo. Along the way, you’ll discover the beauty of Ecuador’s landscapes, form lasting friendships, and return home with new skills, confidence, and unforgettable memories.

South America map showing Ecuador in green.
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Ecuador Trek camp tents.
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A fully supported expedition, from start to finish

Your expedition fee covers not just the incredible activities you’ll experience, but also the extensive guidance and support you’ll receive every step of the way. From the moment you sign up through your safe return home, our team ensures everything is organized and supported.

You’ll also need to plan for essentials like vaccinations, visas, personal gear, and a bit of spending money. Don’t worry—we make it easy. Once enrolled, you’ll get access to your personalized Traveller Gateway, with clear guidance and resources to help you prepare with confidence.

  • Round-trip international flights
  • Expedition Leader (qualified and experienced)
  • Accident and health insurance
  • All meals
  • Unlimited, safe drinking water
  • All accommodations listed in the itinerary
  • All activities listed in the itinerary
  • Entrance fees for all included excursions
  • All in-country transfers by private, approved vehicles
  • Project materials, costs, and management
  • 24/7 support throughout the expedition

This sample itinerary will give you a preview of what your expedition could look like. Please note that specific projects, activities, and camp locations may vary depending on local needs and conditions at the time of your expedition.

Day

Activities

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Day 1 Arrival Arrive in the vibrant city of Quito where you’ll be met at the airport by a member of our Camps crew. From there, we’ll transfer you to your accommodation in the Tababela town for your first night
Day 2 Transfer to Camp Donbiki Today, you’ll transfer to Camp Donbiki, where you’ll stay for the first part of your expedition. On arrival, the Camp Manager will give you a tour of the camp and the community, and introduce you to the service-learning projects that you’ll be working on alongside the community members. In the evening, you’ll attend a goal setting workshop to set the group objectives and start your reflection on the adventure ahead.
Day 3-4 Camp Donbiki For the next days, you’ll start on the service-learning project work. This may include maintaining the local school, or working on rainforest conservation projects. After working for the morning, you’ll have lunch before an afternoon of cultural activities and workshops. The community members are proud of their heritage and traditions, and you will spend time learning about those traditions and their sustainable way of life in the Amazon rainforest. In the evening, you’ll rest up and reflect on your day’s experiences.
Day 5 Camp Ceibo Today, you’ll start heading deeper into your jungle adventure. After breakfast, you’ll prepare your supplies to ready for spending the night in a jungle hammock. You’ll trek for a couple of hours to your resting camp, and along the way your guides will explain the various uses for the plants and trees and how they can be used for food and medicines. You’ll learn more about how their firefathers lived off the land, and used the trees and plants as construction materials and food supplies. After settling for the evening, you’ll learn about the folklore of the indigenous people and how their society was structured. You’ll spend tonight sleeping in your hammock, which is nestled inside an open-air hut
Day 6-8 Camp Donbiki After packing up the Ceibo camp, we will trek back to Donbiki. You will have a new understanding of the landscape in which you are living and the local community you’re with, which will offer you a new perspective on life. You will be back in camp in time for lunch and then spend the afternoon relaxing and doing a little traditional face painting. In the evening, you will have a traditional dinner and a Reflection session. Camps works with communities toward long-term project goals, and those are only reached through the efforts of our groups. In this community we have built a house for the primary school teacher, built a dining room for the same school after the previous one was destroyed in a storm, and worked towards improving elements of the school’s resources. We have also worked with the community in reforestation efforts and building greenhouses. The projects are identified through conversation with the community and worked on with the community directly.
Day 9 Transfer to Camp Kuri Kucho In the morning, you’ll set off for Kuri Kucho. The trip takes you across Ecuador’s incredible variety of landscapes. You’ll start the day in the Amazon jungle and end it beneath the glaciated peak of Cayambe, in a community just over 9,000 feet above sea level in the Andes. This is geography on a grand scale. On arrival, the Camp Manager will give you a tour of the camp and the community, and introduce you to the service-learning projects that you’ll be working on alongside the community members. In the evening, you’ll attend a goal setting workshop to set the group objectives and start your reflection on the adventure ahead.
Day 10-14 Camp Kuri Kucho Acclimatizing to this altitude is part of the adventure. You’ll ease into your projects and activities as your body adjusts to the new environment. The Camp Manager will explain more about the work being done in the community, and together your group will set its goals. In this camp we have different project such as; guinea pigs’ and hens’ houses construction, school maintenance, and organic gardening, you will have the opportunity to be part these projects that benefit the community greatly. In the afternoons you will join the community in some cultural activities. The people here are Kichwa, and they’ll share their heritage and traditions with you. Dependant on the itinerary during this week, you will have a day to hike a small mountain, which is a practice trek designed to help you adjust to the altitude and prepare for the days ahead. You’ll hike higher, learn how to pace the group, and check your equipment to ensure everyone is ready for the challenge.
Day 15 Otavalo & Tababela After breakfast, travel to Otavalo, home to the largest artisanal market in Latin America. You could spend hours exploring the colorful stalls. The Otavalo people are skilled traders, and haggling with them, no matter your Spanish level, is always fun. By the time you leave, you’ll have plenty of gifts and souvenirs for friends and family. Lunch will be in a Restaurant in Otavalo. Later in the day, head to Tababela and visit the middle of the world, where the GPS reads 0°0′0″ then you’ll settle into a hotel and have dinner. This will be the beginning of your preparation for your Trek adventure.
Day 16 Hike day 1 Begin your trek outside Cotopaxi National Park. From the start line, you’ll be able to see the main peaks of your trek and get your bearings for the challenge ahead. Today’s route takes you through the Río Pita Valley, past waterfalls, and up to open land. Evenings are spent camping in tents.
Day 17 Hike day 2 Your first summit day takes you up Pasachoa, nearly 14,000 feet high. From the campsite you will head along some flat land before heading up open flanks of Pasachoa. It’s excellent preparation for bigger peaks ahead. Return to the same campsite for the night.
Day 18 Hike day 3 Today you’ll trek to your second campsite. After the hike from day 2, day 3 is a more relaxed day to recover and prepare. You’ll trek to a second campsite and spend the afternoon with activities and previews of the days to come.
Day 19 Hike day 4 Today is another out and back trek designed to explore an archaeological site and spend most of the day on the high páramo. The páramo is a unique Andean ecosystem where most plants are found nowhere else in the world. Along the way, enjoy incredible views of Cotopaxi’s glaciated peak.
Day 20 Hike day 5 After a short bus transfer, you’ll set off for the main summit attempt of our trek. Cerro Rumiñahui sits inside the Cotopaxi National Park and offers both fantastic trekking opportunities and incredible views of Cotopaxi mountain. Your final summit push takes you up Cerro Rumiñahui, reaching over 15,000 feet inside Cotopaxi National Park. After celebrating at the summit, return to Tababela for a final dinner, awards, and group reflection.
Day 21 Departure Say goodbye to the Camp Ecuador crew before transferring to the airport for your flight home.
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See what life is like on expedition

Check out photos from past travelers for a first-hand look at what an expedition is really like.

JD with Travellers in Ecuador.
Ecuador Trek jungle views.
School expedition Ecuador Trek mountain summit.
Traveller on Ecuador Trek with view across the valley.
School expedition Ecuador Trek camp manager.
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JD with Travellers in Ecuador.
Ecuador Trek jungle views.
School expedition Ecuador Trek mountain summit.
Traveller on Ecuador Trek with view across the valley.
School expedition Ecuador Trek camp manager.
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For even more amazing shots, explore our Photo Competition Gallery. See more

How you’ll make a difference

You’ll work on a range of projects throughout your expedition, each aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and designed to make a significant and lasting impact on the region’s most critical issues.

Amazon Rainforest Regeneration

Ecuador – Amazon rainforest regeneration

As the communities in the Amazon develop, deforestation of this important rainforest is increasing at an alarming rate. You’ll work alongside local people to understand the complex relationship between the environment and community development and you’ll assist with important environmental projects, collecting saplings and replanting trees in the jungle.

There are also some community infrastructure projects building toilets and sanitation for local houses in the village and a community centre as well as keeping up the maintenance of the local school.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

4 Quality Education

Quality education

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

5 Gender Equality

Gender equality

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

6 Clean water and santitation

Clean water and sanitation

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

13 Climate Action

Climate action

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

15 life on land

Life on land

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Experience the local way of life in our authentic camps

Our camps are at the heart of every expedition. Built in traditional styles and staffed by local community members, they offer an authentic place to rest and recharge after a day of service learning project work.

Depending on your itinerary, you’ll stay in several of our camps. These could include those featured below.

Camp Dunbiki

Camp Donbiki

The incredible Camp Dunbiki offers a unique jungle experience. Situated in the Ecuadorian rainforest, its located next to a wonderful river, so you can be lulled by its peaceful sound as you go to sleep.

You’ll be welcomed by the friendly community here as they teach you their local customs and knowledge of the rainforest, including the traditional use of medicinal plants. You’ll work alongside them to help protect and restore the indigenous trees and improve the community facilities.

  • Location: In the Arajuno area of the Pastaza province
  • Accommodation style: Jungle lodge
  • Bed type: Bunk beds
  • Power: American two pin plug sockets in the communal spaces
  • Social area: The end of each cabin has a chill out space with cushions and there is a small dining room. Lots of open space in camp to enjoy your jungle surroundings.
  • Signature dish: Maito de tilapia or Maito de pollo – Fish or chicken cooked inside a banana leaf with palmito (roots of a type of palm) and yuca (root veg) and rice.
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Camp Kuri Kucho Outside

Camp Kuri Kuchu

Kuri Kucho is our highest altitude camp in Ecuador, sitting 3,300 metres above sea level. Its elevated hillside position offers you the most jaw-dropping views of the dramatic highland surroundings. The views across the valley to the glaciated Cayambe (5,790m) are not to be missed and on a clear day you may also catch a glimpse of Antisa.

The camp itself is situated in the heart of this widespread community and it’s not uncommon to see children passing by the camp on horseback on the way to school. Accommodation is made out of ecological materials where possible, making this a very unique and environmentally friendly camp full of rustic charm.

You are also only 40 minutes drive from Otavalo, Ecuador’s most famous indigenous market where you can grab all sorts of handicraft bargains.

  • Location: 75 km (2 hours drive) from Quito International Airport
  • Accommodation style: Eco houses
  • Bed type: comfy mattresses & sheets
  • Toilets: Flushing toilets
  • Showers: Hot water bucket showers & sinks
  • Power: Mains electricity only in social area. US standard plug
  • Social area: Camp fire, volleyball pitch, Otavalo visit
  • Signature dish: Cuy – guinea pig
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My daughter has had an amazing experience with Camps International in Ecuador. She was one of the youngest on the trip at age 15 but this did not hold her back. She thoroughly enjoyed and learned so much from living in the community. From construction and conservation work to the incredible environment, it has been a life transforming trip for her.

Claire, Camp Ecuador 2023

Our local camp legends

Our camps are staffed by local community members who will quickly make you feel at home. These amazing team members bring each expedition to life and share the very best of their country with you.

Meet our Crew

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