Andean Trails

The Galapagos Islands represent one of the best vacation destinations in the world. A week on a Galapagos cruise brings you to other worldly islands, with stunning volcanic landscapes and coasts where wildlife abounds, with many species indigenous to the Galapagos. Wherever you go you will be astounded by the natural beauty here. Every day is different, the archipelago comprising over fifty volcanic islands. You can choose your yacht, details below, according to your budget and also the itinerary that appeals best. Although we do have a selection of other boats, so do chat with us about other options. Each yacht covers two different, week long itineraries, as there is so much to choose ...Read more >

The stunning Toro Toro National Park remains an off-the-beaten track destination that is a perfect add-on to any trip to Bolivia for anyone looking for a less strenuous South American adventure experience. Its highlights include some of the best preserved dinosaur footprints in South America, stunning geological formations plus pleasing colonial towns. Traveling from the atmospheric city of Cochabamba, private 4x4s cover the rugged road to Toro Toro. Pause en route at the colonial village of Tarata to admire its beautiful crumbling colonial facades. Then don torch helmets to explore the nearby Umajalanta Cave – a remarkable partly explored arena of giant stalagtites and stalagmites, ...Read more >

This Peru family adventure vacation is a small group tour, suitable for children over six years. Following a carefully crafted itinerary aimed at bringing out the fun of the Andes, as well as the cultural highlights of the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu, we trek, raft, mountain bike and canoe our way around the Sacred Valley. You'll also enjoy paddle boarding on Lake Huaypo. Staying at small, locally owned hotels or haciendas, cultural highlights along the way include visiting the ancient Pisac artisan market, exploring Sacsayhuaman Inca ruins and exploring the historic hub of Cusco. With Machu Picchu the highlight for many of course, where you will have a guided tour. Although this ...Read more >

A tailor made Patagonia tour, which is also self guided, following a thirteen day itinerary. Using public buses to get around and a variety of hotels, you will also spend some nights in mountain hostels or refuges, as you will be exploring some pretty wild terrain, well off the beaten track. Starting in Calafate in Argentinian Patagonia, you will get your trip off to a spectacular start at Los Glaciares National Park, a third of which is covered in ice, and where there are over forty glaciers. The most famous is Perito Moreno, a 60m high wall of turquoise ice. Head north to El Chalten, a wonderful landscape for hiking to lagoons, horse riding with gauchos or chilling on Lago Viedma. ...Read more >

This compact wildlife watching experience on Floreana Island is ideal for any travelers looking for an extension to an existing Galapagos Islands vacation and please get in touch if you’d like assistance getting to and from the island. Three days on Floreana in the company of a local English speaking guide invites an incredibly worthwhile option for anyone interested in finding out more about the natural and human history of the Galapagos on the archipelago’s smallest, inhabited island. As the first Galapagos island to be inhabited, Floreana holds some fascinating tales of shipwrecks, pirates and early settlers however, there’s nothing that beats the thrill of watching wildlife in their ...Read more >

Step away from South America’s main tourist routes and discover one of its best kept, and most biodiverse secrets; Ecuador. This eight-day small group tour is the perfect introduction, taking you from colonial Quito to colourful Guayaquil, staying in comfortable three-and four-star hotels. Less well-known than neighbouring Peru, Ecuador offers a microcosm of South American landscapes all tied together by manageable driving distances, friendly, welcoming people and beguiling indigenous cultures. It won’t just be the altitude that takes your breath away in Quito. This charming city’s historic old town, overshadowed by volcanoes, offers a splendid start to this small group tour. And from ...Read more >

No prior experience is necessary to join this six-day small group tour in Ecuador’s famous Avenue of the Volcanoes. Enjoy utterly spectacular views, learn mountaineering techniques and climb three volcanic peaks; Pichincha (4,784m), Iliniza North (5,126m) and finally the summit of the impressive, picture-perfect Mt Cotopaxi (5,897m). A once-in-a-lifetime achievement that will make all the effort worth it. This vacation is perfect for adventurous travelers who are looking for an introduction to high-altitude mountaineering, or for climbers wanting to extend their experience at high altitude, but who have limited time to do so. Ecuador’s volcanoes offer easily accessible climbing routes, and ...Read more >

This Peru trekking vacation offers sublime views over the Cordillera Blanca as it takes you from the barren Pacific coast through grasslands to soaring Andean peaks, via remote mountain communities, turquoise lakes and vast glaciers. In a word, Wow. Daily walks of between five and seven hours provoke plenty of challenge, but it’s the dramatic panoramas on every side that will really take your breath away. This journey will take you through what many consider some of the finest trekking terrain in the world. You’ll get underway from Lima, taking an eight-hour bus journey to the town of Huaraz. Traveling in first class, it’s a long but comfortable journey and the views through the window ...Read more >

This trip provides a highly accessible opportunity to experience pristine Amazon rainforest, with activities from dawn river trips to guided walks through the rainforest at night. Stay at a comfortable jungle lodge where you can climb into a forest canopy walkway as well as a cosy bed. Your journey begins with a short flight from Lima or Cusco to Puerto Maldonado, from where a motorised canoe takes you up the Tambopata river into the Tambopata Candamo Reserve, looking out for caiman, turtles and riverine birdlife on the way. Journey upriver to the Bahuaja-Sonene National Park for a magical Amazon sunrise plus a chance to observe a clay lick that attracts hundreds of exotic birds ...Read more >

This Galapagos adventure vacation is a tailor made trip which is also land based, staying at hotels on the islands of Santa Cruz and Isabela. This eight day itinerary has been carefully crafted to give independent travelers plenty of time to explore these stunning islands, their cultural and natural heritage, but with the option to join small group tours along the way, guided by local experts. Your first few days are on Santa Cruz, home to the Charles Darwin Research Centre which is a great starting point to learn about the Galapagos’ natural heritage. Then go and explore it at its myriad coves and beaches such as Punta Estrada or Las Grietas crevasses. The second island of your stay is ...Read more >

A seven or nine-day small group tour into Peru’s largest tropical rainforest reserve, the Manu National Park. From Cusco descend through verdant cloud forest, home to the rare spectacled bear, deep into the Amazon rainforest itself. With accommodation in forest lodges and camping huts, this vacation takes you via road and river into the heart of a unique biosphere reserve protecting pristine rainforest flora and abundant wildlife. Around a thousand different types of birds, hundreds of species of tree, 13 species of monkey and dozens of other mammals call Manu home – including the highly endangered jaguar and giant otter. Get your binoculars poised as you visit clay licks to spot hundreds ...Read more >

Trek through the Cordillera Vilcanota, staying in cosy Andean lodges run by the local Chillca community. Over the following five days you'll pass the Rainbow Mountain as well as Ausangate, the most sacred mountain in the Cusco region and guardian of this pristine ecosystem. Due to the altitude, you’ll need to spend a few days acclimatising beforehand in Cusco before heading to Chillca, via the Temple of the Immaculate in Checacupe. Here you’ll have your first taste of community life as you stay in your first tambo, a mountain lodge, with a relaxed evening of hearty Andean cuisine and entertainment from local musicians. in fact you'll enjoy the warm welcome of a cosy, community-owned lodge ...Read more >

This three week climb of Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside Asia, is not for the feint hearted and certainly not just a walk in the park. It’s tough, a challenge, and will put experienced hikers through their paces however, it’s achievable and doesn’t need a lot of technical knowhow – just a 'can do' positive attitude and plenty of grit and determination. Conditions at high altitude (you’ll summit at 22,000ft), including some pretty extreme weather, make even more of a challenge however, if you’re in good physical shape and happy to trek and camp in remote, out of reach, areas, then this is an Argentina adventure is definitely worth considering further. Crampons and fixed ropes ...Read more >

An eight-day small group horse riding vacation across the altiplano, offering a unique way to experience the wide-open spaces and breathtaking views of Ecuador’s High Andes. You set off from a farm nestled in the foothills near Quito, riding ancient Incan paths towards the snow-capped Antisana volcano. Cross some of Ecuador’s most spectacular landscapes, past the impressive Cayambe and Cotopaxi volcanoes to reach beautifully conserved, historic haciendas at the end of each day. Your expert guide will also give you a chance to get to know more about local flora and fauna and introduce you to Ecuador’s colourful indigenous cultures along the way. This specific trip is aimed at intermediate ...Read more >

Bid farewell to civilization and say hello to adventure with this awesome white water and wildlife vacation in Peru. Tackle rapids of Grade III and IV strength on the Rio Tambopata, camping and cooking overnight on the riverbanks, or staying in remote jungle lodges. Drive over the mighty Andes through a cloud forest. And watch as scores of parakeets, macaws and parrots feast on a mineral lick before your eyes. The trip begins in Juliaca, close to Lake Titicaca, from where you’ll drive overland past glaciers, herds of llamas and Inca terraces to a small village. Here you’ll inflate your rafts, get some last minute advice from your guides, and descend to the river. As you paddle through the ...Read more >

This Ecuador ecolodge vacation is a four day break at the exquisite environs of the Napo Wildlife Center. Open all year round, this ecolodge is wholly committed to conservation of the Amazon Rainforest, and is part of a much larger project working within Yasuni National Park. This is the largest section of tropical rainforest in Ecuador, and so the ecolodge is a fitting place to stay for not only wildlife watchers, but those committed to conservation. Indeed, it is the only lodge within the park boundaries. The ecolodge is also located beside Anangucocha Lake, and is an important ancient site as it is the ancestral lands of the Anangu Quichua people. It was constructed following strict ...Read more >

Taking on the Cordillera Blanca on a mountain bike is about as good as it gets with pure Peruvian perfection ensuring this small group vacation is just as exciting from a cultural and natural perspective as the adrenaline you can expect to experience on two wheels. Discover some of the finest single tracks in central Peru’s Huaraz region which are flanked by some absolutely amazing backdrops to accompany awesome ascents and dramatic descents alongside plenty of opportunities to pause for thought and appreciate the scenery. This week of mountain biking in the Cordillera Blanca is for adventurous small groups looking to become immersed in rural Peruvian culture with homestays, campsites and ...Read more >

This sea kayak trip offers an expertly guided mix of adventure and challenge in the remote and beautiful setting of Chile's Northern Patagonian Fjords of Quintupeu and Cahuelmo – an island-strewn spot where the Andes plunge into the sea, complemented by verdant forests laced with hiking trails, cascading waterfalls, natural hot springs and remote historic settlements. After exploring your starting point in the pretty lakeside 'City of Roses', Puerto Varas, your kayaking adventures begin in Quintupeo fjord, paddling between towering granite cliffs and waterfalls to your overnight camp site at the fjord end. Heading onto the Cahuelmó Fiord, nose your kayak inland among narrow valleys ...Read more >

This Patagonian photography is also a spectacular wildlife vacation in Torres del Paine National Park. Because not only will you be traveling with a professional nature and wildlife photographer, but also with expert wildlife trackers to help you find the wildest of ways through the park. A fixed date vacation, your guide and teacher is Diego Araya who, as well as publishing Patagonia 237, a big format coffee table book financed by Nikon Chile, is an experienced adventure guide. Eco Camp Patagonia is an award winning accommodation where you stay in luxury geodesic domes. They have a minimal environmental footprint in this precious landscape, while also providing comforts such as hot ...Read more >

Mind blowing vistas, multi-coloured lagunas, geysers, hot springs, flamingos and volcanoes greet travelers on this three-day small group tour across Bolivia’s high-altitude desert in search of one of the most remote and striking landscapes in South America; the Salar de Uyuni salt flats. Using 4WD vehicles fully equipped with radios, GPS, oxygen and first aid kits, this trip is designed for the travelers who want more comfortable accommodation than is usually offered on this route. Using a network of community-owned and very comfortable midrange hotels this trip offers guests an excellent opportunity to support local Aymara people in one of the poorest regions of Bolivia. Each property ...Read more >