Ecuador and Galapagos luxury vacation

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION

Casa Gangotena use solar panels to heat the hotel's water, with 77.8 tonnes of CO2 reduced, and they use LED lighting and sensors. Guest stays are carbon neutral through an offset programme run with Fundación Futuro, with their emissions inventory verified by SGS to ISO 14064-1:2019. About 20 per cent of groceries are bought within 500 steps of the hotel.

Mashpi Lodge belongs to Metropolitan Touring, which announced in 2019 that it had become carbon neutral, with offset fees funding work in the Mashpi reserve. On the ground the days at Mashpi and in the Galapagos are mostly spent walking, snorkelling and exploring by panga.

ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE

Mashpi Lodge sits inside the Mashpi-Tayra Reserve, which its own site says protects over 3,200 hectares of Chocó rainforest. The lodge is also restoring a further 1,200 hectares outside the reserve using 136 tree species, 91.4 per cent of the fruit trees planted being native, with CONDESAN, FONAG and Fundación Futuro. It cites more than 60 scientific articles and 26 new species described from the area.

The Galapagos National Park entrance fee is included. Ecuador's tourism ministry says the extra money goes to conservation, infrastructure and community programmes. National law requires every visitor group to travel with a naturalist guide, and the trip includes expert naturalist guides at Mashpi and aboard Ocean Spray. Invasive species remain a threat to the islands, and the itinerary notes Fernandina as one of the islands that has stayed free of them.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY

Casa Gangotena runs the ReEmprende and De Vuelta al Centro programmes, which train 29 gastronomic entrepreneurs and 30 further entrepreneurs in Quito’s historic center, and it reports a 15 per cent increase in sales for those businesses. At Mashpi the lodge reports supporting land titles for 30 landowners in 2024 and surveying 1,111 hectares and helping set up two community organisations, with development agendas drawn up in Mashpi, Guayabillas and Pachijal.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY

With Fundación Sembrar, Casa Gangotena has hosted internships for 6 young people, one of whom is now permanently employed, and 10 of its employees are on a Dual Education Programme, and it has renovated four classrooms at La Providencia School, benefiting 553 children and young people. The trip includes walks in cloud forest at Mashpi and on Galapagos landing beaches, panga transfers and snorkelling aboard Ocean Spray, so some mobility is needed. Mobility needs are best discussed before booking.