Ecuador itinerary 7 days: Quito, Otavalo, Cotopaxi, Quilotoa and Baños

One hour, US$ 2 for the church and US$ 5 for the towers, which close at 4:30 pm. After check-in, start at the north end of the old town to reach the towers in time. The neo Gothic basilica has gargoyles that are not monsters but Ecuadorian turtles, iguanas and armadillos. The last stretch is iron stairs and a ladder: take it slowly, Quito is at 2,850 metres.

Twenty five minutes, free, 800 metres down Venezuela street. Independence square has Carondelet Palace, the seat of government, the cathedral and shoe shiners under the palms. Quito was the first historic centre listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in 1978, alongside Kraków.

Forty five minutes, US$ 4 for foreigners, a block from the square. Outside it is stone; inside, walls, columns and altar are covered in gold leaf. It closes at 6:30 pm Monday to Thursday and earlier at weekends, at 4 pm on Saturdays, so swap the order with the Basílica if you arrive on a Saturday. Photos are not allowed inside.

An hour and a half, with dinner, 400 metres down García Moreno street. Quito’s prettiest colonial street comes alive at dusk, with lamps lit, hat makers and wooden toy craftsmen, and bars serving canelazo at the door. Take an app taxi back at night rather than walking the empty old town streets.

Three hours, US$ 9 for foreigners. Go early, at 9 am: clouds usually cover Pichincha volcano after lunch. The cabin climbs in 10 minutes to about 3,950 metres, with all of Quito below and, on a clear day, Cotopaxi on the horizon. The trail to Rucu Pichincha, at 4,696 metres, starts at the top and takes four to five hours return: save it for another trip, it is too early to go that high.

Two and a half hours, US$ 5 general entry, 26 km north, about an hour by taxi. The 30 metre monument marks the line drawn by the French geodesic mission in the 18th century; GPS later showed the real equator runs about 240 metres away. Next door, the Intiñan museum runs the water spinning and egg on a nail experiments: visit both, the full experience fills the afternoon.

Forty five minutes, voluntary contribution. Leave Quito at 7:30 am: it is about two hours on the Panamericana Norte to Otavalo, crossing the equator again. The waterfall is 4 km before town, in a eucalyptus wood; this is where the Kichwa Otavalo hold the ritual bath of Inti Raymi, the sun festival, in June.

Two and a half hours, with lunch. The market runs daily, but on Saturdays it spills into the surrounding streets. Alpaca wool ponchos and tapestries, hats, hammocks and tagua jewellery, the seed that looks like ivory, are made in the valley’s communities. Haggle politely: the first price has room. Eat hornado at the food market stalls two blocks away.

An hour and a half, free, 30 minutes from Otavalo via Cotacachi, the leather town. The lake fills the crater at the foot of Cotacachi volcano, and the two islands in the middle are lava domes. Walk the first stretch of the rim trail to the viewpoint, or take the boat ride around the islands. Then it is about two and a half hours back to Quito.

Two hours, free park entry, open 8 am to 3 pm. Leave Quito at 7 am: it is about an hour and a half to the Caspi control at the south entrance. A dirt road leads to the car park at 4,600 metres; from there, a volcanic sand trail zigzags up to the refuge in 45 minutes to an hour, slowly. Above it the glacier begins, for guided climbers only.

Bring a waterproof jacket, gloves and a hat: it is windy and close to freezing at the top even in sunshine. If you get a bad headache or feel dizzy, go down.

An hour and fifteen minutes, free, 20 minutes down from the car park. A flat trail circles the lagoon in about an hour and a half, with Cotopaxi on one side and Rumiñahui on the other; with luck you will see wild horses and the curiquingue, a páramo falcon. Sleep at one of the area’s haciendas: most are less than an hour from the park.

Two hours, US$ 2 to the community. Leave the hacienda at 7 am: it is about two hours via Latacunga and Zumbahua to the crater rim. From the viewpoint the turquoise lake lies 400 metres below. The trail to the water takes 30 minutes down and over an hour back up, in sand and altitude; if you do not want to walk up, ride a mule for about US$ 10.

Leave by 11 am: it is three hours to Baños via Latacunga and Ambato.

Half an hour, free. After check-in, walk to the dark stone basilica in the centre. Inside, paintings by worshippers tell the miracles credited to the Virgin, from floods to bus crashes. Outside, Ambato street has the melcocha shops, where sugarcane taffy is pulled by hand at the door.

An hour and a half, a few dollars, at the foot of the waterfall above town. The municipal pools hold volcanic water heated by Tungurahua, the active volcano above Baños. Go at night, from 6 pm, when the water is hottest and the queue shorter; bring a swimming cap, it is compulsory.

An hour and fifteen minutes, the tarabita costs a few dollars. The Ruta de las Cascadas follows the Pastaza river canyon towards the Amazon, and you can ride it on a bike rented in Baños: about 18 km, almost all downhill, to Río Verde. At the twin Manto de la Novia falls, the tarabita is an open cabin that crosses the canyon hanging from a cable, right over the drop.

Two hours, about US$ 3, in Río Verde. A trail drops through the forest to platforms facing the falls; the highlight is a narrow staircase cut into the rock that takes you behind the jet of water. You will get wet: bring a rain jacket. Ride back to Baños in a pickup that carries the bike in the back, and in the afternoon go rafting on the Pastaza or canyoning, sold on every corner in Baños.

An hour and fifteen minutes, US$ 2 entry, open 7 am to 7 pm. Go right at opening: at 7:30 am there is no queue for the swing, which later reaches an hour. The tree house was a Tungurahua volcano monitoring post; today the swing over the valley, with no safety net, is Ecuador’s most famous photo. It is 20 minutes by taxi up from Baños.

Forty five minutes, free on the hill. After the three and a half hour drive to Quito, take a taxi up El Panecillo, the hill south of the old town crowned by the Virgin of Quito, a 41 metre winged aluminium statue. From here you can trace the whole of Day 1, from the Basílica to La Ronda. The airport is in Tababela, about an hour away: arrive three hours before an international flight.