LAM 5 28/4/09 16:38 Page 5
knowledge latin america
ttglive.com
Ecuador
down mountains into rivers
and rapids at the bottom of
gorges; the view from the cable
cars is beautiful but alarming.
One of the most magical
aspects of this region is being
in the cloud forest; verdantly
lush and teeming with flowers
Volcano spot: Luna Runtun and wildlife.
The luxury spa resort of Luna
Runtun, perched on the flanks of the active
Tunguraha volcano (we’d seen it smoking
from a distance earlier in the day) is the
perfect spot to enjoy this environment.
My cliffside chalet-style room has a terrace
with a hammock and a classic Andean view:
clouds swirl beneath me and the sheer valley
plunges hundreds of metres down to the
lively town of Banos.
Another place to experience the best of
the cloud forest is the Termas Papallacta
resort. Hot volcanic springs are the source of
and inspiration for its spa, with steaming
outdoor pools and invigorating treatments.
Spring into action: enjoy the cloud forest micro-climate and invigorating therapies at the Termas Papallacta Resort Jungle adventures
At the base of these mountains is another
Getting a natural
world – the steamy jungles of the upper
Amazon. Here we stay at the Cotococha
lodge, where no mains electricity makes for
a romantic atmosphere, with its candle-lit
bar and gas lamps set out each evening in
high in the Andes
the thatch-roof chalets.
We go “tubing” on the river and hiking in
the jungle, where we eat live ants (which
taste of lemon) and toquilla palm, used to
At 2,850m Quito is one of the world’s highest capital weave Panama hats. We spot giant “owl eye”
cities. Paul Revel finds it’s an ideal base for exploring
butterflies and tarantulas, and learn to rub
the region’s jungles, cloud forests and volcanic springs
termites into our skin, a natural
mosquito repellent.
Between our destinations, the
drives are punctuated by vivid
glimpses of local life – and
M
ention the Andes and people below the volcano’s snowline – hard to its memorable flavours,
imagine condors soaring over believe we’re practically on the equator. We from sugar cane
a harsh landscape of snow- don’t spot the fabled condor, but we do see liquor to roasted
capped peaks – and they’d be buzzard eagles, lapwings, coots and teals. guinea pig...
right. But there’s so much more to this vast Our Andean Travel Company guide is a
range of volcanic mountains, with a rich fount of knowledge on the region’s history,
diversity of climates and ecosystems depend- culture, politics and wildlife.
ing on altitude. A great place to experience A few hundred metres lower down, lush
BOOK IT
this is Ecuador, where various Andean farmland basks in the equatorial sun. Here
The Andean Travel Company offers ground handling
landscapes can be explored all within a we visit the beautiful St Augustin hacienda,
services across Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, and works
few hours’ drive of Quito. the only one to feature a 13th-century Inca with operators including Veloso Tours and Geodyssey.
temple as its dining room – where we have
Both operators offer tailor-made packages in the
From snowline to sunshine a lunch of delicious home-grown produce.
region. Geodyssey has eight-night tours from
£1,030pp (not including flights).
First stop on our four-day Andean adventure
■ andeantc.com
is the Cotopaxi national park – the Andes Into the cloud forest
■ veloso.com
as I imagined. This cold, windy environment, Our route snakes through the dramatic ■ geodyssey.co.uk
known as the Paramo (3,000-4,400m) is just “valley of the volcanoes”. Waterfalls cascade
46 01.05.2009
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72