Excursions from
Otavalo - Ecuador Destinations
Otavalo serves as a base
for various
excursions in the local area and there are several local travel agents
willing to help you arrange visits, tours, hikes, treks, horse hire or
cycling trips.
National tour operators in Quito can also arrange tours which
often include attractions in the Otavalo area.
Keen walkers might trek
up to the Lagunas de Mojanda (Mojanda
Lakes), for example, or this could also be an enjoyable horse ride
(cabalgata). Other popular destinations include
Peguche
Waterfall (la cascada de Peguche) or Laguna (Lagoon) Cuicocha.
It
is easy to organise trips to craft workshops in nearby weaving
villages and slightly further afield to villages like Zuleta, famed for
its embroidery, or Cotacachi, known for leather goods. Ask at
any
travel agent or local tour operator, either in Quito or Otavalo, or ask
stallholders in the market if they will organise a tour to their own
workshops for you.
To experience
agricultural life in the Otavalo area for yourself, try a farmstay at
community tourism project Runa
Tupari,
where you can stay in a cabaña in the garden of a farming
family. You have your own room and private bathroom, but eat
with
the family and help with or watch tasks on the farm if you wish.
Runa Tupari´s office is along one side of the Plaza
de los
Ponchos in Otavalo.
Lago San Pablo, or Saint
Paul´s
Lake is a short bus ride out of Otavalo, or a pleasant walk.
There are various hotels and hostals offering accommodation
and
activities near or on the lake, such as canoeing or horse-riding
excursions.
Up in the hills
overlooking San Pablo lake
is the raptor rescue center, Condor Park (Parque Condor), open
Tuesday to Sunday from 9.30a.m. to 5.00p.m. and well worth a visit.
This is your chance to see the huge Andean condor, an
endangered
species, close-up, along with various other types of vulture, hawk, owl
and falcon.
Hike there from Otavalo or take any bus from Otavalo
towards
Quito, get off when you see the sign for the Parque Condor turn-off and
walk or take a taxi for the 4km from there. The centre houses
rescued
birds of prey which, for various reasons, cannot be released into the
wild, and carries out very important community education work with
local
school groups, raising awareness of wildlife and conservation issues.
Make sure
you are there for one of the flying displays (usually at 11.30am and
4.30pm). The grace and beauty of a bird of prey soaring
through
the skies then choosing to return to the fist of its trainer is quite
awe-inspiring and emphasises the importance of the centre´s
work
in helping to save these species from extinction through rescue,
rehabilitation and environmental education.
Useful
Spanish Vocabulary for excursions from Otavalo, Ecuador:
Cascada: Waterfall
Lago: Lake
Laguna: Lagoon or lake
Ecuador
Destinations: Otavalo Excursions
Tourist information for days trips, hikes, homestays and visits from
Otavalo, ncluding San Pablo Lake, Condor Park & community
farmstays.
Website www.ecuadortravelsite.org, text and photos by Sarah Clifford.
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