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Hacienda Zuleta

Hacienda Zuleta

The Ecuadorian culture encompasses a mix of varied indigenous pre-Incan, Incan and Spanish traditions. An excellent demonstration of this cultural variety will be found in the Imbabura Province, with its traditional indigenous and mestizo markets filled with color and the many attractive handicrafts and the old haciendas in the Spanish colonial style which are filled with history and fascinating anecdotes.

These haciendas, that for us kids formed a part of our childhood lives, are also the ideal scenario for a series of activities where we can recreate an ancestral style of life and experiment the most exciting adventures.

Therefore, for this program we have selected that which we feel is the best traditional hacienda of the Ecuadorian Andes. Zuleta Hacienda, is maintained not as an old hacienda which has been converted into an inn, but as an actual producing hacienda. It was once owned by ex president Galo Plaza and is presently administered by his decedents. It is considered the best agricultural and live-stock managed hacienda. in the Ecuadorian Andes. Currently opened to a limited number of guests. Those who stay there are welcomed and treated as part of their own family.

This hacienda filled with history and beautiful surroundings, colorful mountains and valleys, offers as one of the outstanding activities, horseback riding on any of their 90 horses, which are the pride of Zuleta, to places like the pre-Incan pyramids of the Caranqui culture, the condor re-habilitation center, ride up the mountains that surround the hacienda or mountain biking. The roads leading to the hacienda make a wonderful place for long walks.

We cannot leave out the excellent cuisine at Zuleta, where all of its dishes are delicately prepared with the hacienda's own products. Its savory cheeses and other dairy products are always attainable as well as the savory home made bread and other delicacies. The farmed trout are caught just before preparation and its organic orchards provide an abundance of fruits and vegetables.

This wonderful place, makes an ideal home base for visiting Otavalo and its surrounding sites, such as the famous indigenous market; the nearby towns of Peguche or Iluman where you can visit their handicraft workshops and learn their ancestral way of manufacturing their yarn goods; Cotacachi, famous for their leather goods production; Ibarra a colonial city and many more.

Other characteristics of the Province of Imbabura are its beautiful lakes, with Cuicocha being its most outstanding one located inside the crater of the Cotacachi volcano. This lake has a fantastic color blue due to its depth registered around 300 meters deep. Two domes from a previous eruption protrudes from its depths in the middle of the lake. As one of the exiting activities hiking around this lake you can observe the changes in vegetation as you meander along its border; the abundance of flowers, among which the beautiful orchids stand out the most; the Cotacachi volcano on one side and the green fertile valley on the other side of the lake forms an ideal scenery to gaze at its beauty and for photography.

Hacienda Zuleta & Otavalo

Itinerary:

We will depart Quito at 7:30am. After a 2 hour trip we will arrive a the hacienda. The activities inside of the hacienda are not subject to an itinerary; on the contrary, everyone is free and will be on their own. The guide or the hosts will suggest activities described in the following paragraph. Remember, here you will be like in your own home. Many attractive activities will motivate you to select and perform the most that you can possibly do. You will also find that it is the perfect place to relax.

Details and items included:

- Double-room accomodations at Hacienda Zuleta

- Family-style breakfast, lunch and dinner

- Ecuadorian or International cuisine prepared with the hacienda's fresh products

- Special attention to dietary requirements or vegetarian diet

- Private Transfer Quito - Zuleta - Quito with guide / tour leader

- Horseback riding (up to 4 hrs per day) and hiking

- Mountain biking (up to 4 hrs a day)

- Visits to in house productions (cheese factory, fish farming, embroidery workshops)

- Visit to Condor re-habilitation centers and archaeological ruins of the Caranqui culture

- Visit to Otavalo Indian Market and surrounding indigenous towns

- Hikes around the Cuicocha and/or Mojanda crater lakes

- Local hacienda guides

- Optional: one night in Hacienda Pinsaqui (5 days program only)

- Small groups from 2 to 16 participants

- Private transfers, personalized attention

- Arrival / Departure point: Quito

Price per Person:

Hacienda Zuleta & Otavalo

Prices in US Dollars, based on double occupancy

Not Included: Tips; alcoholic beverages; personal expenses

Prices valid through Dec 31, 2007

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