Why this city and this rainforest should be on your clients' Latin America itinerary
Ecuador – currently celebrating 200 years of independence – offers incredible pre-Colombian history and rainforest adventures, finds James Litston
Roses are one of Ecuador’s major agricultural exports, but from the number on display in Quito’s Casa Gangotena, I’m amazed any remain to send abroad. Huge bursts of blooms erupt from vases, filling the lobby and lounges with dramatic reds and creamy whites that complement the paintwork. This floral exuberance enhances the welcome here at the city’s best boutique hotel. It’s the perfect start to an Ecuadorean adventure.
Quito is the world’s second highest capital (only Bolivia’s La Paz, further south along the Andes, is more elevated) and stands surrounded by mountainous peaks. One of these, volcanic Pichincha, towers above Casa Gangotena to frame the view from a rooftop terrace as leafy as the interiors.
The view also takes in the church spires and rooftops of Quito’s Centro Historico (Old Town), which is packed with colonial architecture and charm. To explore it, I join a Quito Like a Local walking tour that begins right outside Casa Gangotena on cobbled Plaza San Francisco. As we go, I learn that the square’s grand church stands on the site of a temple built by indigenous Quitu people. They were conquered by the Incas, for whom this was an important city until Spanish invaders arrived in the 1530s.
The churches that replaced Inca temples gleam with plundered gold. We pop into a couple to admire their ornamental details; then visit the colourful San Roque district.
Quito may be the gateway for clients heading to Galapagos cruises, but the Unesco World Heritage city merits a few days’ immersion. Besides visiting museums and churches, clients can take the El TeleferiQo cable car to the top of Pichincha for sky-high views. And when it’s time to move on, they’ll find a very different experience just over a three-hour drive away.
Welcome to Jurassic Park
Getting there involves leaving the highlands and aiming for the coastal plain, crossing the equator to reach the choco: a particularly biodiverse rainforest running from Panama to Peru. It’s been devastated by logging and agriculture, but one of Ecuador’s largest remaining tracts is the setting for Mashpi Lodge, Casa Gangotena’s sister property.
The journey, lasting 45 minutes, is down bumpy, unpaved tracks that lead to a pair of heavy doors. “Welcome to Jurassic Park!” says the driver: and indeed, it would be hard to imagine a more primeval setting. Trees along the track drip in mosses, low clouds lend an ethereal mist; and the bumpy, back-to-basics road adds to the sense of arrival. Tumbling from the minibus, we’re met with modernist lines and mid-century-style furniture: an unexpectedly urban aesthetic amid such wild, untamed jungle. But this is much more than a fancy resort. Mashpi Lodge is a conservation success story and sits within an ever-expanding rainforest reserve.
The property’s parent company, Metropolitan Touring, offsets its emissions through purchasing or replanting forest so that its entire operation is carbon neutral. The hotel stands on the footprint of a former sawmill: now thankfully just a memory from when this forest was saved from logging.
Kind to nature
Metropolitan Touring plans to grow its Mashpi reserve to encompass 14,000 hectares. In doing so, the project will create wildlife corridors connecting remnant forest patches, sustaining viable populations of animals in the process. With 95 mammal species and 418 types of bird, it’s important work; and by retraining former hunters and loggers into hospitality roles, Mashpi Lodge is positively changing local attitudes to forest use.
It all sounds very worthy, but is it fun to visit? Most definitely. Beyond taking guided hikes and stopping to cool off in jungle waterfalls, there are novelties such as the self-propelled Sky Bike for pedalling through the canopy. Better still is the leisurely Dragonfly: a gondola ride reaching dizzying heights to look down on endless shades of green. But best of all are the ranger-led walks to spot toucans and other wild birds dressed in fabulous colours (plus spiders, toads and various creepy-crawlies).
For wildlife-minded clients, it’s a remarkable experience. And with options to extend to Machu Picchu, the Galapagos or an Amazon river cruise, they’ll thank you for building Ecuador into their South American tour.
Book it: Two nights at Casa Gangotena plus three nights at Mashpi Lodge costs from £4,195pp including flights, transfers and accommodation (B&B in Quito, full-board at Mashpi), based on two sharing (rainbowtours.co.uk). For the latest Foreign Office travel advice to Ecuador, see gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ecuador
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