This volunteer program provides a diverse and rewarding volunteer experience ranging from reforestation to teaching children. It also provides a fantastic adventure tour that takes volunteers up to the glaciers of a 20,000 foot volcano, down thrilling rapids through the Amazon rainforest, biking to a lush canyon overflowing with stunning waterfalls, and a soothing hot springs resort.

Effort: Moderate

Available for groups only - contact us for further details

Activities: Volunteer Work, Continuing the Tradition of Collecting Glacial Ice from Ecuador's Highest Volcano, Whitewater Rafting, Hiking, and Indigenous Community Encounters.

Trip highlights:

• Work to reforest Andean ecosystems with native trees
• Assist in the construction of a school or other community project
• Ascend Ecuador’s highest volcano to collect ice to sell to the communities below and help construct an interpretation center to support this dying tradition
• Exhilarating jungle rafting down one of Ecuador´s best one-day runs (class III-III+)
• Explore a gorge overflowing with cascading waterfalls
• Bathe in heavenly hot springs nestled in the cloud forest
• Hike through Amazon rainforest
• Discover the spiritual world of the Kichwa Amazonian Indians

DAY 1: TRANSFER IN QUITO AND OPTIONAL CITY TOUR

You will be met at the airport for private transfer to a hotel in Quito. Depending on the time of your flight arrival, we may have a chance to tour this beautiful colonial Andean city.

DAY 2: DRIVE THROUGH AVENUE OF VOLCANOES AND BEGIN VOLUNTEERING

We will start our adventure due south through the Avenue of the volcanoes, towards the Chimborazo volcano, Ecuador’s highest mountain at 6310 meters. Along the way, we will pass by gorgeous countryside and if it is clear, stunning views of snowcapped volcanoes. We will arrive to our Andean volunteer project in time for a delicious welcome lunch. The project manager will give us an overview of the project and explain how environmentally, socially, and culturally significant our volunteer work is. Time and project depending, we will hopefully start our volunteer work this afternoon or may possibly hike, bike, horseback ride, or visit an indigenous community. (B, L, D)

DAY 3 - 5: COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

We will be living and working in a fascinating community in the Andean paramo where the houses are built out of mud and bamboo. For the next days, we will assist with reforestation, building an interpretation center about Chimborazo ice men and helping with the construction of a school or similar community project. Reforestation is especially important in this region of the Andes because deforestation and the introduction of non-native trees such as pine and eucalyptus are creating terrible erosion problems, which can cause mudslides and ruin farmland.

The purpose of the construction of the interpretation center will be to celebrate the long history of the fearless ice men who climbed the slopes of Ecuador’s tallest volcano to collect blocks of ice. Since before the Spaniards arrived, indigenous Ecuadorians have been scaling the slopes of Chimborazo Volcano to collect ice to sell to the communities below. Now an ice factory has been built nearby and only one of these ice men remain today. Your volunteer work will help ensure that the fascinating history of these brave men will be remembered and immortalized. (B, L, D)

DAY 6: ASCEND CHIMBORAZO TO COLLECT GLACIAL ICE WITH AN HIELERO

Today, we experience for ourselves the beauty, wonder, and tireless work of the Chimborazo hielero (ice men) tradition. Everything we have been working on in the hielero museum will come to life today. Before dawn, we will mount donkeys and accompany the last living hielero up the slopes of Ecuador’s highest volcano. Just before we arrive at the snowline, we will collect the paramo grass and weave it into coverings to protect the ice we will gather from the hot sun. Once we climb above 4,800 meters, we will begin traversing a snowy wonderland until we arrive at Chimborazo’s mighty glaciers. The hielero will show us how safely break massive blocks of ice off the glacier and mount them on our donkeys. We will then walk the donkeys down the volcano and back to civilization to sell the community below what might be the world’s most naturally pure ice money can buy. (B, L, D)

DAY 7: BIKE TO BAÑOS & WATERFALL EXPLORATION

In the morning, we drive to the edge of Llanganates National Park, gaining altitude until we reach an area with one of the best views of Tungurahua, Ecuador’s most active volcano. Here, we set up our mountain bikes for a scenic ride through highland paramo, which gradually melds into montane cloud forest, and then into the fringes of lowland rainforest. We pass through a dry basaltic gorge that is a great spot to look for wild orchids. We continue our ride along the Pastaza River Gorge, one of the principal waterways that feed into the Amazon Basin. This is an especially scenic route, with high rock walls giving way to deep cloud forest canyons. Our bike ride ends in the colorful town of Baños, known for its hot springs and rugged landscape. After lunch, we hike and take two sets of cable cars across gorges to explore the trail of waterfalls. Cable cars and footpaths are the only way to reach these waterfalls, and we explore some of the area’s most scenic including Pailon del Diablo (Devil’s Cauldron) and Manto de la Novia (Bride’s Veil). (B, L, D)

DAY 8: ANIMAL RESCUE CENTER, RAINFOREST HIKE & SHAMAN EXPERIENCE

Today, we will descend into the Amazon basin. We will start out by receiving an introduction to the local wildlife at a zoo-like wildlife center for animals rescued from the pet and poaching trades. We will then visit an orchid garden to see and learn about some of the world’s most fascinating and beautiful plants. We then continue further into the Amazon basin, where we will go on a gorgeous rainforest hike and participate in a traditional shaman cleansing ritual. (B, L, D)

DAY 9: JUNGLE RAFTING ON THE JATUNYACU RIVER
This morning, we head to Llanganates National Park, which extends from the high Andes down into the Amazon basin and is part of an area declared a Biosphere Zone by the United Nations. The water that collects in this area forms the Jatunyacu River, which is considered one of Ecuador’s best one-day river runs. We begin the day with a short walk through rainforest scenery to reach naturally-formed swimming holes and waterslides. After our return and a safety briefing, our whitewater rafting adventure begins. A trip down the Jatunyacu River offers crystal-clear water and glimpses into indigenous communities that live along the shores in small bamboo and wood houses. The Jatunyacu is famed for its big waves, fun holes, and high water volume (Class III - III+). We’ll spend the day navigating the Jatunyacu, whose waters carry us through breathtaking rainforest landscapes full of bird life.

In the afternoon, we will visit a Kichwa Amazonian Indian community to learn about their traditional way of life. It is truly an honor to have them bestow some of their ancestral knowledge of medicinal plants, balsa wood carving, and Chica (manioc beer) brewing on us. We will also visit ancient petroglyphs. It becomes quickly evident how much the Kichwa rely on the forest in their everyday lives and their harmonious relationship with their environment inspires us. (B, L, D)

DAY 10: PAPALLACTA HOT SPRINGS & RETURN TO QUITO
Today, we head to Papallacta hot springs resort. Here, we will spend hours soaking in the divine thermal pools that range in temperature from frigid to half a dozen varying degrees of steaming. The thermal waters are rich in minerals, sulfates and alkaline which are said to provide numerous health and skin benefits. While the hot springs provide more than enough soothing for most, you may opt for an optional spa treatment for the ultimate relaxation experience. In the late afternoon, we will return to Quito in time to enjoy our farewell dinner in a delicious restaurant. (B, L)

DAY 11: TRANSFER TO THE AIRPORT
Transfer to the airport and fly home.

INCLUDED: Volunteer program arrangements, meals as described (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner) two airport transfers, private transportation, mountain biking and rafting adventure and safety equipment, overnight accommodations, and professional bilingual guides.

NOT INCLUDED: Hotel & restaurant beverages, National Park entrance fees, and tips.

IMPORTANT FACTS