Local Living Tours & Trips in Ecuador

Stay two nights with a Quichua family in multi-share cabañas near Tena in the Amazon, where you'll learn traditional jungle survival skills and join in daily community life. Cycle through rainforest trails to Shandia village with local guides, then soak in Papallacta's natural volcanic hot springs.

You'll stay at the boutique Hotel Patio Andaluz in Quito, set in a 16th-century colonial house, and the historic Hosteria La Andalua beneath Chimborazo Volcano. Head to a wool weaving workshop in Otavalo where artisans show you traditional backstrap loom techniques, then wander through the colorful Otavalo Market.

Spend two nights at Shandia Community Lodge deep in the Amazon, where you'll bike through the indigenous Shandia village and learn how locals turn cacao into chocolate. Stop by Centro Comunitario Guayama Grande in Quilotoa to join ceramic workshops led by indigenous artisans and try traditional dishes.

Stay at Shandia Community Lodge deep in the Amazon rainforest and cycle through the indigenous Shandia village to learn about traditional cacao harvesting. Participate in ceramic workshops at Centro Comunitario Guayama Grande and visit the bee farm for honey extraction. Try home-cooked meals at the community restaurant and hike to Pimpilala Waterfalls with local guides who share ancestral knowledge.

Dinner at an old Andean house near Otavalo includes live folklore music and traditional food prepared by local cooks. Soak in Papallacta's natural hot springs at over 4,000 meters elevation with views of the surrounding Andes peaks. Breakfast with a jungle community introduces specialties like locally-grown cacao, and you'll learn how they prepare these ingredients using traditional methods.

Try Ecuadorian culture at Otavalo's wool weaving workshop using traditional backstrap looms and browse the handcraft market for ponchos and textiles. Tour a rose plantation near Quito to learn sustainable farming, then visit the Cacao Project hacienda to taste Ecuadorian chocolate from bean to bar.