1. Hello Robin,
Thanks for contacting us and for your interest in our beautiful country. Columbus Travel has 12 years
of experience which have positioned us as one of the most important tour operators in Ecuador.
We have what you are looking for, please find below some day tours available in and around Quito.
Please let me know how many people are traveling with you so we can offer you the best prices in the
market. I’m sending you links with further options so you can check all tours available in our website,
however, I chose the best for you:
Option 1
Quito-Nono-Tandayapa
1 day biking
Level of difficulty: Easy
Altitudes: 3000-1800m (10000-6000 ft)
Participants: 2 pax min.
Price per person: 49 usd
Drive northwest until we reach the highest point on this trip (3.000 mts). At this point, we switch to
our mountain bikes and start the descend. We'll pass the quaint village of Nono. Watch the
vegetation change from páramo to cloud forest to low montane forest as you whiz down the
mountain until reaching the small bearding paradise of Tandayapa. Keep one eye on the road and the
other toward the sky: there's a good chance to see parrots, hummingbirds, toucans and caciques.
Picnic lunch. Afterwards we will let you end the biking tour through desert like areas until we reach
the Equatorial Line Monument. Drive back to Quito.
Option 2
Cotopaxi Volcano National Park
1 day biking

2. Level of difficulty: Moderate
Altitudes: 4500-3200 m. (15000-10600 ft.)
Participants: 2 pax min.
Price per person: 49 usd
Drive through páramo landscape to highest point. Enjoy stunning view of 8 different volcanoes.
The bike adventure on the world’s highest active volcano begins. Bike on dirt roads through volcanic
ash and páramo landscape to Inca ruin at 3.700 m Packed lunch while keeping an eye towards the sky
- you might see a condor!
In the afternoon bike on dirt roads and single track down from Lake Limpiopungo through pine forest.
Option 3
Quito-Papallacta-Amazon
1 day biking
Level of difficulty: Moderate
Altitudes: 4200-2500 m. (13900-8300 ft.)
Participants: 2 pax min.
Price per person: 49 usd
This is an excellent way to see a cross section of Ecuador’s ecosystems in one day: the first part of the
trip starts high up in the páramo – the Ecuadorian equivalent of the arctic tundra – and ends in low
montane cloud forest at the edge of the Amazon basin. Once we reach our first destination, we throw
our bikes on the jeep’s roof and drive back up the pass to the Papallacta hot springs for a soothing
swim in the natural thermal pools. If the day is clear, views of Antisana Volcano will bedazzle. After
lunch we drive over the Papallacta pass at 4200m and remount our iron horses for the two thousand
meter (over 6000ft.) whiz downward to Tumbaco valley just outside of Quito.
Biking tours include:
• Professional bilingual guide
• Full equipped 4x4 back up vehicle
• Mountain bikes with v-brake and front suspension
• All protective gear (helmet, gloves, knee & elbow pads)
• Purified water
• Lunch
Doesn't include:
• Entrance fee to National Park (e.g. Cotopaxi & Chimborazo $10.00 each if apply)
• Alcoholic drinks

3. • Personal Expenses
• Tips
Option 4
Quito city tour and middle of the world
1 day
Price per person: 98 usd pp / based on 2 passengers
*Includes lunch, all entrance tickets and private transportation with an English speaking guide.
Delve into the heart of colonial Quito and experience the charm of Independence
Square with its awe inspiring Cathedral, Presidential Palace and House of
Congress. Admire the church of La Compañia (1605); considered to be the finest
example of baroque architecture in America. Not forgetting the church and
monastery of San Francisco (1535). Our tour then takes you to Panecillo Hill an
ideal location for a panoramic view of this historic c²€al.
Our country, needless to say, owes its name to the Equatorial Line which crosses it
15 minutes to the north of Quito. There you find a monument marking the
latitude 0º 00’ 00” this is a very fun and unique place where you can literally jump
from the northern to southern hemisphere of the planet. This tour includes a visit
to the Ethnographic Museum on site. Certificates are awarded to visitors who
take part in this adventure.
You can check out for more Quito city tours in: http://www.andesadventure.net/
ecuador_tours/quito-city-tour.html
Option 5
Day Tour to Otavalo Market
Price per person: 115 usd pp / based on 2 passengers
*Includes private transportation with an English speaking guide, lunch
Start your trip through the Awakening Valley in Calderón with its bread-dough

4. figures and Cayambe for the local food specialties. Passing by some of the most
attractive artisan centers and Andean landscapes, you arrive in Otavalo and its
famous indigenous market just in time to bargain for hand-knitted wool sweaters,
colorful tapestries, wood carvings, silver jewelry, native paintings, woolen and
straw hats, and much more. Stopping for lunch at a traditional hacienda we enjoy
the amazing landscape of this beautiful area and continue to do so throughout
our return to Quito.
Option 6
Day Tour to Cotopaxi National Park
Price per person: 125 usd pp / based on 2 passengers
Price includes: Private transportation with an English speaking guide, Cotopaxi
national Park
Driving to the south of Quito, we visit Ecuador’s first National Park, home to
Cotopaxi. Once here we explore the Andean moorlands with more than 90 species
of highland birds. Alternatively we hike up to the snow line ( 4,800m) to see a
truly amazing view. Later we’ll enjoy lunch in a traditional hacienda.
For further information and trip options please visit:
http://www.andesadventure.net/ecuador_tours/index.html
Please let me know if you are interested in any of these as soon as possible so I
can assist you with your booking. November 28 would be perfect for an Otavalo
day tour since Saturday is the only day of the week with market fair. For Nov 22
we can plan for you any of the other options with minimum 2 passengers.
I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Have a great day,

5. Sincerely,