Active Galápagos & Machu Picchu

The adventure begins today. Feel free to explore, but make sure you're back in time to meet the group. Your G Representative will review the details of your tour.

Visit the highlands of Santa Cruz and see the Galápagos giant tortoise in its natural surroundings. Explore the area and its incredible wildlife.

Jump in and explore the underwater world where schools of yellowtail surgeonfish, king angelfish and parrotfish dance in the gentle waves. Spot turtles, friendly sea lions pups and small, docile, whitetip reef sharks.

Visit Fausto Llerena Breeding Center a great place to observe many species of tortoises. Brought back from the brink of extinction, see the famous Galápagos tortoise up close – a corral houses adult tortoises, and a nursery cares for the young until around age three when their shells have hardened. This area also houses the Charles Darwin Research Station, a scientific organization initiated in 1964, which works to preserve the Galápagos' ecosystem through the conservation efforts of scientists, researchers, and volunteers. While the offices themselves are not open to visitors, the research station provides a study location for international scientists and environmental education for the local community.

Kayak in Tortuga Bay, a dreamy stretch of white coral sand with clear turquoise waters on the south side of Santa Cruz Island. Keep an eye out for nearby pelicans, blue-footed boobies, and other seabirds.

Cut swiftly through the water en route to the next stop (and hang on to your hat).

Get out and explore.

To further benefit the community on Floreana island G has provided training to residents for all aspects of tourism, including food preparation and service. The community will provide your meals while staying on this small island. The meals are rotated amongst different community members in order to spread out the benefits of tourism. While eating at the community restaurants you will be contributing to the self-sufficiency of the first community tourism operator in the Galápagos.

Floreana Island is a small, isolated, inhabited island part of the Galápagos Archipelago. Many of its residents have been living there for the past three generations since the islands were first colonized. Its 150 residents have tried to benefit from the tourism boom, but since most tourism is marine-based and the boats don't stop in the village, they have struggled to find any opportunities. We are investing in community training and infrastructure to develop the first ecological, community tourism program in the Galápagos Islands that sees both the islands small entrepreneurs and its unique wildlife as the primary beneficiaries of this project.

Snorkel straight off the beach at Loberia, and get up close to the diverse wildlife in the waters around the Galápagos. Please be sure you are a strong swimmer; the water here can be rough and the currents are strong.

Head up to the seldom-visited highlands of Floreana. Hear the tales about the pirates, whalers, seal hunters and buccaneers who once lived in this isolated and unique landscape.

To further benefit the community on Floreana island G has provided training to residents for all aspects of tourism, including food preparation and service. The community will provide your meals while staying on this small island. The meals are rotated amongst different community members in order to spread out the benefits of tourism. While eating at the community restaurants you will be contributing to the self-sufficiency of the first community tourism operator in the Galápagos.

Floreana Island is a small, isolated, inhabited island part of the Galápagos Archipelago. Many of its residents have been living there for the past three generations since the islands were first colonized. Its 150 residents have tried to benefit from the tourism boom, but since most tourism is marine-based and the boats don't stop in the village, they have struggled to find any opportunities. We are investing in community training and infrastructure to develop the first ecological, community tourism program in the Galápagos Islands that sees both the islands small entrepreneurs and its unique wildlife as the primary beneficiaries of this project.

Cut swiftly through the water en route to the next stop (and hang on to your hat).

Lace up your hiking boots to explore Sierra Negra Volcano, which has the largest basaltic caldera in the Galápagos. The volcano last erupted in June 2018, making it the most recent eruption in the Galápagos.

After the hike the group will hop on a bicycle and travel downhill for about 12km by bike with the group. Feel the wind on your skin and the fresh air in your lungs as you coast to the town of Puerto Villamil. This ride will be all downhill along a semi-paved road with beautiful views of the ocean and surrounding countryside. Please note that it is not a physically demanding ride.

Get out and explore this morning. Opt to try some surf lessons at the nearby beach.

Tour the "Tintoreras" to watch manta rays and whitetip reef sharks swim in the channels between the rocks. Get up close to pelicans, frigatebirds, and diving blue-footed boobies, and keep an eye out for rare Galápagos penguins, the only species found in Galápagos and north of the Equator.

Go snorkelling near Las Tintoreras, located south of Puerto Villamil – it's the perfect place to glide along watching the magic unfold under the water’s surface. Look out for sea lions, sea turtles, marine iguanas, and if you're lucky some Galápagos penguins.

Walk through the town’s wetlands to visit the Giant Tortoise Breeding Centre. With the giant tortoise on its way to extinction in the late 1950s, this program was established to protect these noble creatures.

Cut swiftly through the water en route to the next stop (and hang on to your hat).

Get out and explore! Or maybe try out an optional activitiy available in the area.

Get out and explore! Or maybe try out an optional activity available in the area.

Take a private van to the ferry terminal on Santa Cruz island, before taking a short ferry to Baltra. Once there, a short ride on a public bus will take you to the airport.

Once arriving back in Quito, a private van will transfer you to the hotel for the evening.

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

On Day 1 of the tour, a G Adventures representative will meet you at the hotel to go over the details of the tour, providing a schedule, documentation/vouchers, and pick-up times for all included activities. The representative can also answer any questions about the tour or the general area.

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.

Spend the day exploring.

Make stops along the way as you pass through this gorgeous valley – the elevation descends the whole way.

Visit the Ccaccaccollo community centre which G Adventures travellers' donations helped create in 2005, thereby enabling local women to sell traditional textiles to travellers. See local weaving and dyeing techniques used to create garments and souvenirs, and learn how the Planeterra weaving co-operative has impacted the community and those who visit it. This includes the purchase of alpacas to provide a steady supply of wool, looms, and sewing machines as well as several training courses on production, sales and small business management.

In the rural village of Cuyo Chico in the Sacred Valley, a group of families joined together to create a small business based on their traditional adobe ceramic crafts. Using clay from their surroundings, they mold bowls, plates, and all manner of decorations. Learn about the ceramics process as well as the traditional adobe brick-making that forms the basis of houses throughout the valley, all while taking in a spectacular view of the Pisac Ruins. After the demonstration, peruse the items for sale directly from the artisans in their shop.

Visit a community located at the base of the Pisac ruins that specializes in pottery. Interact with the locals while they give a demonstration and later pick up a craft from their shop.

Contribute to sustainable tourism in Huchuy Qosqo, a small village of 65 families in the Sacred Valley, by eating at the Parwa Community Restaurant. Learn how the resident-run restaurant was kickstarted by G Adventures and the Multilateral Investment Fund, to become a successful farm-to-table program that boosts the local economy and several spin-off microenterprises.

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

Get your blood pumping on this first day of hiking the Inca trail. The trekking is fairly easy and serves as good training for the next few days. Pass rambling rivers and a small village, and enjoy scenic mountain views; it’s just a taste of what’s to come.

The first day of the Inca Trail will get your blood pumping and give you an idea of what's to come.

Enjoy G Adventures-supported handmade biodegradable soap products, for use on our treks. This G Adventures for Good project empowered local Cusqueña women to start their own business in order to reduce the environmental impact of treks in the region. Planeterra provided $10,000 of seed funding for two young entrepreneurs to register their biodegradable products in order to sell them to the tourism industry. "Esencia Andina" is now a successful business that produces biodegradable soaps, detergents, and natural products for travellers, guides, porters, and cooks on our treks.

Trek over progressively spectacular and steeper terrain on your way to Warmiwañusca (aka Dead Woman’s Pass), the highest point of the trek at 4,198m (13,769ft). Be prepared to face strong Andean weather (blazing sun or cold winds) around the pass. Take the hike slow, and drink lots of water along the way – amazing views are waiting as a reward. Enjoy some ample time to rest and relax after reaching the camp; most campers arrive around early afternoon.

This is the highest point of the trek at 4,198m (13,769ft). Most hikers reach camp by early afternoon, with ample time to rest and relax before the last full day of hiking. Take it slow and drink lots of water.

Cross two passes and more ruins along the Inca Trail on the last full day of hiking. Traverse Runquraway at 3,950m (13,113 ft), and then reach the second pass at 3,700m (12,136 ft). Spot the gorgeous Cordillera Vilcabamba and the Urubamba Valley in the distance on a clear day. Camp at either the Phuyupatamarca ruins or the Wiñay Wayna ruins.

The last full day of hiking on the Inca Trail has you crossing two passes and more ruins. Cross Runquraway at 3950m and then the second pass at 3700. With clear weather the Cordillera Vilcabamba and the Urubamba Valley are both visible int he distance. Camp at either the ruins of Phuyupatamarca or closer to the Wiñay Wayna ruins.

Wake around 03:30 to reach the Sun Gate as early as possible. Head to the checkpoint and join the lineup to wait for the gate to open. Catch the first views of the breathtaking ruins of Machu Picchu (fingers crossed for a clear day). Hike down to Machu Picchu (about 45 mins) for a 1.5 hr guided tour of the site, and free time to explore. Opt to visit the Inca Bridge (a 15-min walk one way) for no additional charge, if time allows. Catch the bus outside the Machu Picchu gate after your visit for a 25-min downhill ride to Aguas Calientes. Eat and relax before the train ride back to Cusco this evening.

Set off with the local guide to explore Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas. Learn about the history and gain insights into this massive mountaintop citadel while wandering through ancient dwellings, stone temples and along sculpted terraces. Feel the energy of this 15th-century site, now both a UNESCO World Heritage site and voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide internet poll.

Climb aboard, take a seat, and enjoy the ride.

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.