Experience the Amazon with a Host Family in Ecuador
The Amazon Rainforest, the world’s largest tropical rainforest, is home to over 3 million species and covers much of Brazil and Peru, as well as Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and Ecuador. During this experience, travelers will have the unique opportunity to live with the Quichua people, the Indigenous people of South America who speak the Quichua language, and learn more about both the rainforest and the people themselves. Beginning their journey in Quito, Ecuador, travelers will then go by bus and truck into the Amazon Rainforest where they will spend the next four nights with a local Quichua family in their small village in Tena. At the village, travelers will be able to learn about medicinal plants as they explore the rainforest, go on a canoe ride to the amaZOOnico Animal Rescue Center, experience a shamanic healing ceremony and participate in a blowgun contest. Other activities include a natural mud face mask treatment and a cacao culinary experience and tasting. At the village, travelers will get to know the Quichua people on a deeply intimate level, sharing meals with them and learning about the secrets of the rainforest with local community members as their guides.
This 7-day experience starts at $514 per person and includes accommodation, meals and transportation. For a more in-depth experience in Quito, travelers also have the option to add a $43 city tour to their journey, with stops at the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the Basilica del Voto Nacional, a Roman Catholic church located in the historic center of the city and the Virgin of El Panecillo, the highest statue in Ecuador and the tallest aluminum statue in the world.
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