Palace Tours 12000 Biscayne Blvd. #107 Miami FL 33181 USA 800-724-5120 / 786-408-0610 Call Us 1-800-724-5120 Tren Crucero and The Galapagos Islands (From Guayaquil) Packed to the brim with adventure, natural wonders and unique flora and fauna, this tour allows you to experience the luxurious Tren Crucero train as it passes through Ecuador. Here you get to delight in various local delicacies, like chocolates created from Cacao harvested in plantations. Then as you pass through the town of Quito and its lovely church, you will also be able to indulge in traditional soups like fanesca. After this as you travel to the Galapagos Islands, you can check out Giant Turtles and the nearby lava tunnels, and finish off this decadent experience with brown sugar harvested from local plantations. Highlights of Tren Crucero: Let history come to life as an authentic steam locomotive carries you through some of the most exciting parts of the journey. Climb the Devil's Nose, a masterpiece of engineering that is known as the most challenging railroad anywhere in the world. Meet the Last Ice Merchant, whose way of life gathering ice from volcanic slopes stretches back for countless generations. Visit a rose plantation and cacao plantation and learn why Ecuador's crops are some of the best on earth! Walk beneath sky-scraping mountains and active volcanoes in Cotopaxi National Park. Enjoy breathtaking landscapes visible only by train! Enjoy accommodations in historical farm houses, called haciendas, where you will experience local customs and cuisine! Avail yourself of the professional staff devoted to attending to all your needs. Highlights of the Galapagos Islands: Make your way to the Charles Darwin research station to learn about conservation efforts and see several species of famous Galapagos tortoises in their natural habitat! Observe animals in their natural habitats--like blue-footed boobies, frigate birds, iguanas, and more-- and marvel at the lush vegetation of the islands. Walk through tunnels made of cooled lava and learn all about the Galapagos Islands' volcanic history! Watch how cacao is harvested and produced at a family-owned cacao plantation. Swim and snorkel with sea lions, sea turtles, marine iguanas, penguins, rays, and many species of tropical fish along beautiful coral beaches. Itinerary Day 1 - Monday: Touch down in Ecuador and the bustling metropolis of Guayaquil! Please Note: All itineraries are approximate and subject to change based on availability and conditions at the destination. Welcome to Ecuador! Upon your arrival, you will be picked up at the airport and driven to the Wyndham Guayaquil, where you can enjoy a night to yourself and rest in preparation for your exciting journey in the morning! Overnight in Guayaquil. Day 2 - Tuesday: Explore Santa Cruz Island and meet its giant tortoises on your first day in the Galapagos! Make it to the airport bright and early for your flight from Guayaquil to the Galapagos Islands! Tren Crucero and The Galapagos Islands (From Guayaquil)(© www.palacetours.com) 1/19 Make it to the airport bright and early for your flight from Guayaquil to the Galapagos Islands! Arrive at Baltra airport. Shared transfer in. In the morning, we will head to the El Chato Reserve in the highlands of Santa Cruz, home to the famous Galapagos giant tortoises in their natural habitat. Hiking through lava tunnels in El Chato's beautiful scenery with those lumbering giants is an unforgettable experience! We also see the fantastic formation of the twin craters with other highland wildlife such as: flycatchers, owls, anys and various number of Darwin finches on our hike. The impressive underground tunnels southeast of the village of Santa Rosa are more than 1km in length and were formed when the outside skin of a molten lava flow solidified. When the lava flow ceased, the molten lava inside the flow kept going, emptying out of the solidified skin and thus leaving tunnels. Because they are on private property, the tunnels can be visited without an official guide. The tunnels have electrical lighting (you can also hire flashlights/torches). Day 3 - Wednesday: Enjoy a voyage to scenic Santa Fe Island for wildlife watching, snorkeling, or relaxing on the beach! Breakfast. Full day exploration with lunch. Santa Fe offers one of the more beautiful and sheltered coves in the islands. Its turquoise lagoon is protected by a peninsula of tiny islets forming an ideal anchorage. The island lies to the southeast of Santa Cruz within sight of Puerto Ayora. Like North Seymour, Santa Fe has been uplifted seismically and you can see underwater lava formations. Day 4 - Thursday: Tortuga Bay and Charles Darwin Research Station Breakfast. Island excursion. The headquarters of the Galapagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station are located side by side on the outskirts of Puerto Ayora. There is an interpretation center open to the public and visitors may view the tortoise breeding program. Those guests who do not have the opportunity to explore the highlands of Santa Cruz and see tortoises in their natural habitat will have the chance to see tortoises here. And for those who have already seen them in the wild, a visit to the research station will see tortoises from the other islands and expand their knowledge of this unique, iconic Galapagos inhabitant. Tortuga Bay is located to the southwest of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island. Its name means “turtle”, and the island received this moniker because it is favorite place for sea turtles to lay their eggs. Many consider the stunning white sand beach the most beautiful in the Galapagos archipelago. The beach is reached via a marked and cobbled two-kilometer path that starts at the west end of Charles Binford Street. Guests must sign in and out at the national park control point at the beginning of the path. It is open from 6:00 AM to 6:30 PM daily. Day 5 - Friday: From sugarcane fields to lava tunnels, enjoy your last day in the Galapagos before flying back to Guayaquil! After breakfast, you will return to the airport to fly back to mainland Ecuador, so be sure to make the most of your last day in this paradise! Once you land in Guayaquil, a driver will take you to the Wyndham, where you will enjoy a restful night before setting Tren Crucero and The Galapagos Islands (From Guayaquil)(© www.palacetours.com) 2/19 out on Tren Crucero in the morning! Day 6 - Saturday: Climb aboard Tren Crucero for your first day heading into the towering mountains! Please Note: All itineraries are approximate and subject to change based on availability and conditions at the destination. Our journey to the Andes begins in Duran train station where we will board a convoy pulled by a carefully restored steam locomotive. The roaring engine, steam whistles and steel wheels over the railways will take us back in time to the early XIX century and the adventurous experience that is the Tren Crucero. Our first stop is Yaguachi, were we will switch engines to continue our trip across vast plantations of sugar cane, banana, rice and pineapple until we reach the Naranjito station. A short bus transfer will take us to a local hacienda were we will learn about the cocoa bean and we will be part of the chocolate making process. Ecuadorian cocoa beans are considered to be the best of the world and you would have the opportunity to taste them while we visit the hacienda. In the afternoon a “montubio” show will welcome us before we taste the delicious food of the coast of Ecuador. A bus transfer will take us to Bucay were we will take a hike around the tropical forest, home of countless plants, birds and orchids that will marvel us with their different sizes and exuberant colours. We will check in at our hotel and prepare for dinner. Meals: Lunch Dinner Day 7 - Sunday: Ride the Devil's Nose on your way toward Guamote and Balbanera Church! Our next day adventure continues by bus when we climb the Andes on a pleasant 4 hours drive. During this ride we will look at the amazing changes in, landscape from the peaceful green plains of the coast to the colossal Andean mountains that cast their shadows on the road. Our destination is the town of Alausi were we will embark on a thrilling adventure on board the famous Devil´s Nose train. Upon arrival at Alausi Train station we will join a restored XX century convoy and we will start our trip to the Devil´s Nose pass, a 450-meter descend in barely 12 kilometres on a zig- zagging railway that allows the locomotive to pull forwards and backwards the convoy to reach its destination, Sibambe train station. At Sibambe a colourful Andean community ballet will welcome us. Many are the histories that tell us why this pass was baptized as La Nariz del Diablo or The Devil´s Nose, from the shape of the mountain that awakens our imagination to the number of human lives that took to overcome this nearly impossible obstacle. After our thrilling adventure of The Devil´s Nose, we will take a bus ride to Guamote. Lunch will be served on board and afterwards we will continue or journey north to Colta were an impressive steam engine locomotive known as “The Black Monster” will be waiting for us. This huge steam engine was carefully overhauled and is strong enough to pull Tren Crucero and The Galapagos Islands (From Guayaquil)(© www.palacetours.com) 3/19 convoys over the railways of the Andes where the altitude and lack of oxygen makes this a titanic task.