Guide To Go Tours

Breakfast in Ecuador
In Ecuador breakfast options seem almost unlimited; the fruits, the cheeses, things from the sea, it's as if the bounty is endless. Ecuadorian breakfasts can be small and quick, just some bread with cheese or dulce (jam) or sweet tamals and coffee/juice. Breakfast in Ecuador can also mean a complete satisfying meal. Every province, town or city has its typical dish, each prepared or served with a unique twist like mote pillo, hominy with scrambled eggs in the Andean highlands, or a bowl of delicious encebollado (tuna) soup on the Coast. Savory seafood breakfasts, from ceviche to fried fish with rice and plantains, are very popular in beach towns and coastal cities. Breakfasts dishes using plantains, both green and ripe, are also very popular, both on the coast and also in the Sierra (Highlands).
Breakfast dishes with grains and vegetables like habas or fava beans, corn, yuca or cassava are also very common in the Highlands, especially in the more rural areas where people need a hearty breakfast to start a long work day. Then there are other favorites from the Andean foothills. Take tigrillo, a specialty from the Provincia del Oro made from boiled and mashed plantains, mixed with cooked red and green onions with an egg and cheese, it's mixed in the pan and cooked.
Panaderías or bakeries can be found everywhere You can find a variety of savory bread (pan de sal) or sweet bread (pan de dulce), some come with cheese fillings or sweet fillings, like guava jam. The type of breads also vary from one city to another, and some have very distinct and well-known types of breads. In the Sierra most people will drink coffee with their breakfast. Freshly made fruit juices are also popular all around the country, especially on the coast. Other popular breakfast drinks include a fruity oatmeal drink called colada de avena and herbal teas. A very well-known tea drink called horchata (very different than the Mexican or Spanish horchata drinks), it is made with a variety of herbs and flowers, and is served already sweetened and with a dash of lemon juice. Whatever your taste preferences experience them on your next tour with Guide to Go tour leader Gareth Miller.

Wishing you a very merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Fiesta de la Mama Negra celebrated in November
The fiesta originated with the colonization of Latacunga by the Spanish for its rich mineral resources. The native inhabitants were forced to convert to Catholicism, but the conversion was not entirely pure, with the result that indigenous elements, such as a polytheistic belief in “spirits,” became part of the new religion.
General consensus is that the festival was established when the Cotopaxi volcano erupted in 1742 that threatened destruction of Latacunga . The locals petitioned the Virgin of Mercy, the patron of Cotopaxi, to spare Latacunga. When the town escaped the wrath of the volcano, an annual celebration was established in her honor.
Fiesta de la Mama Negra is a parade of many characters that starts with the "guacos", dressed in white, who cleanse the way of bad spirits, and make way for the "Angel of the Star", dressed in white and riding a white horse, he carries the star that represents the guidance and the light, and sings praises to the Lady of Mercy. Then comes the "Mama Negra", a prominent man of Latacunga's society, who is elected every year to preside the festivities. He dresses as a woman, with seven shawls of different colors; his face painted black, and carries a black doll called Balthazara (yes, like the black Magi). Then comes the "Moorish King", richly dressed with jewelry and ornaments, wearing a cape and the scepter, as the symbol of power, followed by the "Flag Bearer", carrying the wipala, or multicolored flag that precedes the "Captain", wearing an elegant military uniform with a high feathered hat, and who is responsible for the success of the party. There's a fluidity of movement that's in tune with the music of the brass bands, and each other; shamans, clowns and dancing groups clad in all kinds of colorful disguises follow. It's all good humored and the parade ends with a big celebration of drinking, dancing and feasting on food of the area. A favorite is a beverage made with hominy, corn flour and fruit juice, and sweetened with brown sugar, called champus, and restaurateurs feature Latacunga’s most famous contribution to Ecuadorian cuisine, chugchucaras: deep fried pork, pork rinds, popcorn potatoes, maize and plantain. Candy and wine containers are also tossed to the crowds. Ecuadorians love a good party and there's nothing like a fiesta to generate the right mood.

Come to Ecuador to see the birds! Here in Ecuador we have the best birding areas on the planet and with over 1600 bird species you will be sure to see something amazing.

Quilotoa in the province of Cotopaxi is an active volcano and crater lake just outside of the small town of Zumbahua. It is the main subject for many of the naive paintings done by the tigua culture and is considered to be a violent god by these people. The lake has been called the lake of a thousand colors and is one of the few landmarks that can be seen from the air when flying to Cuenca or Guayaquil.

Tired of the summer heat? Cool off with a tour of the largest Inca Ruins in Ecuador with us. See the Temple of the Sun. The building is constructed in the Inca way without mortar, as are most of the structures in the complex. The stones were carefully chiseled and fashioned to fit together perfectly.At this site you can also see remnants of the the ancient Inca Road.

Following a 200 km route between the Eastern and Western Cordillera mountain chains, the Avenue of the Volcanoes (Avenida de los volcanes) offers travelers the opportunity to view up to fourteen of Ecuador's magnificent volcanoes. Some of the volcanoes are active, while others are dormant, and each has its own unique characteristics, making it worthwhile to take a trip along this spectacular 'avenue'.
Cotopaxi is one of Ecuador's most readily recognized volcanoes at 5,897 meters . Its virtually symmetrical cone rises up from a highland plain. Cotopaxi is considered to be active its last eruption was in the 1940’s.
Cotacachi is a dormant volcano along the avenue which features a 3 kilometer wide caldera and crater lake called Cuicocha. A caldera is generally formed when land collapses following a volcanic eruption, and Cuicocha was formed more than 3,000 years ago when the volcano erupted. It has been dormant since then, but the eruption contributed to the fertile soil found in the Otavalo valley.
The westernmost volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes is Quilotoa, featuring a 3 kilometer wide caldera filled with water which was formed around 800 years ago. The distinctive greenish color of Quilotoa's water is as a result of minerals from the volcanic ash and the lake floor has fumaroles, which the eastern flank of the volcano features hot springs. There is a small town at the summit of Quilotoa and this can be reached from Zumbahua by vehicle.
With its permanent snowcap,Cayambe boasts the highest point in the world on the Equator (4,690 meters on its south slope), and is also the only point located on the Equator to have snow cover. The highest point of Cayambe is 5,790 meters and was first conquered in 1880 by British mountaineer Edward Whymper, along with Italians Luis Carrel and Juan Antonio. It remains a favorite destination for mountain climbers today. Classified as a Holocene compound volcano, Cayambe last erupted in 1786 and is considered dormant.

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