Arrive Quito. You will be met at the airport and transferred privately to your hotel.

Day to acclimatize in Quito and take the opportunity if you wish to visit Old Quito - a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Your adventure begins when we collect you from the hotel and drive you south towards Macas - a small town in the eastern foothills of the Andes. You will enjoy a briefing about your rafting adventures ahead over lunch.

After lunch, you will don your rafting gear and put into the Upano River for the first time. When you  first meet the Upano, she is a wide river alternating between verdant valleys and steep boulder passages, with mostly class III rapids and a sprinkling of class IV rapids which will really get you heartbeat racing. Not to be underestimated, slightly further downstream the Upano morphs into a narrow but powerful channel of water when it cuts through the Namangosa Gorge. On this first day of rafting, you will get used to paddling as a team, whilst taking time to appreciate the stunning rainforest scenery around you. This is a truly unique rafting and camping expedition through picturesque Amazonian scenery. You can hope to see a great variety of birdlife, including several types of parrot and parrokeets; and dozens of varieties of butterflies.

You will eventually pass thatched-roof hut settlements of the Shuar indigenous peoples dotted along parts of the river. The Shuar are famously (or infamously) known as the 'headshrinkers' of the Amazon - a post battle custom they have, fortunately, left behind them.

When we make camp for the night on the riverbanks of the Upano near Sucua, you will visit a Shuar community nearby. In the evening we will enjoy dinner at your camping site and a peaceful night's sleep along the riverbanks.

After crossing under the Patuca Bridge and entering the stunning Namangosa Canyon Gorge, the Upano River changes her mood and becomes a very fast-moving body of water that propels the raft forward through rapid after rapid at of Class IV-IV+ difficulty. As the river's volume increases, the riverbanks grow into towering canyon walls lush with vegetation. Water is channelled into a narrow, boulder-choked gorge. The Shuar call this the Gorge of Sacred Waterfalls. Stunning views of white waterfalls are the only thing that interrupts the green of the canyon walls - except, that is, for the vibrant bird and butterfly life.

The end of day two finds you camping at a site known as Mina, with another full day of exhilarating rafting ahead of you. Hiking trails and hidden caves provides space to stop and seek wildlife along the riverbanks. you can swim in the numerous tributary streams that feed into the Upano, offering different temperatures and volumes of water. When you reach the take-out site, our vehicle will be waiting to drive you back through the countryside to Macas in the evening. We spend a night of our journey there in a comfortable lodge.

Today you will pack up and head north along scenic jungle roads. Your next destination is Tena: base camp for the next three rivers. Upon arrival,  you will settle in to a riverfront jungle lodge and enjoy lunch. In the afternoon, you will be taken to a local Kichwa indigenous community, where you can learn about the traditional Kichwa way of life and culture. We can also participate in community activities, such as art projects, preparation of Chicha (corn beer), visits to ancient petroglyph sites, and cleansing rituals with a local shaman.

The rest of the day is free, giving you time to rest and recuperate.

After breakfast you will be driven to the Llanganates National Park, which extends from the high Andes down into the Amazon basin. This is part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The water that collects in this area forms the Jatunyacu River: a class III-III+ river and considered Ecuador's best one-day rafting run.

You will begin the day with a short hike to our put-in on the Jatunyacu and begin a 4 ½ hour white water journey downriver. The trip provides some exhilarating white water rapids, big waves, holes and high volumes of water. The Jatunyacu is famous for its abundant birdlife, crystal-clear water, and glimpses into indigenous communities who live along the shores in small bamboo and wood houses. You will take a break halfway through for lunch and an optional 30-minute hike later in the afternoon through a hidden water cave along the riverbanks. We can often find colourful spiders here spinning their webs along the cave walls and crevices lined with resting bats.

Today's destination is the Jondachi River, known as the Gem of the Andes. The Jondachi winds through some of the most pristine rainforest in Ecuador. At times the river is highly technical and demands our utmost attention; at other times it grows wider and calmer, giving us the opportunity to relax and admire the rainforest scenery around us. The tall canyon walls which frame the river are covered in lush green rainforest and dotted with many species of colorful flowering plants.

The Jondachi changes completely once she merges with the Hollin River, growing wider but much more powerful, with the added water volume of the Hollin. The rapids are mostly Class III to IV, but at Class IV+, the infamous Waffle Maker rapid is not to be underestimated. The strong suction pulls us in and makes maneuvering more difficult. The feature gives us the feeling of being clamped down upon by the water, hence the name. Rickety wooden foot bridges, built by Kichwa people to access their deep jungle territories, cross the canyon high over the waves. After an exhilarating run, we drive back to the jungle lodge for the evening.

In the morning, you will be driven eastwards for an hour or so and gain altitude before we reaching the first put-in at 7,500 feet (2,300 meters). The Quijos River lies within the Sumaco National Park - an incredibly biodiverse areas which was recently declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The Quijos was also the site of the 2005 World Rafting Championships.

You will be rafting at higher altitude now - in cloud forest rather than lowland rainforest - with the river snaking through the eastern foothills of the Andes. The river provides a seemingly endless series of Class IV and IV+ rapids & plenty of paddling exercise! When we aren't paddling furiously to get through the next class IV rapid, you will be able to take the time to enjoy the sights of the rainforest and look out for birds.

After rafting, you will be driven to the relaxing natural hot springs of Papallacta, nestled in fantastic cloud forest scenery. You will stay the night here in a very comfortable hotel, with option on site to submerge our muscles in the soothing alkaline-rich water; or make use of the well equipped spa.

In the morning, you can enjoy another rejuvenating dip in the soothing hot springs of Papallacta. The locals believe that the mineral waters, heated naturally by geothermal activity, have special healing properties.

Later in the morning, we depart Papallacta and head to Otavalo: the Andean town famous for its colourful indigenous crafts market. Here, local indigenous artisans and craftsmen sell their handmade wares, including textiles, leather goods, jewellery, and much more. Ecuador's vibrant indigenous culture and heritage is also visible in the foods sold by street-side vendors and in the music being played by local Andean artists. After lunch you will be taken back to Quito and your hotel.

Private transfer to Quito airport.