ITINERARY & DEPARTURE DATES
3 Month Combined Expedition 

Our next departure date for this project and explorer is;
27th October

First 3 Weeks - Language Phase 
This phase will be different day to day but will include a mix of classroom sessions and getting out to practice your skills. Afternoons and evenings will be spent exploring the many attractions that Quito has to offer and getting to know each other as a team.

Weekend One - Otavalo
A short journey out of Quito is Otavalo, a small market town of 20,000 inhabitants nestled between snow capped volcanoes and a huge lake. The market dates back to pre-Inca times when jungle products were brought up from the eastern lowlands and traded for highland goods. With the locals all clad in their traditional dress, Otavalo is a sea of colour, hustle and bustle, and is deservedly one of the most famous indigenous markets in South America.

Weekend Two - Santa Lucia
Around 85% of Ecuador’s tropical Cloud forest has been lost; "slash and burn" agriculture, cattle ranching and illegal logging being the main culprits. Fortunately, one part of the remaining 15% lies only three hours from Quito. A weekend at Santa Lucia gives you the opportunity to take "time out" and soak up this stunning environment as you stroll through virgin  cloud forest, dive off rocks and bathe in waterfalls.

Weekend Three - Canoa
The last weekend takes us to the Pacific coastline, to the beach town of Canoa for a well earned few days of sun, sea, surf, salsa and cocktails.

Weeks 4-7 - Project Phase
See \'Expedition life\' for an example of a typical day

Weeks 8-12 - Explorer Expedition Phase
A land of cultural and geographical diversity, Latin America offers the traveller challenges, breathtaking views, wonderful people and stunning wildlife in a range of different environments. Covering thousands of kilometers through the deserts, mountains and jungles of Peru, Bolivia, and Chile the expedition will take you from the cool Andean plains down into the dense humid forests of the Amazon culminating with the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.

Wildlife, Sandboarding, and The Nazca Lines
Departing from Lima, you will travel down the Pan American highway to Pisco and take a short speed boat journey to the Ballestas Islands, which are known as the ‘Mini Galapagos’ for their abundance of marine and bird life. The following afternoon will be spent sand boarding down the largest sand dunes in Latin America. Next stop are the Nazca Lines, a series of straight lines, abstract designs and outlines of various animals etched into the ground. Their creation has flummoxed historians for decades, and can only really be appreciated from the skies in a light aircraft where you can marvel at these wonders of ancient civilisation for yourself.

Pacific Beach, Colca Canyon trek, And Arequipa
Once back on terra firma, your next stop is the beach of Puerto Inca where you can relax in the sun and sleep out under the desert stars before heading up to Arequipa, a beautiful city with magnificent colonial architecture nestling between smoking volcanoes in the Peruvian Andes. From here you will start the trek down into the second deepest canyon in the world, the Colca Canyon, which is twice the depth of the Grand Canyon. 

Chilean Desert And The Bolivian Salt Flats
After a short break in Arica to enjoy the beach and atmosphere, the team will head up into the Chilean altiplano to watch the sunset over the fantastic landscapes of Lauca National Park. It is then just a short trip across the border into the Bolivian altiplano to visit what is truly one of the most inspiring sights of the whole of South Americas, The Uyuni Salt Flats.

4x4 Land Cruisers will take you over 4,000m across terrain unlike anything you have ever seen before; bright green and red lakes filled with thousands of flamingos, surreal desert landscapes looking like you have stepped into a Salvador Dali painting, bubbling geysers, thermal waters, and volcanoes are all to be experienced before even reaching the actual salt flats themselves.

La Paz and the Choro Trail
La Paz is one of the most lively, colourful and spectacular cities in Latin America. Located at 3500m, it is surrounded by snow-capped mountains and is home to over a million inhabitants, over half of them of Indian descent. You will get the chance to experience the hustle and bustle of the many local markets within La Paz before trying your hand at ice-climbing in the near by peaks. The group will then head off on the ‘Choro Trail’, treking from the snowline through spectacular mountain valleys, and humid forest to the sleepy town of Coroico.

The Amazon Jungle and Lake Titicaca
Taking another switch into a completely different world the team then heads to Rurrenabaque to spend some quality time in the Amazon Basin searching for caiman, turtles, capybara, macaws, and a host of other wildlife. By night we hope to encounter monkeys, armadillos and sloths before switching locations to the pampas, the flooded forests where you have the chance to go swimming with pink river dolphins. From the the jungle, the route takes another relaxing leg to the beautiful shores of Lake Titicaca where we circle the floating reed islands and visit the local indigenous Aymara communities.

Cusco, White-Water Rafting, and the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
The final leg of your journey is to the archaeological capital of South America. Cusco is a magical and picture book example of many of the highlights of the continent. You\'ll go white-water rafting down the sacred valley before trekking the world famous Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. A magical and spectacular way to finish your experience with QUEST.