Otavalo & Andean Traditions Experience

We collect you from your hotel in Quito in the morning and travel north through spectacular Andean scenery to Ilumán. Here, you join a hands–on Andean cooking class led by local experts – prepare and savour chochos salad, fritada (slow–cooked pork), potato tortillas, quinoa with vegetables, and the beloved helado de paila. Along the way you learn ancestral techniques and the cultural meaning behind each ingredient, then sit down together to enjoy the feast you have created. A vegan option is available.

In the afternoon, continue to Atuntaqui, renowned for its textile heritage – visit a traditional hat workshop to follow the craft from raw fibre to finished piece, then explore a tapestry studio where vibrant colours and symbolic Andean designs take shape on working looms. You round off the day at a Calluwa weaving workshop, where age–old traditions are kept alive as a living cultural expression. End the day in Otavalo for the night.

Set out to discover the spiritual and cultural heart of the northern Andes on a full–day journey. Begin in Ilumán, a community known for its traditional healers, where you witness an ancestral Andean limpia – an energy–cleansing ritual – and learn about the deep connection to Pachamama and an Indigenous worldview that honours balance with nature.

You then continue to the iconic Plaza de los Ponchos, one of Latin America’s most important Indigenous markets, to explore vibrant stalls laden with handwoven textiles, ponchos, jewellery and authentic crafts while immersing yourself in living Kichwa culture. Next, visit a traditional Andean instrument workshop to see how charangos, quenas and zampoñas are handcrafted – a short live performance brings the music’s emotion and history to life. You conclude at the Quitsato Project, a remarkable monument that marks the equatorial line with scientific precision and cultural symbolism, before you return to your hotel in Quito.