Central Highlands - Adventure Guide to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands - page 193

Baños Outfitters

Rainforestur , Ambato near Maldonado, 3-740-743,

[e-mail], offers seven-day trips to the
Cuyabeno Reserve. The company also provides shorter
trips based near Tena, and their guides speak several lan-
guages. Costs average around $50 per person per day, with
a minimum group size of four people.
Tsantsa Expeditions , Oriente near Eloy Alfaro,

3-740-
957, fax [phone], is native-owned and -operated. They
use Shuar Amerindian guides and are very knowledgeable
about local culture and natural history. They're also one of
the region's few environmentally sensitive outfits.
Geotours (see Rafting , page 192, above) also offers jungle
excursions, as does Deep Forest Adventure ,at
Rocafuerte and Halflants, 3-740-403. Their multilingual

guides have received positive reviews. For longer excur-
sions deeper into the jungle, inquire with the well-
recommended Vasco Tours , at Alfaro and Martínez,

3-

741-017, [e-mail] - groups only.
Expediciones Amazónicas , Oriente and Halflants,

3-
740-506, [e-mail], is one of
the top companies for leading climbs up Tungurahua. Their
guides and equipment are better than those at most other
outfitters, and they charge just $50 for the two-day trip.

Eco-Travel
Sangay National Park

The 672,000-acre Sangay National Park stretches from
near Baños, where hiking and climbing up Tungurahua
Volcano is readily available, to an extremely remote re-
gion of Ecuador over 43 miles to the southeast. It is large
enough to cover portions of Morono Santiago, Chimborazo and
Tungurahua provinces and includes elevations of 3,200 feet along the
lower eastern foothills all the way up to a 17,400-foot peak, making it
one of the most ecologically diverse parks in Latin America. Sangay
was listed as aWorld Heritage Site in 1983 and dubbed aWorld Heri-
tage Site in Danger in 1992, due to the affects of the illegal Guamote-
Macas road. Three volcanoes highlight the park, from north to south
- Tungurahua (16,403 feet), El Altar (17,393 feet) and Sangay
(17,103 feet), the first and last of which are active.