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Intercultural Studies in Ecuador

See our educational approach to program design
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See our educational approach to program design
Connect with us

8 days

Quito, Baños, Riobamba, Cuenca, Guayaquil

Strolls through untouched national parks and adventures in the country’s biggest cities. Time spent in ancient ruins and among modern locals. Get ready to experience the full breadth of Ecuador. You’ll travel in a train that cuts through the mountains and on vibrantly colored buses to discover four major cities, two provinces and one Incan ruin. You’ll also get to meet locals during an immersive salsa lesson and family dinner, where you can learn about the Ecuadorian lifestyle.Image displaying map describing the itinerary of the Intercultural Studies in Ecuador tour

Day 1: Fly to Ecuador

Meet your Field Director at the destination airport

Enjoy dinner if arriving before 8pm

Day 2: Quito

Take a walking tour of Quito

With your Field Director you will see:

  • Independence Plaza, the central square of Quito
  • Government Palace, Quito's presidential palace

Visit the Church of La Compañía, the façade of which is carved from volcanic stone

Take an excursion to the equatorial line and straddle two hemispheres at once  

Visit the Intiñan Museum and learn about other places located along the equator 

Enjoy dinner in Quito

Day 3: Quito • Baños region

Travel to Baños, also known as the "gateway to the Amazon" 

Visit the Devil's Cauldron waterfall, a 260-foot tall cascade

Enjoy lunch in Baños

Tour Baños with your Field Director

Enjoy dinner in Baños

Day 4: Baños region • Riobamba region

Travel to the Riobamba region, a stop on the Pan-American highway which runs from Canada to Argentina 

Participate in cultural immersion activities and learn more about the community that lives here

Enjoy lunch in Riobamba

Enjoy dinner in Riobamba

Day 5: Riobamba region • Alausí • Ingapirca • Cuenca

Travel via Alausí and Ingapirca to Cuenca, a UNESCO World Heritage Trust site due to its architectural diversity and history 

Visit Ecuador's first gastronomic museum to see, taste, and try your hand at cooking techniques

Enjoy dinner

Day 6: Cuenca

Take a guided tour of Cuenca

With your expert local guide you will see:

  • Old Cathedral, which functions today as the Museum for Religious Arts
  • New Cathedral, notable for its multiple domes
  • Flower market, consider one of the most beautiful markets in the world

Learn what a typical day in Ecuador looks like as you spend the day with a local community and enjoy lunch alongside them

Participate in a Salsa dancing lesson

Enjoy dinner in Cuenca

Day 7: Cuenca • Guayaquil • Depart for home

Travel via Cajas National Park and a cocoa plantation to Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city

Visit a cocoa plantation to learn how beans are harvested and processed, and enjoy lunch

Enjoy dinner in Guayaquil

Board an overnight flight

Day 8: Arrive home

Learning outcomes on this program

Confidence • Curiosity • Global perspective • Empathy • Adaptability • Relatability • Self-Awareness

Academic resources

With this program, you get access to our Global Learning Resources, which include:

  • Discussion questions

  • Sample assignments

  • Journal prompts

  • Webinars

  • EF's Global Competency Assessment, a pre- and post-program assessment to measure competency development

See the resources you get

Your experience includes

Transportation
Accommodations
Select meals
End-to-end support
EF Global Learning Toolkit
Field Director
Guided exploration
Field Visits

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