Cuenca Ecuador

1. Educational tours and learning programs in Ecuador. Responsible travel, custom packages, Spanish, academic programs and cultural journeys for the inquiring mind! True Ecuador Travel grew out of Yanapuma Foundation and Spanish School. As a social enterprise, self- funding part of the non-profit work that we have carried out since 2006. We set up True Ecuador Travel as a travel agency and a limited company in Ecuador to be able to offer all the reliability and guarantees that our students and visitors require to make the most out of their time in Ecuador. More About True Ecuador Travel and Ecuador the Country Educational Travel Educational travel implies visiting a country like Ecuador with the aim of actively learning about it - its history, its environment, its culture, society, politics, or any particular theme of interest as an inquisitive traveler. It is tourism with an educational slant, giving a different meaning to the journey that one undertakes. At True Ecuador Travel we have years of experience and contact with indigenous groups, cultures, grass- roots organizations, and other tour providers and agencies, so that we can work with you to design and organize a rewarding educational tour or package. Ethical Travel Ethical travel implies that the traveler has a sense of the impact of their journey on the environment and their presence on the places that they visit. It is also called responsible travel, and issues such as the imbalances and interconnections between developed and developing countries, the impact on the environment, issues of human rights and social development all affect the decision of where to travel. Ecuador offers a wide range of experiences and insights to the ethical traveler and True Ecuador Travel will be delighted to help you create a fulfilling program. Profits from our operations are invested in the ongoing projects of our foundation - Yanapuma Foundation - working with indigenous and marginalized communities to promote sustainable development. Our projects have included education, health and nutrition, reforestation, cultural preservation and language rescue, sustainable economies, sanitation, vegetable gardens and improved cacao production. Traveling with True Ecuador Travel offers a way to travel ethically and responsibly. Why Ecuador? Ecuador is a microcosm, encompassing a huge variety of geographical environments in very close proximity in addition to a wealth of disctinct cultures who have formed unique relationships with these

2. environments. From the Amazon jungle in the East, to the spine of the Andes Mountains down the center, to the Pacific coast on the West and the Galapagos Islands archepelago in the Pacific ocean, there is so much to see, and one can travel from snow-capped volcanos to cloud forest or jungle in a matter of hours. And with over 17 distinct indigenous groups with 14 unique languages, there is a wealth of culture to explore and learn about. Fly Carbon Neutral Through our non-profit NGO, Fundación Yanapuma, we carry out reforestation projects each year, planting between 8,000 to 16,000 trees. Travel Ecuador with True Ecuador Travel and be carbon neutral - help us to fulfill our mission! About Us True Ecuador Travel is a full-service travel agency and tour operator in Ecuador that is the travel arm of Yanapuma Foundation, a non-profit NGO formed in 2006 with the mission to promote sustainable development in indigenous and marginalized communities around Ecuador. We operate on a "social enterprise" model, generating income from our own operations to fund our own project work. Yanapuma also runs a Spanish school with two branches - one in Quito and the other in Cuenca - along with a volunteer department that receives international volunteers and groups to carry out development projects around the country. These initiatives also make a valuable contribution to our work both financially and through direct work on projects. The lodges, programs, tours, and projects that we offer on these web pages are all chosen for their high standards - ethically and environmentally, as well as for the general standard of service that they offer the visitor. We recommend them based on customer feedback and their well-earned reputation for excellence. OUR LOCATION Calle Guayaquil N9-59 y Oriente, Quito 170419, Ecuador. Hermano Miguel 8-59 y Bolivar, Cuenca 010104, Ecuador. Phone: +593-2220-7084 Website: https://www.true-ecuador-travel.org