Yunguilla

Situated against the stunning backdrop of Ecuador’s Andes just north of Quito, Yunguilla is a village that has wholeheartedly embraced community-based tourism. Here, nearly the whole village is involved in the community project in one way or another, either by providing accommodation to tourists or by manufacturing foodstuffs, such as milk, cheese, yogurt and Chigualcan jams, which benefit not only travelers enjoying meals at the community restaurant but also locals – reducing their dependency on imports from Quito and making the village both sustainable and self-sufficient.

Travelers who visit Yunguilla can stay at a variety of homes and enjoy traditional, local foods and enjoy nature walks along old smugglers’ trails, with the possibility of spotting hummingbirds as well as migrating tapirs, big cats and Andean bears in the cloud forests of the Yunguilla Nature Reserve. Once home to the now extinct Yumbos people, the region around Yunguilla continues to preserve its indigenous heritage and this homestay experience is an opportunity for cultural exchange.