Profile Feature - Las Palmeras Inn

Accommodation, Ecuador

Searching for a beautiful, welcoming place to call home while visiting Otavalo, Ecuador and exploring the surrounding Andean countryside? Perhaps you're planning a retreat for a small group and looking for tranquillity, wholesome food, meditation/yoga spaces and to visit with the local shamans. Or, you'd love to find the ideal spot for an intimate garden wedding complete with Andean folkloric music, dancing under the stars and fireworks. The owners and staff at Las Palmeras will welcome you like family and work with you so whatever your desired experience, it will be authentically Andean, wrapped in the warmth of local hospitality and uniquely your kind of wonderful. All this, within the calming protective energy surrounding this location and under the watchful eye of the guardian angel of the, locally precious, cuy (guinea pig).

Visiting Las Palmeras Inn is like visiting a local family farm, with organic gardens and orchards - the source of their delightful farm to table cuisine - beautiful birds and a traditional collection of llamas, dogs, and cuy. In fact, at its heart is a 150-year-old hacienda still displaying its traditional vintage Andean architecture.

The Inn is situated on a hillside above the Andean indigenous market town of Otavalo, just north of the equator, at 8500 ft (2800m) with stunning views of snow-capped Mt. Cotacachi and protected by the energy of sacred Mt. Imbabura. The climate is one of perpetual spring, but the evenings can be cool and if the fog rolls up the valley and the fireflies sparkle in the night, you will appreciate the warmth of the fireplace in your room and the hot water bottle the staff placed in your bed.

Spending a few days can give you an authentic feel for life in this part of Ecuador and the traditions of the native people. You can comfortably wander down the country roads and into the surrounding communities or into Otavalo gathering smiles from farmers, beautifully dressed women and children you pass along the way. It's a 25-minute walk to the famous artisan market at Plaza de Ponchos and a 25-cent ride back up the hill on one of the shiny new local buses. Taxies are a few dollars either way.

Reception can organize explorations of the surrounding craft villages, hikes or mountain biking in the mountains or backcountry horseback riding at their sister hotel Hacienda Cusin. If you wish to simply relax you can stroll through the gardens, breath the fresh mountain air and enjoy the home-cooked meals. It's a great place to settle for a few weeks and nurture your soul, perhaps to write or paint, but above all to get far away from the crazy pace of modern life.

To discover more and learn why we think they are creating a better world, visit the Las Palmeras Inn Profile. There you will find a link to their website, where, by booking directly, you can more fully support this small local business and potentially receive a 10% discount.