Children's Project + Andean Explorer

Product Details

Are you looking to pack a combination of awesome adventures and worthwhile volunteering into a South American gap year? Sandboarding, white-water rafting, ice-climbing, trek to Machu Picchu, dune buggying, fly over the Nazca Lines...

Join Quest on the most action-packed three months of your life! Start with three weeks' Spanish immersion and language training in bustling Quito. Afternoons and weekends are spent exploring Quito’s vibrant nightlife, playing football against local teams, chilling on surf beaches, visiting a shaman and wildlife spotting in the cloud forest.

Next you'll move to the shanty town of Villa Maria in Peru, where you will provide games and entertainment for gangs of children during their summer holidays. Your skills are required on the football pitch and your boundless energy is needed in the swimming pool. Your contribution keeps these kids away from the temptations of city life in the slums of Peru’s capital - Lima. You will make a difference.

Your Expedition culminates with an awesome adventure across the Andes. From the towering heights of Machu Picchu - the lost city of the Incas - to the darkest depths of the Amazon, this six weeks will see you ice-climbing, white-water rafting and sand-boarding your way through South America's finest landscapes. You’ll fly over the mystical Nazca Lines, swim with the legendary pink river dolphin, fish for Piranha and be mesmerised by the weird and wonderful Bolivian Salt Flats.

Language Phase

Learn Spanish in Quito, the capital of Ecuador and situated high in the Andes. Mornings will be spent in class in small groups of 4 or less, afternoons will be spent exploring Quito and practicing your new-found language skills. The focus is on practical skills and tutors will take you to markets to develop the art of bargaining South American style! Weekends are for visiting the local sights and trips include a chance to sample the highest bungee jump in South America to a weekend chilling on the Pacific beaches.

Project Phase

You'll be living and working in Villa Maria for four weeks during the Peruvian school break. The Villa Maria complex incorporates football pitches, basketball courts, a children's playground and two Olympic size swimming pools –all to be used by you and your team. With two sessions per day and kids coming from dozens of communities, you'll have literally hundreds of children to play with - all with an endless supply of energy.

Part of your volunteer contribution is used to supply Villa Maria with resources for any activity you care to try - footballs, tennis, crayons, face paints - whatever takes your fancy!

Villa Maria is the ideal opportunity for you to gain an insight in to life in the developing world and help to make the summer break a fun time for children living in poverty.

Expedition Phase

The final phase is an awesome 6 week Andean Explorer Expedition. Your journey takes you from breezy snow-capped mountains to lush Amazon Rainforest, through a wild mix of landscapes, culture and wildlife. En-route you’ll go sand surfing, trekking, downhill mountain biking, ice climbing and white-water rafting - you'll have the chance to try just about every crazy activity you can think of and more! Your expedition culminates with the epic Inca Trail to ‘Macchu Pichu’, the enchanted lost city of the Incas nestled deep in the lush green Andean Valleys.

Please contact the Quest office for more information by filling in the enquiry form below. We regularly hold open days at our offices in Sussex, if you'd like to come along, please do not hesitate to give us a call!

Why Quest?

Quite simply because we have the best reputation in the gap year market. We are second to none when it comes to safety, value for money and downright fun! We've also raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for our charities overseas and we have long-term commitments to our project sites.

If you'd like to speak to a past student they would be more than happy to bend your ear on everything you could get up to!