Yanapuma Spanish School in Quito, Ecuador

Yanapuma Spanish School, Quito:
Yanapuma Spanish School is a unique, non-profit school located in a beautiful historic building in the main tourist area of Quito. Our friendly staff and comfortable school offer a welcoming start to your stay in South America. Not only do we offer the highest quality Spanish instruction, but we also offer a wealth of social activities to help you meet other students of all ages, and explore the rich culture and history of Quito and the rest of Ecuador. We also offer accommodation with selected host families, or in selected hostels or hotels according to your budget.

All profits from the school go towards the work of our foundation to promote sustainable development amont the poorest indigenous and marginalized communities in Ecuador. Your presence as a student helps us to achieve our mission, and if you are interested in our work we will be happy to talk to you about it.

While individual classes offer the best way to learn Spanish, we also offer group classes at beginner level. The 4 week program begins on the first Monday of each month. Students can opt for just beginner classes or a combined program with visits to places of interest.

In addition, we offer regular weekend excursions. Destinations include biking fun down Cotopaxi volcano, a visit to Otavalo with its lakes and indigenous market, Papallacta hot springs, different indigenous communities that we work with in the Andean sierra, the Amazon rainforest or the Pacific coast, Mindo cloudforest, and more.

- Basic Spanish Program: Individual Spanish classes for 4 hours per day (more or fewer hours can be arranged).

- Quito Cultural Package: 4 hours per day of Spanish study and four excursions each week in or around Quito. Can be taken for 3 weeks.

- Volunteer Quito package: 4 weeks of classes in the afternoons with volunteering in the mornings. Various volunteer options.

- Study and Travel options: 9 different programs to travel with a teacher around Ecuador – the Amazon, the Andes, the Pacific coast.

- Study in an Indigenous Community: spend a week studying in one of the indigenous communities that the foundation works with.

- Beginner Group classes: 4 weeks of classes from absolute beginner, either just classes or as a package with cultural visits

- Medical Spanish courses: A 4-week Professional Medical Spanish course or a Weekly Medical Spanish course.

-  Online Spanish classes : Study with us either before you come or after you leave, or neither!

We organize weekly trips to areas in or around Quito to explore the richness of the local area while offering additional opportunities to learn Spanish. Every weekend, we offer the option of a one or two night trip to a number of different places in Ecuador. These trips can include hikes, traditional celebrations, or trips to explore different regions and communities in the country. We also provide booking services for travel across Ecuador, including trips to the Galapagos Islands, climbing the Cotopaxi volcano, exploring the Amazon, and other exotic destinations.

With a population of 13 million people, Ecuador located on the Pacific Coast in the northeast of South America, and shares its northern boundary with Colombia and the eastern and southern boundaries with Peru. Ecuador is a remarkable country, for its natural riches, its cultural diversity and history, and its peoples and traditions.

Ecuador is not only a beautiful country with great people, but the Spanish spoken in Quito is considered to be one of the clearest forms of Spanish in Latin America. Ecuador contains a stunning wealth of biodiversity as well as immense cultural diversity, particularly for such a small country. Located near the Panama Canal, Ecuador is within easy reach of the USA, Canada and Japan, as well as Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina.

Quito:
Located high in the Ecuadorian Andes, is the capital city and one of the most beautiful, richest, and oldest cities in South America. Quito is often described as "The City of Eternal Spring.", due to its climate. It is situated 35 km (22 miles) from the Equator.

Fought over by the Incas and conquered by the Spanish in 1534, the downtown historical district has been declared a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. Today, Quito, with a population is 1.4 million, offers a great variety of cultural activities and night life for the inquisitive and fun-loving tourist. It is a place where indigenous women in traditional clothing share the sidewalk with dark-suited businesspeople, bohemian students, and tourists. The old colonial heart is still intact, its narrow streets abuzz with activity as vendors from the highlands ply their goods in traditional markets.

We offer homestays with selected local host families, most within 20 minutes walk of the school. 
We also offer hostel and hotel accommodation in single room and shared rooms for students and volunteers, both short-term and long-term. A room in an apartment can be arranged for long-term students.