Experience the Ecuadorian Amazon

Day 1: Arrival Francisco de Orellana - Coca - Sani Lodge

Your journey begins with a 35-minute flight from Quito to Coca, where the staff will pick you up and take you to a local hotel on the banks of the Napo River. There, bilingual guides will explain the safety rules to you before you go on a three-hour boat trip on the largest tributary of the Amazon in Ecuador, the Napo River. During the trip, you will get a taste of the Amazon with its ancient communities and birds such as herons and vultures, while enjoying a packed lunch. The canoe trip is accompanied by a five-minute walk and a twenty-minute paddle canoe ride over the Challuacocha stream. The staff welcomes you with refreshing drinks and snacks before you settle in your cabins.

Later you will have the opportunity to take a short hike on nearby paths or take a canoe trip to observe primates, Amazon birds and black caimans in their original environment. You will also experience the fascinating flora with cedar trees, orchids and bromeliads up close. After your return to the lodge, our chef will offer a wide range of national and international cuisine tailored to celiac, vegetarians and vegans. After dinner, explore our Schwarzwasser-Oxbow Lake, a habitat for one of the increasingly endangered species, the Black Cayman. This lake is home to a healthy population of these large South American crocodiles, which can grow up to 6 meters long. Return to the lodge.

Day 2: Discover wildlife in their natural environment

After breakfast, you will experience life in the treetops from the 36-meter-high observation tower. To get there, your guides paddle for about 30 minutes on the Challuaco-cha Lake through a beautiful Igapo forest and take a short 10-minute walk. So far, more than 565 bird species have been registered, including colorful birds such as macaws, toucans, honey eaters, tangers, flycatchers, hummingbirds and with a little luck you can observe roaring monkeys, skull monkeys and sloths up close on the canopy. The tower offers a unique perspective and opens up a completely new world of Amazon biodiversity, which is often difficult or even impossible to see from the undergrowth. The exploration of the nearby paths continues to search for more Amazonian creatures. Return to the lodge for lunch.

After lunch, many alternative activities are available, including bird watching from the dining room or simply relaxing in the hammocks. In the afternoon, hike on the Chorongo or Coto paths of 3 hours to get to the bottom of the relationships between the different creatures and their role in this complex ecosystem. Orchids, tendrils, chokes, rustic trees and bromeliads are all part of this fabulous tropical rainforest. Dinner at the lodge.

After dinner, take a nightly walk to see how countless insects, spiders and frogs come to life.

Day 3: Visit to the Kichwa community

After the early breakfast, you return to the Napo River to board the motorboat and visit the parrot licks at Yasuní, a natural landslide where hundreds of parrots are looking for a place to land and eat the earth. Here you can watch Mealy Amazon, Yellow-crowned, Orange-winged and Blue-headed parrots.

Then take a walk in the south of the Yasuní to admire the flora and fauna of this area, which is considered by scientists to be the most species-rich place in the world. Here there are some species that cannot be found in the north, such as the gold mantle clipping monkeys, spider monkeys, blue and yellow macaw and with a little luck an encounter with white-lipped pointed deer or collared pekaris. Drive back to the Sani Community Center to visit a local house and get an insight into the life of a typical Kichwa family.

Enjoy their food, drinks, customs and culture of the Sani community and learn how the way of life of the locals is environmentally friendly. Return to the lodge for piranhafishing and a well-deserved dinner.

Day 4: Yasuní National Park

Explore the hidden corners of Sani Lodge on a 6-hour difficulty level 2 hike on the Chorongo Largo Trail and experience an encounter with breathtaking wildlife, including wool monkeys, groups of squirrels, white-fronted capuchin monkeys, parrots, macaws, toucans and with a little luck tapirs and even pecaris. Discover the magical world of the untouched jungle in a unique experience. Lunch is served in the middle of the forest, surrounded by tree ferns, ancient kapoks, palm trees and an abundance of magical energy on all levels. In the afternoon, return to the lodge for dinner. This activity depends on your physical condition and can be changed to shorter hikes or longer canoe trips.

Day 5: Return to the Napo River - Coca

Leave the lodge at 5:00 a.m. for the last canoe trip and encounter with the flora and fauna of the Amazon jungle to board the canoe in time for your return flight to Quito. We will serve you a breakfast package on the way. (We reserve the right to change the travel schedule without prior notice due to weather, regulations or unforeseeable circumstances.)