SACHA LODGE Option: 4 or 5 Day Program, can start or finish any day of the week
(see below for Kapawi Lodge alternative, which is $130 more per person)
Today you fly out from Quito, cross over the towering Andes, and land down in the Amazon basin in the jungle town of Coca, where you begin your trip to your lodge. You will first travel by motorized canoe upriver, then hike into the jungle before boarding a dugout canoe to cross a jungle lake. The lodge sits at the edge of the lake, which is filled with piranha and surrounded by the sounds of howler monkeys and a chorus of birds. (B,L,D)
For the next two days you will explore the jungle area around the lodge, visiting oxbow lakes, taking night walks, learning to scout for elusive animal and bird life in the vastness of the jungle. This is one of the most biodiverse places on the entire planet, and the sheer variety of plant and animal species is truly awesome. If you are doing a 5 day program, you would add one more day to explore additional sites in the area. (B,L,D)
Say farewell to the lodge, return across the lake and back to Coca, and fly out over the Andes back to Quito, where you will have the balance of the day to enjoy some more of the Ecuadorian capital. (B,L)
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KAPAWI LODGE Option, 4 or 5 day Program: Fri-Mon (4 day), or Mon-Sat (5 day)
Kapawi Lodge is a more remote lodge with its own private landing strip. The lodge was established as a pioneering ecotourism project along with the local Achuar tribe as a way of developing a sustainable livelihood for the tribe. This is a highly respected and award winning ecotourism project. You transfer by land to the town of Shell, over the Andes and down into the beginning of the Amazon basin, watching the ecosystem change rapidly as you descend. Once you arrive to Shell (about 4.5 hours drive), you will board your small plane and fly deep into the rainforest to the Kapawi Ecolodge. You should arrive to Shell before 11:00 am. and your flight to Kapawi should depart by noon. You should be at Kapawi by about 12:30 pm.
Kapawi Lodge (L,D)
There is no set itinerary; instead, your guide will discuss various options with you to see what most interests you and the itinerary will be created together. You will make a number of excursions into the surrounding rainforest to spot wildlife and learn about the jungle ecosystem, as well as visit with the Achuar tribe. If you are doing the 5 day itinerary (Mon to Fri), then you will add one more day to make additional excursions.
Kapawi (B,L,D)
Today you will fly from Kapawi back to Shell, where you will be transferred back to Quito for drop off at your hotel.