Ecuador: The Amazon Basin

The vast Amazon rainforest has always been cloaked in myth and mystery. One of the wettest climates on earth has kept this extraordinary setting isolated in overgrown splendor, where legends of lost civilizations have endured over the centuries. Never conquered to the extent that less forbidding geographies were, the Amazon jungle is still home to indigenous peoples whose lives have changed little over time.

Only in recent decades has this exceptionally remote realm become a subject of study, revealing the real treasures that exist here. Far from the golden cities the Spaniards imagined they would find, the rainforest of Ecuador’s “Oriente” – east of the Andes -- offers its own green empire of intense biodiversity. Here, complex interactions between plants and animals create a nearly impenetrable ecosystem that sustains a greater variety and concentration of life than anywhere else on earth. The real “El Dorado” is the jungle itself, the green lungs of the planet.

Home to many well-known species like the jaguar and anaconda, and a multitude of unfamiliar creatures, the Amazon is a remarkable place for wildlife encounters. Troops of howler monkeys wail in the canopy; scarlet macaws dot the verdant backdrop with bright splashes of red; caimans slither among reeds in blackwater creeks. Nowhere does the steaming allure of the tropics come alive as potently as in the rainforest.

And rain it does: annual precipitation averaging 10 – 14 feet contributes to the formation of an extensive network of rivers and lakes that gradually flow into the main stem of the Amazon. However, the rain is distributed seasonally, allowing for rhythmic changes in the forest that the local flora and fauna depend upon. This constant, undulating renewal of life keeps the Amazon ‘breathing’ like a singular, living entity, yet replete with millions of thriving species.

The Amazon’s major tributary rivers are often the only means of transportation in this expansive wilderness; boat traffic and human settlements on their banks are common.  In order to experience the rainforest’s treasures more intimately, we navigate the smaller rivers, which are usually only accessible by small canoes or, in our case, kayaks. Travelling by kayak offers the necessary seclusion for close encounters with the spectacular variety of birds and mammals that dwell in the jungle. It also provides the sense of isolation synonymous with real adventure.

We spend three days exploring these small rivers by kayak and on foot, camping each night in the jungle where we are lulled to sleep by a symphony of night sounds. We then move on to a comfortable eco-lodge in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve near Lago Agrio for three nights. With the lodge as our base, we venture deep into the 600,000-hectare preserve to explore one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. As we travel the flooded forest by kayak and motorized canoe we may be lucky enough to spot a river otter or a pink freshwater dolphin. We’ll almost certainly see some of the 15 species of monkeys that live here, including the showy Monk Saki with its dark, bushy ruff and tail.

2010 Fees
Land Cost
$2290*
Single Supplement: $350 per person

Internal Flights
$130 (subject to change)

Park Fee
$20 per person (cash only, subject to change)

*Price does not include international airfare or mandatory trip insurance. Prices are given in US Dollars.