Your Ecuador travel adventures can continue before or after your cruise in Galapagos!
If you choose to extend your Ecoventura cruise to include a stay in the Ecuadorian Amazon, now is the time to determine which lodge is the right choice for you. Both Sacha Lodge and Napo Wildlife Center will immerse you in a rich experience that captures the ambiance of the rainforest, while also providing luxurious accommodations to keep you relaxed and ready for the next day. These lodges are true examples of eco-tourism, finding and maintaining ecological and social responsibility to the ecosystems and community of Ecuador. Read on to find the lodge that speaks to you!
Things to keep in mind for Sacha Lodge:
The Sacha Lodge sanctuary is nestled within a 5,000-acre private ecological reserve in the Amazon, and overlooks the Pilchicocha Lake, which was hidden within the reserve for millions of years. Every one of the 26 cabins were constructed with traditional rainforest materials, to give visitors a truly immersive rainforest experience.
Photo credit via Sacha Lodge
Feel at home with two double beds and private baths in each room, as well as modern amenities such as ceiling fans, electrical outlets, and insect screens. Enjoy the lush lookout of the jungle from a hammock where you can spot local flora and fauna such as toucans, agoutis, and monkeys, right from your cabin! Take a moment to relax in the raised lookout area above the bar and lounge, where three buffet meals are served daily.
Photo credit via Sacha Lodge
Choose from these activities at Sacha Lodge!
- 300 meter Canopy Walkway, one of only a few rigid, self-standing suspension canopy walkways in the world.
- Our newest attraction, the Treetop Walk, allows visitors to explore the rich life of the rainforest understory. The Treetop Walk leads you on a 240 feet long path through this rainforest layer so rarely observed by human beings before.
- 36 meter high Kapok-tower that allows guests to climb into and above the rainforest canopy for a magnificent view of the surrounding area.
- 2 flooded forest streams accessible by dug-out canoes where luxuriant lianas, bromeliads and palm trees thrive.
- Largest butterfly house in Ecuador, where nearly 40 species of local butterflies are bred.
- Swimming in our Pilchicocha lake, in a swimming area that will not interfere with the local fauna.
- Cultural engagement: we will visit a local community program that offers our guests the opportunity to share with the women from the community and learn about the Kichwa lifestyle.
- Night walks and canoe trips, with the aid of flashlights, often reveal creatures such as caimans (of the alligator family) that are seldom seen during daylight.
Photo credit via Sacha Lodge
Click here to book the Sacha Lodge!
Things to keep in mind for Napo Wildlife Center:
Napo Wildlife Center is the only lodge within the Yasuni National Park, which spans nearly 2.5 million acres of Amazonian rainforest and is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. This award-winning sustainable lodge is built on the edges of Anangu, a jungle lake in the pristine and ancestral territory of the Anangu Quichua Community.
Photo credit via Napo Wildlife Center
You will take a boat ride from Coca City down the Napo River, where you will be transferred to paddle-canoes. The trip to the lodge is one of the best experiences of the trip. Your local guide will take you under the canopy of trees lining the Anangu creek, where you may see giant otters, peccaries, and maybe a jaguar or tapir.
Photo credit via Napo Wildlife Center
Relax in style in one of the 16 large luxury cabins, complete with king and twin size beds, private balconies with views of the lake, private bathrooms with hot water, and modern amenities such as ceiling fans, plenty of lights powered by silent generators, safety deposit boxes, and screened windows. Shaded terraces with hammocks give you ample space to observe local wildlife, including flights of blue and yellow macaws, black caimans crossing the lake, or a capybara at the lake’s edge. Enjoy meals carefully prepared to delight your senses, including traditional Ecuadorian dishes.
Photo credit via Napo Wildlife Center
Choose from these activities at Napo Wildlife Center!
- Birdwatchers rejoice from the 60 foot observation tower next to the forest canopy! With around 610 different species of birds recorded, the trip to the tower is the perfect opportunity to see the local avian wildlife.
- Take a walking trip through the forest where you may see monkeys, lizards, tortoises, frogs and army ants in addition to an array of birds, including toucans, macaws, parrots, manakins and hummingbirds. Even jaguars, pumas, tapirs, giant anteaters and giant armadillos have been spotted in our area!
- Thanks to the EcoEcuador Foundation, we are excited to invite you to join in the daily life of the Anangu people. Join families in daily activities such as fishing, harvesting bananas, coco, and manioc (a starchy jungle root), or helping prepare chicha, a traditional drink based on cooked and fermented manioc.
- Watch hundreds of parrots from the local clay lick.
- Take a canoe ride across the black waters of the Añangucocha lagoon, where experienced guides will point out the black caiman and piranhas!
Click here to book the Napo Wildlife Center!
These lodges provide first class amenities in the vibrant settings of the tropical rainforest, letting you experience jungle life first-hand, while also keeping you relaxed and ready for the rest of your trip. Book either the Sacha Lodge or Napo Wildlife Center for your next Ecuador travel extension. We can’t wait to see you there!
Photo credit via Napo Wildlife Center
