Huaorani Amazon Rainforest Eco-lodge, Ecuador
Every day at the lodge is different, weather changes, river levels increase and decrease, and so on. A typical day starts around 07.00 with breakfast then an activity, lunch about midday, followed by an afternoon activity.
Dinner is served around 19.00, and there are options to explore the rainforest, with a guide, after dinner. The itinerary below is a sample itinerary and is all subject to change and alteration due to weather. Flexibility is the key.
Day 1: Transfer Quito-Shell, fly to Huaorani, canoe to Eco-lodge, dinner (L,D)
After being picked up early at your hotel, you leave Quito on the first leg of your adventure, heading south and across the continental divide and down into the Amazon Basin, known locally as el Oriente.
Following a stretch of the Pan American Highway dubbed the Avenue of Volcanoes, you pass near haciendas, towns and protected areas. You may see Cotopaxi, Tungurahua or Antisana before turning east through a mountain pass to begin the descent toward the rainforest.
The first major town once through the pass is Baños, named for the thermal baths that draw national and international visitors year round. Here you join the Agoyan River (which changes name to the Pastaza once it crosses into the province of the same name) and can admire waterfalls on the other side of the ravine – the slopes and the views are dramatic.
A brief stop along the way to partake of a boxed brunch across from one of the larger waterfalls is topped off with local fruits sold at stands along the way, from the same fields you passed earlier. After this 4-5 hour drive you arrive at the town of Shell from where you fly into the Amazon. You land in the Huaorani community of Quehueri’ono (keh-weri-oh-noh) 40 minutes later and are greeted by your hosts; at this point, the rain poncho and rubber boots are distributed.
You are then poled downstream in a shallow dugout canoe known as a quilla, enjoying the thick vegetation growing along the Shiripuno River and catching glimpses of riverside birds such as the Yellow-rumped Cacique, the Greater and Lesser Kiskadees, and any of the four Amazonian kingfishers. You arrive at the intimate setting of Huaorani Ecolodge to settle in, listen to an introductory briefing about the Huaorani and their relationship with the rainforest, and have dinner.
Day 2: Meet community, afternoon wildlife spotting, night walk (B,L,D)
After breakfast, it’s an hour-long walk through the forest to the village to introduce yourselves and meet with your Huaorani hosts. Although there are still some clans of Huaorani that live down river in voluntary isolation (The Tagaeri and Taromenane) most of the Huaorani today, including our hosts and partners are semi-settled and although they still maintain many of their traditional customs and practices no longer live naked. They typically were shorts and t-shirts.
This opportunity to meet with the Huaorani, natives of the rainforest, at home in their territory, is an exceptional experience - one that is mutually enriching. The experience of your time with the Huaorani is an enduring memory for all our guests.
After the community meeting, you will usually visit a Huaorani household for a more personal chat with one of the host families and experience what domesticity in the Amazon headwaters looks like. Around midday you’ll have an expedition lunch on the river or in a forest clearing.
In the afternoon, you wend your way down river back to the lodge, poling in a dugout canoe, watching for birds and other animals. After the sun sets, we have dinner.
Most rainforest animals are nocturnal. This evening we normally take a shorter guided walk into the forest around the lodge to look for wildlife. The stars of the night are the insects and the bats, both attracted by your torch lights. Other animals from insects to caiman reveal their presence by the reflection of their eyes.
One of the revelations of a visit to the Huaorani Ecolodge is the night sky. The clarity of the stars on a clear night is truly breathtaking. The complete lack of light pollution allows you to witness the night sky at its absolute best.
Day 3: Hunter/gatherer trail, PM relax with community (B,L,D)
Hunting day! The Huaorani are hunters and gatherers, and their main sources of protein are mammals (yes, including monkeys), fish and birds. The goals of this project are to protect the tropical rainforest and provide an opportunity for the Huaorani culture to continue flourishing, not to stop their traditional practices.
After breakfast, you go for a long hike with the Huaorani guide, also an experienced hunter. You learn firsthand about the secrets of survival in the rainforest without killing any of the creatures that live there. You learn how to set traps, make fire without matches, build a shelter in minutes, use a blowgun, practice the perfect swing of the machete, and catch fish in small creeks. Your guide may also show you edible insects, medicinal plants, the right clay to make pottery, and honey produced by stingless bees.
The trail has two viewpoints as it winds toward the community; the first one has tree trunk seats for some much-needed rest and to allow you to enjoy the view over the forest canopy, where you may see vultures soaring and trees in bloom.
Now down to the river, where you have time to plunge into the water; the canoe has brought up your swimsuit and sandals and there are plenty of places to change - if you use your imagination. The Huaorani love swimming and playing in the water and may join you. Lunch is served on the beach.
Then it’s is your afternoon with the community. Your visit is not intended to be a pre-planned activity as such, but rather a relaxing, informal social visit. You may call on several houses, talk to family members while sharing a bowl of chucula (a sweet drink made of ripe bananas) under the filtered light of the thatched houses, and admire their beautiful handmade artefacts, including woven hammocks and bags, blowguns, traps and necklaces.
Later on, you visit families’ gardens and learn how to grow edible plants and try to harvest manioc, also known as yucca or cassava. You may even be invited to join in a game of football.
Some time is left aside to visit the handicraft market to buy handmade products if you desire.You return to the Lodge by canoe at the end of the afternoon to relax and have dinner, after which your naturalist guide offers a half hour talk, or charla, on the rainforest or the tribe.
Day 4: Canoe to Nenquepare campsite via Apaica community (B,L,D)
Breakfast, then head down the Shiripuno River in the canoes, watching for birds and other wildlife. The wildlife monitoring project has confirmed that all the rainforest mammals are present in this Conservation Area, and this is where you have the best chance of seeing animals.
The sound of wooden poles splashing in the water as you wind your way down river is hypnotic.. Rounding a bend the dugout arrives at the tiny village of Apaica where Huaorani families welcome you with smiles and playful entreaties to buy their handicrafts as you take a break to stretch your legs. Shortly afterwards a short stop for lunch on a beach and a swim recharges you for the rest of the trip.
This 6-7 hour journey ends at the Nenquepare campsite, where your tents are already erected for you on wooden platforms beneath palm thatched roofs. Overnight at Nenquepare campsite, dinner.
Day 5: Trfr to Coca, fly to Quito, ends (B)
Breakfast, then back on the river for the last stretch of the river journey, depending on river conditions this may be poling or with a motorized dugout.
You continue downstream emerging from the primary forest of Huaorani territory into the world of settlers and oil companies (although it all used to be Huaorani territory). At the point where a road built by oil companies in the early 1990s crosses the river, you leave the forest and head to modern life.
The symbols of modern deforestation are the roads. This brief journey through oil territory illustrates the reality of the threat facing the rainforest and the Huaorani people.
After a 2.5 hour ride, you reach the banks of the Rio Napo and the town of Coca, where you board your scheduled flight to Quito. Trip ends
Included: Accommodation at the Lodge, camp, meals & drinks listed, activities, Huaorani guide, bilingual naturalist guide, camping gear, rain poncho (from Quito on), rubber/Wellington boots up to sizes: European 44; American M 10.5/F 12; British M 10/F 9.5, umbrella (in cabin at lodge), biodegradable soap & shampoo, transfer Quito-Shell, domestic flights.
Not included: Entrance fee to Huaorani Territory (US$10 per person), soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, transfers from and to airport in Quito, boots greater than sizes: European 44; American M 10.5/F 12; British M 10/F 9.5, tips, insurance, international flights, personal items.
|
