La Selva Amazon Ecolodge & Spa

At the Quito International Airport you will be met by La Selva representative in the National departure area in order to assist you and give you a short briefing about the journey.

After a 30 minute commercial flight to Puerto Francisco de Orellana "El Coca", transfer by private transportation. A representative will take care of your luggage and will provide you with life vests and fresh water bottles.

An amazing fluvial journey of approximately two and a half hours in a motorized canoe with the assistance of a high quality English-speaking naturalist guide will be the beginning of a great experience in the tropical rainforest. A delicious boxed lunch will be provided.

At the end of the motorized canoe ride, you will be dropped off at La Selva's main dock. After using the facilities and putting mosquito repellent on, a short 15 minute jungle walk will lead you to a creek where a small canoe will be taken to enjoy an unforgettable 20 minutes paddle canoe ride across "Garzacocha" (the heron's lagoon) in order to reach the lodge area.

Do not forget that the only thing you must take care of is your carry-on and camera equipment. Your other luggage will be transported by our lodge's staff.

Approximately 15 minutes later, the resident manager will greet you with a delicious welcome cocktail. From there you will continue on to relax in the bar area with a fresh tropical fruit snack and a short briefing with general information about the lodge and activities, provided by one of our bilingual naturalist guides.

430PM - Matapalo Trail: This trail was named after the Spanish name of the famous Strangler fig (Ficus sp) one of many remarkable trees that you will find during this short introductory walk, where your native and naturalist guides will start to share with you part of their knowledge about flora and fauna of the tropical rain forest.

640PM - Night Walk: A flashlight and a camera will be the most important tools you will need to enjoy all of the insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals that you might see during an hour walk in the darkness of the forest.

730PM - Dinner

5:30AM - Wake up call
6:00AM - Breakfast
6:30AM - Observation Tower: To reach the tower you will need to leave the lodge and follow a trail of approximately 20 minutes. A platform located 135 feet above a kapok tree will let you enjoy an enchanting view of the rainforest canopy. Several different species of birds with bright colors and symphonic calls, besides canopy mammals like red howler monkeys, white fronted capuchin monkeys, squirrel monkeys, might be part of this experience lasting approximately 2 hours.

It is time to continue with a walk in the forest. A visit to the Tucaneta Trail will let your guides share with you more information about flora and fauna. The main characteristics of the tropical rainforest and the behavior of insects, frogs, toads, reptiles, birds and mammals might be part of this walk.

12:30PM - Lunch
4:00PM - Chaguamango Hermano Trail: This trail begins behind the lodge and finishes on the edge of the lake. During the walk your guides will talk about the neo-tropical pharmacy that can be found in the rainforest. Many plants have been used by the indigenous groups of the Amazonia to cure different ailments. Some of them will be spotted on the way. At the end of the walk, you will head back to the lodge by canoe. If you are lucky, you might see big troops of squirrel monkeys approaching the water, allowing you to take the best wildlife photos.

7:00PM - Dinner
8:00PM - Night Canoe Ride: With the help of a spotlight, your guides will take you in a paddle canoe around the lagoon looking for caimans, boas, bats, owls, night mammals and more nocturnal wildlife. If the sky is clear, you might have the chance to do some star gazing.

6:00 AM - Wake Up Call
6:30 AM - Breakfast
7:00 AM- Parrot Clay Lick and Mandi Wasi
Today you will make your way back to the Napo River and take a motorized canoe ride to the clay licks, one of the most fascinating displays of the wild world. Hundreds of parrots and parakeets gather here to eat the mineral rich soil, an important part of their diet. Binoculars are essential to really capture the moment.

After the clay licks we will take you to experience our Cultural Activity. An Amazonian Kichua woman will welcome you at their community center to share their life of the Kichua's in the Amazon. This is special because it is part of the Amazon you do not find on the maps and provides the special and unique opportunity to really get to learn more about the people of the Amazon.

1:00 PM - Lunch

4:30 PM - Coto Trail
This is a fantastic walk that takes off from the lodge to the edge of the Garzacocha Lagoon. In the afternoon th elight from the sun will come from behind most of the time, making this walk an amazing experience and the perfect opportunity to enjoy the beauty of this amazing forest. Groups of black-mantled tamarin monkeys can be spotted on this walk and some of our groups have even seen tapirs too.

Your Naturalist Guide is going to explain about all the different creatures that can be found and our Native Guide is going to explain about all the different creatures that can be found and our Native Guide will show you some of the medical plants that they have been using for thousands of years. A canoe ride back to the lodge makes a great ending for this activity.

7:30 PM - Dinner

6:00 AM - Wake Up Call
6:30 AM - Breakfast
7:00 AM - Mandi Forest Adventure
Not all lodges can offer an exotic trip into deep wilderness like where you are headed on this adventure. We will walk through an amazing primary forest for around 3 to 4 hours beginning at our main dock back at the Napo River. In this type of ecosystem there are chances to find some of the biggest mammals of the rainforest, like peccaries or wild pigs, deer or tapir.

Eventually we will reach the lagoon of Mandi Cocha. Here we get into a fiberglass canoe and paddle through the amazing Igapo Forest. This is a temporary flooded black water forest. Here we might see different species of birds and some of our guests, who are extra lucky, may encounter the elusive giant otter.

12:30 PM - Lunch
4:30 PM - Garzacocha Lagoon and Ceiba Trail
This lagoon is one of the most beautiful in all the Ecuadorian Amazon. During this trip is when we have higher chances of spotting different species of monkeys and birds. Sometimes huge groups of squirrel monkeys join families of capuchin monkeys to look for food. Howler monkeys also like to spend the late afternoon around the lagoon and you can hear their tremendous calls echoing on the lake. We may even see the famous pimy armoset, which is the smallest monkey in the world. At La Selva we have 7 primate species that can be seen.

More wildlife that can be seen include the Hoatzin, a famous bird with a very strange appearance and adaptations, toucans, macaws, and many other species of birds.

6:30 PM - Nocturnal Walk
On a night walk we give you the chance to enjoy the creatures and sounds of the Amazon Jungle at night. Sometimes we can see amazing things during this activity. Make sure that you bring a flashlight for this fantastic experience.

7:15 PM - Departure Briefing
Our manager will provide you all the necessary information about your departure procedure for the next morning.

In accordance with your last night briefing, you will have an early wake up call, breakfast and departure from the lodge.

The lodge staff will assist you with your checked luggage. Motorized canoe ride upstream to go back to Coca, where our representative will take you to the airport to help you with your checked luggage and boarding passes.

6:00 AM - Wake Up Call
6:30 AM - Breakfast

7:00 AM - Departure for Coca