Sani Lodge

Pick up from Coca City where the staff will pick you up and transfer to a local hotel located on the banks of Napo River. There, your bilingual guides will explain safety before embarking on a 2 ½ boat trip on the largest Ecuadorian affluent of the Amazon, the Napo River. During the journey you get a taste of the Amazon; ancestral communities, and birds such as herons, egrets, and vultures, while enjoying a delicious, packed lunch. A 15-minute walk follows the canoe ride through a flooded forest and a 20-minute paddle canoe across the Challuacocha Lake.
Later in the afternoon, take a short walk on nearby trails or take a canoe ride with the chance to observe primates, Amazonian birds, and black caimans in their primitive setting. Closely encounter the amazing flora represented by cedar trees, orchids, and bromeliads.
After dinner explore our black water, Oxbow Lake, a haven for one of the increasingly endangered species, the black caiman.

Accommodation: Sani Lodge
Meals included: Box lunch, Dinner

Experience the life on the treetops from the 36-meter (118 ft.) observation tower. To get there your leaders will paddle on the Challuacocha Lake for 30 minutes followed by a 10-minute walk. Over 565 species of birds have been registered so far, including colorful birds such as macaws, toucans, honeycreepers, tanagers, flycatchers, and hummingbirds, and with a bit of luck a close view of howlers, squirrel monkeys, and sloths resting in the canopy. The tower gives you a unique perspective, opening up a whole new world of Amazon biodiversity that is often difficult, if not impossible to see from the understory.
After lunch, there are many alternative activities; bird-watching from the dining hall or simply relaxing on the hammocks. In the afternoon, hike the Chorongo or Coto trails for 3 hours, a fantastic terra-firme forest to discover the relationships among the different living creatures and the role they play in this complex ecosystem. After dinner, take a night walk to see how myriads of insects, spiders, and frogs.

Accommodation: Sani Lodge
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

We’ll depart to the Napo River to board a boat and visit the Butterfly Garden at Yasuní National Park for a wonderful view of hundreds of butterflies in this area. Continue with a hike on the south of the Napo inside Yasuní National Park considered by scientists to be the most biodiverse area in the world. Here are some species that cannot be found in the north like the golden-mantled tamarins, spider monkeys, blue and yellow macaws, and with a bit of luck a close encounter with white-lipped or collared peccaries. Head back to Sani Community Center to visit a native house to get a taste of how a typical Kichwa family lives. Enjoy the food, drinks, customs, and culture of the Sani community and learn how the lifestyle of the locals is environmentally sustainable.
Optional Activity: You can visit the parrot-clay lick very early in the morning with a lot of parrots searching for a gap to land and eat the earth. There you can see the Mealy Amazon, Yellow-crowned, Orange-winged, and Blue-headed parrots. This activity has an extra cost of USD35.00 per person.

Accommodation: Sani Lodge
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast head back to the Napo River to board the boat and visit the parrots’ wall at Yasuní National Park for a wonderful view of hundreds of parrots searching for a gap to land and eat the earth. There you will see Mealy Amazon, Yellow-crowned, Orange-winged, and Blue-headed parrots. Then return to Coca on time to get your flight back to Quito at 11:50 am.

Meals included: Breakfast