The Amazon is our Earth’s lung, and Ecuador is fortunate to host part of this lung. With incredible biodiversity, the Ecuadorian Amazon is an atypical world, without buildings, cars, or screaming phones. Visiting the Ecuadorian Amazon, in the heart of the forest, is ideal to recharge your batteries and to appreciate the magnitude of this natural wealth. The Amazon Rainforest will offer you an authentic stay in the heart of a mystical and out-of-this-world civilization. Nocturnal hikes, rowing boat excursions, visit to authentic Amazonian indigenous communities,…and more are part of the activities.
The Amazon rainforest represents almost 50% of Ecuador’s territory. Therefore, it has nothing to envy to its Peruvian and Brazilian neighbors. Only a few hours from Quito, it would be a shame to visit Ecuador without an excursion, a short stay, or a cruise in the Amazon!
The Amazon Rainforest:
Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve
The Cuyabeno Reserve is one of the two main reserves in the Primary Amazon. Located to the north-east of Ecuador, this authentic and unspoiled reserve will delight you with its very rich flora and fauna. One of the geographical areas with the most biodiversity in the world.
With an area of 6,100km² (2355 mi2), the Cuyabeno reserve is home to 13 lakes, only one of which is accessible by tourist boats. You can see more than 12,000 different species of plants and trees.
There you will find one of the densest fauna in the world: 550 species of birds and 350 species of fish, including piranhas. Of particular note among these are caimans, anacondas, pink dolphins, river turtles, numerous poisonous frogs, toucans, and an impressive variety of monkeys. Truly an open-air zoo!
Cuyabeno Lodge -Confort Class-
Bamboo Lodge -Confort Class-
In order to get to the Cuyabeno reserve, the easiest way is to take a flight from Quito to Coca or Lago Agrio (flights to Lago Agrio are currently not available) depending on the case. The flight travel is about 30 minutes long. Followed by a 1,5-hour land transfer to the Lago agrio Village and a 2-hour speed boat trip to get to the lodge where you will stay. You can also reach Coca or Lago Agrio by road directly, a journey of almost 7 hours will be necessary.
A stay in the Amazon leads you to discover the Cuyabeno indigenous communities where you will experience “visit” days: a day through culinary traditions and observation of the local day-to-day life.
Yasuní National Park
Yasuní National Park is one of the biological mega-diversity areas of the world. Indeed, this park is one of the most famous in the whole Amazon Rainforest. It is also the reserve with the greatest biodiversity in the world.
Its immense area of 10,227 km² (3938 mi2) makes it the most emblematic National Park in Ecuador. Located in the eastern part of the country, you will navigate along the Rio Napo (Amazon river tributary). Yasuní National Park is the largest protected area in Ecuador, and UNESCO has considered this reserve a “Biosphere Reserve”.
The number and species of animals found here are more impressive compared to the Cuyabeno reserve:
610 species of birds,
200 mammals,
110 amphibians,
105 reptiles, and more than 250 species of fish.
You can see the jaguar, giant otter, pink dolphin, manatee, puma, and many species of monkeys.
Napo Wildlife -Classe luxe-
Sacha Lodge -Superior/Luxe Class-
To get to the Yasuní National Park you can fly from Quito to “El Coca” village (30 min) in a comercial plane. From there you will board a speed boat and navigate in average for 2 hours to your lodge. Alternatively, you can go to “El Coca” by car, it would an approximate 6 hour land transfer.
There are several isolated Ecuadorian Amazon communities to discover. During your stay in the Amazon, meet an authentic population! The two main communities present within Yasuni National Park are the Huaorani and the Kichwas.
Tena & Puyo Region
The region of Tena and Puyo is considered the Secondary Amazon. It’s accesible by car from Quito or Baños, this is the gate to the Amazon rainforest. You will surely meet Kichwa or Huaorani communities there.
Visiting the tropical forest primarily means discovering the region of Tena and Puyo, at the primary and the secondary Amazonia crossroads. The change of scenario (f you are travelling from the Andes) is very present, but the flora and fauna are not as abundant as in the Cuyabeno and Yasuní reserves. Indeed, urbanization and human activity not being very distant, resulted in the absence of many animal species.
The fauna and flora of the secondary Amazon is less impressive compared to that of the primary Amazon. Indeed, you will only see very few species of animals there since this region is much more inhabited.
Accessible by vehicle: it takes 4 hours to reach Tena (from Quito) and 1 hour (from Baños). The city of Tena is one of the gateways to Amazon. Once there, an additional road trip of about 30 minutes to 1.5 hours is required to get to your charming lodge.
In Ecuador, Tena and its region offer the possibility of meeting several indigenous communities. The best known and most visited are the Kuichwa and the Huaorani communities. During your stay in the Amazon Rainforest, You will have the opportunity to discover their customs and know-hows while enjoying an interesting and enriching tour/stay.
Visiting the Ecuadorian Amazon: Our Favorite
We also offer an amazing expedition trip from Tena to Perú to visit and have a taste of both Amazonian territories. You will leave with your English-speaking guide for 5 or 7 days on a motorized canoe along some of the most emblematic Amazonian rivers. You will be able to observe and enjoy a stay in the two main natural protected reserves of Ecuador: the Cuyabeno Reserve and the Yasuní National Park. Along the way, you will surely observe lots of wildlife as large macaws, parrots, caimans, monkeys or even boas.