Ecuador’s Amazon Rainforest Extension

A La Selva representative meets you at Quito International Airport, helps you check in, and briefs you on the journey. A 30-minute flight takes you to Puerto Francisco de Orellana (“El Coca”). From there, you’ll ride about 2.5 hours down the Napo River by motorized canoe, with a box lunch on board. The last leg to the lodge is by paddle canoe across the lagoon. You only need to manage your carry-on and camera; staff will bring the rest of your luggage.

After a welcome drink and briefing, a naturalist gives you an introduction to the rainforest. Your first walk is the Matapalo Charapa Trail, named for the strangler fig. It passes mahogany trees more than 400 years old in the late-day light, when daytime and nocturnal animals are trading places. After dark, a night canoe ride on Garza Cocha lagoon looks for caimans, bats, owls, and nocturnal mammals by spotlight. On clear nights, the stargazing is excellent.

After breakfast, walk 15 minutes to a 120-foot observation tower. Guides use a spotting scope to find canopy birds and sometimes primates. Another 30 minutes on foot brings you to Mandi Cocha, a small flooded-forest lake where, with luck, you might see endangered giant otters.

In the afternoon, explore Garza Cocha Lagoon, where squirrel monkeys sometimes forage alongside capuchins, howler monkeys gather in the late afternoon, and hoatzins are easy to spot. After dinner, a guided night walk looks for frogs, insects, reptiles, and nocturnal mammals.

After an early breakfast, travel by motorized canoe along the Napo River to a parrot clay lick. Hundreds of parrots and parakeets gather here to eat mineral-rich soil, so bring binoculars. Then visit the Pilchi indigenous community, where hosts share their food, traditional drinks, cooking, dress, and forest knowledge. Come with questions.

In the afternoon, the Coto Trail winds through the forest to the edge of Garza Cocha. Your naturalist will point out wildlife, and your native guide will introduce medicinal plants used for centuries. The excursion ends with a canoe ride back to the lodge.

Spend the morning in Yasuní National Park. At a second clay lick, scarlet macaws and other parrots come to drink sodium-rich water, and deer, wild pigs, or even tapirs sometimes appear. A forest walk follows, with chances to see primates found only in this region.

In the afternoon, paddle Morete Yaku, the creek that feeds Garza Cocha. Along the way you’ll see the difference between terra firme forest and moretal swamp forest, which is dominated by the towering morete palm, a key food source for wildlife and local communities. The evening ends with a departure briefing, a farewell cocktail, and a final dinner.

After an early breakfast, travel by motorized canoe back upstream to Coca. Staff will handle your checked luggage. After a short stop at the La Selva office, representatives take you to the airport and help with boarding passes and bags for your flight to Quito.

Excursions and timing may change based on weather, season, group size and interests, and guide decisions about safety and logistics.