Your visit to Kapawi Amazon Lodge contributes to sustainable socio-cultural communities and protects natural environments. Enjoy this remote region of the Amazon rainforest during your stay. There are opportunites to look for nocturnal animals, parrots, and the pink river dolphin. Don't miss out on a picnic lunch and a visit to an Achuar community on this quick tour of the Amazon. You will want to stay longer!
Highlights
Search for rainforest animals such as monkeys, alligators, and birds
Kayak on the Kapawari River and its connecting lagoons
Participate in a blowgun contest to find the best hunter
Moderately active but not overly strenuous. This level includes activities like casual cycling, yoga, or excursions/activities that typically last 3-5 hours total each day.
Depart from Quito and travel to Shell. From there fly across the rainforest to the local Achuar community. Take a beautiful canoe ride to the Kapawi Amazon Lodge with your Kapawi guides.
In the afternoon, walk along one of the Pastaza River beaches. Listen as your guide gives an orientation session with information about the rainforest and the Achuar culture. After dinner, explore the Kapawari River in search of nocturnal animals.
Depending on the weather, you will have the opportunity to partake in daily excursions in groups of 4 or more. Here is a sample of what a day in the Amazon might entail:
There are a few early morning excursion options. You can take a 30-minute boat ride to the Claylick, where you can see different species of macaws and parrots such as the Cobalt-Winged Parakeet, Chestnut-Fronted Macaw and Yellow Crowned Amazon. Another option is to find and spot the great variety of birds that the southeast Rainforest of Ecuador offers. These birds include the Hoatzin, Aninga, Speckled Chachalaca, White Eared Jacamar, Cocoi Heron, Neotropical Cormorant and the Great Egret.
After breakfast your guides will escort you along the Pitzacocha or Pama trail. During this time you can learn about the forest and its benefits for the Achuar people. Your guides will also teach you about Achuar hunting techniques and Arutam, the spirit of the forest. You also have the opportunity to take a 2 hour walk with stops to learn about the medicinal plants of the area and tropical forest ecology.
Lunch is provided two different ways. One of them is served in the lodge with a time afterwards to explore, via kayak, the Kapawari River and its connecting lagoons. You can look at the local wildlife such as the pink river dolphin. Since the river is quite calm, swimming is completely safe. The other lunch is a picnic in the forest. After the picnic you will visit one of the Achuar communities that is located close to the lodge. This is one of the most popular activities offered in Kapawi, because of the significant cultural contribution to the Achuar people. You will have a chance to see a community and its members and purchase some traditional handicrafts.
After dinner partake in a spectacular night walk, observing the many different kinds of insects and amphibians that are found around the hotel. Another option includes cultural activities such as legends in a hammock house or traditional greetings around a campfire. You will also be able to learn the art of Achuar face painting and how it relates to their different activities.
Day 4: Depart from Kapawi Lodge | Return to Quito
1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch
Early in the morning your guides will bring you to specific points near the hotel in order to locate various species of birds. After breakfast prepare for departure. Before you depart from the Achuar territory, you can participate in a blowgun contest to demonstrate who is the best hunter.
Apologies for the inconvenience. Prices for not yet published. Below per person rate based on previous season. Contact us to confirm upcoming season pricing.
Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
Notes
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Rate includes roundtrip flights Shell - Kapawi Lodge - Shell
Initial deposit is $400, and most travelers will call our office and pay the deposit with a credit card.
Final payment is due 100 days prior to departure by bank transfer, check or credit card. All final payments by credit card may be subject to a surcharge and maximum of $20,000 charge
Our guide and driver were very good with their knowledge and were very helpful with our questions. It was a very pleasant visit that would have been impossible to do on our own. Hotels and restaurants were fantastic. The special places we got to go to, like the kitchens, were great. Enjoyed the entire trip!
Meyer Smolen
TrustScore 4.8 | 174 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 174 reviews on
1 day ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.