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This is an example of our preferred hotel, though availability is not guaranteed. If a given hotel is not available for your tour date, we will reserve you a room at a hotel of similar appeal and quality in the same area.
Mashpi Lodge
- Mashpi Lodge
- Mashpi Biodiversity Reserve Experiences
Innovative Mashpi Lodge is an elegant hideaway which redefines traditional tourism. Time and space will take on a different meaning as you become immersed in the deep green forest, exploring pristine landscapes such as the rainforest canopy (with the special Aerial Tram), viewing on-site cultural vestiges of the earliest rainforest dwellers, learning about the native flora and fauna and interacting with local people.
Mashpi Lodge brings together first-rate service and the singular natural and cultural wonders of the Ecuadorian rainforest. Discerning and environmentally-aware visitors will explore the remote Private Rainforest Reserve ? accessible only to guests ? without sacrificing comfort or style. Mashpi Lodge features impeccable service and the utmost in accommodations, facilities and dining. It is being built to the high standards necessary to qualify as one of the prestigious ?Luxury Camps and Lodges of the World.? It combines the highest standards of comfort, service, guiding and cuisine that today\'s most discerning travelers expect.
Access to Mashpi Biodiversity Reserve
The Mashpi Biodiversity Reserve is easily accessible, located only two and a half hours to the northwest of Ecuador?s beautifully preserved capital city of Quito via paved and secondary roads. As you pass the Equator you climb out of dry valleys before gently descending towards the Pacific, the vegetation around you becoming ever-more verdant and abundant with every turn of the road. Quickly find yourself surround by forest and tumbling mountains, the ideal springboard for exploring the bio-diverse world of the reserve.
The Lodge: a Pure Hideaway
Mashpi Lodge is a private getaway only accessible to guests. Located on a high plateau, it is ideally situated to give breathtaking views of the forest and valleys from nearly every angle. The Lodge, built with the latest techniques in sustainable building, is designed to blend beautifully with its surroundings. It features contemporary, minimalist design and decor, mixing warm earth tones and clean lines: a cozy cocoon amid the forest with the natural world just beyond, ideal for contemplation and relaxation.
At the reserve\'s entrance camp, vehicles are left behind and guests board specially-designed electrically-powered buggies for their journey to the lodge itself. These buggies lower the impact of human presence on the forest by preserving fossil fuels and reducing noise.
Social areas include several relaxing lounges. Like the suites, these feature huge picture windows making guests feel part of their surroundings, where, at night, the only lights are the dance of myriad fireflies. Mashpi Lodge provides a Reading Room with internet access and an extensive collection of books and videos on the natural world. The Lodge also features two jacuzzi\'s, as well as specialized massages and treatments, many employing natural local ingredients such as earth, stones, herbs and leaves.
Sophisticated Accommodations
The Lodge is intimate, accommodating a maximum of 36 guests, in 18 ample suites. Suites are tastefully furnished, with a king size bed or two queen-size beds and all amenities. For those traveling with friends or family, connecting rooms are available.
- Three Wayra suites are a generous 400sq ft, each with private Jacuzzi, all with king-size beds.
- 15 Yaku rooms are 366 sq ft, each with two queen-size beds.
- Four Yaku rooms are 366 sq ft, each with a king-size bed. Three pairs of inter-connecting Yaku rooms, each with a king-size bed connected with two queen-size beds.
Inspired Cuisine
Inspired by the rainforest and the huge diversity found in Ecuador, the chefs at Mashpi Lodge excel in preparing gourmet dishes that combine locally-grown ingredients such as plantain or chocolate, as well as experimenting with an endless variety of delicious fruits: pineapple, mango, tangerine, narangilla....the finest fresh organic produce, complemented by a carefully selected wine list.
Enter the Realm of the Rainforest
By using a novel system known as \"dendronautics\" visitors enjoy an unparalleled extended exploration of one of the Earths\' richest and least-explored biomes. Mashpi Lodge\'s environmentally friendly Aerial Tram through the upper canopy takes guests to where most of the exciting life in rainforests happen. The tram guides through the forest for two kilometers (just over a mile) from a boarding station at one end to a disembarking station at the other. The tram is used both for transportation from one part of the reserve to another and for appreciating the forest from a truly unique angle.
The Fascinating World of Mashpi Creatures
The forest ecosystem of Mashpi hosts hundreds of bird species, possibly thousands of orchid species, tens of thousands of insect species, as well as monkeys, peccaries and even puma. Enter this realm, and your eye will soon spot vibrant wings such as the electric-blue Morpho butterfly, or the other-worldly amphibians including the beautiful glass frog. The rivers and rivulets, waterfalls and hilly terrain of the reserve makes a perfect habitat for dozens of species of amphibians, new and rare individuals being discovered all the time. And these are just some of the mysteries and delights that await int he forest.
Guided Nature Walks
As you enter the realm of the rainforest, you will become aware of life at every step: mushrooms and fungi below, tree trunks festooned with lichens and mosses, giant ferns reaching up to the light above, swirling mists and clouds of moisture. Hear the sound of rushing water, a waterfall amid this glistening, green world. Trained local guides and expert naturalists will explore this world with you, bringing the reserve\'s riches to life and helping you to discover its flora and fauna\'s behaviors, adaptations and medicinal uses. Guided night walks through the rainforest reserve will show you an altogether different side of the magic of the rainforest: true nocturnal safari adventures.
For additional descriptions of the biodiversity experience, please explore the link above.
