Plan Your Trip
Considered by UNESCO to be a Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park is a uniquely diverse area covering over 9,800 square kilometers of pristine Amazon Rainforest. Home to more than 550 bird species, the park is home to about 40% of the bird species of the entire Amazon Basin. This is why Yasuní National Park is on the must-visit lists of amateur and professional ornithologists, birders and birdwatchers. As you discover this region, be prepared to witness of the beauty and the amazing flora and fauna the Amazon Rainforest. During this tour, you’re more than likely to see pre-historic Hoatzins, as well Rufescent Tiger-Herons, Sungrebes, Red-bellied Macaws, and Green-and-rufous Kingfishers.
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Leaving the bustle of the Ecuadorian capital of Quito, a 30-minute flight will take you to the Amazonian rainforest town of Orellana (better known as “Coca”) – where the real adventure begins! Upon your landing, members of the Napo Wildlife Center’s staff will drive you to the port on the Napo River, where you’ll board a motorized canoe that will take you to the Wildlife Center’s welcoming area. During the 2-hour ride, you will have the opportunity to see aquatic birds and nature along the banks and in the trees of the Napo River until reaching the welcome station of the Napo Wildlife Center (NWC). Here, we will transfer to a smaller canoe and paddle up the Añangu Creek to the NWC lodge, which is situated on the bank of a tranquil lake amid a huge tract of primary rainforest within the Anangu Kichwa community. Once you reach the Napo Wildlife Center itself, you will be welcomed with a traditional drink and then shown to your cabin, where you will find stunning views of the wilderness and natural gardens bordering the lodge.
In the late afternoon, you can go on a short walk to the Napo riverbank to enjoy a striking sunset over the shore and natural islands of the Napo River. Afterwards, we will return to the lodge for a delicious traditional dinner at the lodge’s restaurant. As the kitchen area is open to visitors, you will be welcome to see how the meals are cooked by the chef.
This morning will begin a three-day introduction to the bird life of the western Amazon, where you will get a good feel for the complexity of rich habitats and microhabitats within easy reach of the lodge. Throughout the day, we’ll visit the sturdy observation tower, where from above the forest canopy you will have a privileged view of a world quite different from the rest of the rainforest. Flocks of oropendolas, aracaris, tanagers, and euphonias fly above the canopy in search of fruit, while Spangled and Plum-throated Cotingas glow from the treetops. At the same time, you are likely to sight raptors perching in the morning sun, White-browed Purple tufts and Crowned Slaty Flycatchers vying for insects, numerous parrots and macaws flying by if there’s a fruiting tree nearby. Many other species will also sail past (and through!) the tree of the observation tower.
We will start the day at the forest on the river’s edge, where we’ll visit the local community that built and runs the lodge. Here, you will find numerous bird species such as Turquoise and Magpie Tanagers, Rufous-headed Woodpecker, and Swallow-winged Puffbird. Later we will venture to Napo River islands that support varied birdlife that’s distinct from that found on the “mainland” just a few hundred yards away! On these islands, we will be in search of Black-and-white Antbirds, Olivespotted Hummingbirds and at least three species of Spinetails. In addition, you can almost expect to sight river birds such as Capped Herons, Collared Plovers, and Yellow-billed Terns. Later we will return to the lodge for dinner.
This morning we will head out on good forest trails that offer access to birdlife such as woodcreepers, antbirds, and tinamous, which are particularly well represented. It is also likely that you will encounter the audibly striking Screaming Piha and the visually striking Blacknecked Red Cotinga. A number of “saladeros” (clay licks) exist on the Napo Wildlife Center expansive grounds, where you can see (and hear!) the spectacle of hundreds of parrots and parakeets coming daily to eat clay. You should also enjoy canoe rides across the lake and down adjacent creeks, where the songs of Silvered and Plumbeous Antbirds reverberate through the flooded forest. The birds that we will be in search of here include the Zigzag Heron, the Point-tailed Palmcreeper, Orange-crested Manakin, and the striking Long-billed Woodcreeper, plus several species of monkeys and the impressive Giant River Otter.
Today we’ll head back to the town of Coca for your return flight to Quito.
| Days | ||
| Cabanas | Suite | |
| Double | Double | |
| 5 | US$ 1,690 PP | US$ 1,979 PP |
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