Amazon rainforest accommodation, Ecuador
| country: | Ecuador |
| location: | Puyo-Pastaza, Amazon rainforest |
| price: | From US $12 - US $120 per person per night, depending on additional activities/tours chosen. Basic price includes three meals. |
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introduction to Amazon rainforest accommodation, Ecuador
Anybody who wants to broaden their knowledge about the Amazonian’s fauna and flora will particularly enjoy this trip. Visitors can learn how to take care of this uncharted area of the Amazon rainforest and understand the indigenous culture of this region.
This is not a trip for the faint-hearted! It is by no means five star accommodation and visitors will need to be prepared for primitive facilities. However, what the project lacks in facilities it more than makes up for in offering an astounding, never-to-forget, life experience.
Visitors to the reserve arrive in Quito, Ecuador which is the highest capital city in Latin America. From Quito a tour guide will pick you up from the airport or the hotel.
This is followed by a bus journey of several hours from Quito to the frontier town of Puyo. Here the transport is light aircraft, which flies from the Andes down into the rainforest of the Amazon basin. The ‘airport’ is simply a clearing in the jungle and after landing, members of the local community will escort you by canoe along the mighty Curaray River to their reserve.
If you follow your guide’s instructions, you will be rewarded by the sight of monkeys swinging from branch to branch or maybe by a giant anteater ambling through the undergrowth. Hear the squawking of a flock of macaws flying overhead or the distinctive cry of the Tinamou. Nor is the jungle quiet at night when you’ll hear a whole host of cries from frogs and other night creatures.
This is not a trip for the faint-hearted! It is by no means five star accommodation and visitors will need to be prepared for primitive facilities. However, what the project lacks in facilities it more than makes up for in offering an astounding, never-to-forget, life experience.
Visitors to the reserve arrive in Quito, Ecuador which is the highest capital city in Latin America. From Quito a tour guide will pick you up from the airport or the hotel.
This is followed by a bus journey of several hours from Quito to the frontier town of Puyo. Here the transport is light aircraft, which flies from the Andes down into the rainforest of the Amazon basin. The ‘airport’ is simply a clearing in the jungle and after landing, members of the local community will escort you by canoe along the mighty Curaray River to their reserve.
special things to do and see here
Once in the community you will experience what is really like to live in the rich rainforest of the Amazon. The main activity is walking tours through the rainforest where you are taken to natural lakes to watch anacondas and crocodiles, observe the birds and the mammals of the Amazonian’s region. If you follow your guide’s instructions, you will be rewarded by the sight of monkeys swinging from branch to branch or maybe by a giant anteater ambling through the undergrowth. Hear the squawking of a flock of macaws flying overhead or the distinctive cry of the Tinamou. Nor is the jungle quiet at night when you’ll hear a whole host of cries from frogs and other night creatures.
rooms, food and facilities
The visitors stay in typical houses made from sticks with straw ceilings. The bungalows have little rooms with beds provided with thin mattresses.
Four rooms with private or communal bathrooms. The restaurant can accommodate twenty-four people at once.
how this holiday makes a difference
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The community is represented by an association and the chief of the community which is chosen by the community every three years. The land is owned by the community’s inhabitants who consist of 6 families and the project is run by everybody in the community in a system a monthly rotation so every member can contribute equally.
The income is distributed in percentages: 20% goes to health, 20% to education, 30% to improve the infrastructure, in promotion 10%, another 10% to the maintenance of the canoes and the 10% remaining goes to the community taxes. This programme is improving the signposting, the waste control and most importantly reforesting deteriorated areas. Natives from Quinchuas and Shiwiar cultures are very proud of their ancestral culture; its gastronomy, sports, crafts, fishing, etc.Their biggest challenge is how to look after a jungle area of 53,123 hectares of rainforest which they worship as their mother, because for them it is their market, there they can find all what they need; food, medicine, wisdom, education and science.  This holiday is part of the responsibletravel.com and Conservation International Community Based Tourism Programme to support and promote community based tourism ventures that offer significant conservation and development benefits to local communities. To see other community based tourism holidays and find out more about the programme click here. |
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