Ecuador ecolodge

The Napo Wildlife Center is a fabulous, luxurious eco-lodge in the heart of Amazonian Ecuador. The lodge is just a part of a large conservation project that includes the conservation of approximately 52,000 acres (over 21,400 hectares) of the most pristine Amazon Rain Forest within the Yasunì National Park. This is an important biosphere reserve and the largest tract of tropical rain forest in Ecuador. A short flight will bring you over the Eastern Andes Mountain Range, crossing the equator and looking down onto snow capped volcanoes over 5,790 meters above sea level (18,991 feet) to reach the headwaters of the Amazon Basin near the Napo River at only 250 m above sea level.

After landing at the small town of Coca, your guide will take you to your covered motorized canoe, to embark on a 2 1/2 hours boat ride, 50 miles ( 80 kilometers ) down the Napo river. During this trip a good number of birds could be spotted along the way and they include: herons, kingfishers, ospreys, and many others as you travel into a more pristine and remote area. On arrival you have a short hike or paddle in a dugout canoe ride to reach the Anangu Lake and lodge.

The lodge has been made using traditional materials and architecture and is designed to offer maximum privacy and comfort. Each of the 10 individual bungalows room has a lake and forest view from its private porch. Rooms include a king size and twin size beds, private bathrooms with hot water, a ceiling fan, electricity provided by silent generators supplemented by solar panel power system, plenty of lights and 120 v outlets, screened windows and mosquito nets. Even from your rooms you may see a group of giant otters investigating near the lodge dock or a large 4 metre (13 feet) black caiman crossing the lake or a capybara rumaging around by the waters edge.

There is a 19 metre observation tower which you are welcome to climb at any time (great views of the wildlife in the canopy) and the dock area is a nice spot to watch the equatorial sun go down and a great spot for a nice dip into the lake. The guides will jump in first and eliminate any doubts you may have beacause of the black caimans and piranha inhabitants!

For hikes into the surrounding forest you will be divided up into small groups, and lead by a native Anangu guide and an excellent bilingual naturalist guide. The guides will tailor their excursions to take advantage of the highest peaks of activity and weather conditions in the forest. On forest trails you might see monkeys, lizards, tortoises, frogs and army ants in addition to an array of birds, including toucans, macaws, parrots, manakins and hummingbirds. The largest mammals like jaguar, puma, tapir, giant anteater and giant armadillo have been spotted on the area also, though are certainly elusive.

One of the highlights at NWC is going out on a very early excursion to reach two of Ecuador's most accessible parrot clay licks in the Napo region. The Napo Wildlife Center has constructed comfortable blinds at each parrot lick in order to provide the best viewing. Species include: Mealy, blue headed, yellow crowned, orange winged and orange cheeked parrots, cobalt winged, dusky headed and white eyed parakeets, with the occasional rarities like scarlet shoulder parrotlet and scarlet macaws. In the best weather conditions at least 800 individuals of most species can be spotted.

Another highlight is the large lake with two streams that can be explored from the dugout canoes. This is ideal for spotting troops of monkeys like squirrel, saddle-backed and white fronted capuchin monkeys, monk saki, spider, woolly and golden mantle tamarin monkeys. NWC is home to a total of 11 species of monkeys.

Over 568 species of birds have been recorded at the Napo Wildlife Center, more than a third of all of Ecuador`s birds. Agami and ZigZag herons are found near the lake and creeks, as are all 5 kingfishers. The large raptors like Harpy and Crested Eagles are sometimes seen too.