SANI LODGE

On 40.000 hectares of untouched pristine rainforest lies Sani Lodge, located at the tranquil Challuacocha Lake between the Cuyabeno and Yasuni National Park. This location is home to an abundance of flora and fauna and offers great opportunites for birdwatching, to enjoy from the incredible sunsets and to search for the Black Caiman at night.

Guest are accommodated in 10 comfortable private thatch – roofed cabanas and 4 family size cabins each with private bathroom. Different than other lodges they also offer a campsite located one hour away from the lodge for the more adventurous travelers. The tents are all provided with two shared bathrooms, matress, sheets and pillows and include the same meals and excursions as a stay in the lodge.

For your enjoyment there is Internet, an open-air dining area and bar that can provide you with drinks, snacks, games, books, an acoustic guitar and binoculars for rent as you are at one of the most amazing spots to watch birds.

ITINERARY

ITINERARY 5 DAYS AND 4 NIGHTS

 

DAY 1

Your journey starts with a 35-minute flight from Quito at 7:30 am to Coca where the staff will pick you up and will explain you about safety before embarking for a 2 ½ boat trip on the Napo River. During the journey you get a taste of the Amazon; ancestral communities, birds such as: herons, egrets, vultures, while enjoying delicious packed lunch.  The canoe ride is followed by a 15 minute walk through flooded forest and 20-minute paddle canoe across the beautiful Challuacocha Lake. The staff will welcome you with refreshing cold drinks and snacks before you settle down in your cabins.

Late afternoon, you will have a short walk on the nearby trails or a canoe ride with many chances to observe primates, Amazonian birds, black caimans and a close encounter with the amazing flora represented by cedar trees, orchids, and bromeliads. Return to the lodge, where our chef will be happy to offer a wide variety of national and international cuisine that caters vegetarians and vegans.

 

DAY 2

After breakfast, experience the life on the tree tops from the 36 meter (108 ft.) observation tower. To get there your leaders will paddle on the Challuacocha Lake for 30 minutes followed by a short 10-minute walk. Over 565 species of birds have been registered so far, including colorful birds such as macaws, toucans, honeycreepers, tanagers, flycatchers, hummingbirds and with a bit of luck a close view of  howler, squirrel monkeys  or sloths resting on the canopy.

The tower gives you a unique perspective, opening up a whole new world of Amazon biodiversity that is often difficult, if not impossible to see from the understory. The journey continues exploring the nearby trails searching for more Amazonian creatures. Return to the lodge for lunch.

 

After lunch there are many alternatives for your enjoyment, bird-watching from the dining hall or simply get relaxed on the hammocks. In the afternoon, hike Chorongo or Coto trails, fantastic terra-firme forest to discover the relationships among the different living creatures and the rol they play in this complex ecosystem. Orchids, vines, strangle figs, ancient trees; bromeliads are all part of this fabulous tropical rainforest. Dinner at the lodge.

 

After diner explore our black-water Oxbow Lake, one of the increasingly rare havens for the endangered black caiman, supporting a healthy population of these large up to 6 meter (18ft.) long south-American crocodilian. Back to the lodge.

 

DAY 3

After breakfast departure to the Napo River to board the boat and visit the parrot-clay lick at Yasuní National Park for a wonderful view of hundreds of parrots searching for a gap to land and eat the earth. Here you will see Mealy Amazon, Yellow-crowned, Orange-winged and Blue-headed parrots.

 

Continue with a hike on the south of the Napo inside Yasuní National Park considered for scientists like the most biodiverse area in the world, here, some species that cannot be found in the north might be spotted: golden–mantled tamarins and spider monkeys, Blue and yellow macaws and with a bit of luck a close encounter with white-lipped or collared peccaries.

 

Head back to Sani Community Center to visit a native house to get a taste of how a typical Kichwa family lives. Enjoy their food, drinks, customs, and culture of the Sani community and learn how the lifestyle of the locals is environmentally sustainable. Return to the lodge late in the afternoon for a well-deserved diner. After diner take a night walk to see how myriads of insects, spiders and frogs come alive.

 

DAY 4

Explore the hidden corners of Sani Lodge in a 7 hour hike on Chorongo Largo trail for a close encounter with stunning wildlife represented by wooly monkeys, troops of Squirrel and white fronted capuchin monkeys, parrots, macaws, toucans and with a bit of luck tapirs and even peccaries. Discover the magic world of untouched and virgin forest in a life-time  experience. For your total enjoyment lunch will be served in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by  tree ferns, ancient kapoks , palms,  and  tons of magical energy at all levels.

 

Return in the afternoon to the lodge for diner.

After diner take a night walk to see how myriads of insects, spiders and frogs come alive.

 

DAY 5

After breakfast head back to the Napo River to visit the Yasuni National Park again for an early morning activity or do another activity of your preference suggested by your guide. Have lunch in the Community and return to Coca at 1:00 pm on time to get your flight back to Quito at 5:30 pm