DAY 1: Transfer to Coca & Kayaking on the Challuayaku River

You depart in the morning from Quito for a 30-minute flight to the Amazon frontier town of Coca. From here, you board a motorized canoe on the Napo River to ride down this major tributary to the Amazon River.

When you arrive at the entrance to the reserve on the Challuayaku River, you are greeted by a Kichwa family that lives in a traditional wood, bamboo, and thatch-roof house. After a safety briefing, you slip into your kayak and paddle down the river for about 2 hours to reach the lodge on Challuacocha Lake.

While kayaking, you keep an eye out for nesting golden orioles, toucans, blue morpho butterflies, and many other species of birds, as well as the occasional monkey family that gathers in the trees above. Once you reach the lake, you may be greeted by one of the Black Caimans — a formerly endangered crocodile species — that begin patrolling the lake in the late afternoon, as well as herons, parrots, and more.

You settle in the lodge for the evening and enjoy a delicious, gourmet meal prepared by your Kichwa hosts. In the evening, you explore a nearby trail to learn about howler monkeys, bats, and other mammals that make up the incredible nocturnal wildlife of the Amazon basin.

(Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 2: Kayak in the Challuacocha Lake & Observation Tower

After a buffet breakfast, you explore by kayak Challuacocha Lake. From the water, you will be able to observe a great variety of bird species, especially in the early morning. You reach a narrow tributary surrounded by vegetation, which you follow for a couple of kilometers while seeking tiger herons, blue cotingas, black-capped donacobius, and other exotic bird species.

You reach a small trail head where you leave your kayak and go for your first jungle hike, to explore and search for wildlife while your experienced guides help to reveal the secrets of the forest around us. Here, you look for wood creepers, toucans, cragids, and others.

Your trek will lead us back to the kayaks and back to your lodge in time for lunch. In the afternoon, you leave for another jungle hike that takes you to the observation tower. The tower is a 100-foot (30-meter) high platform built around a 500-year-old Ceibo tree. From this altitude you can appreciate the canopy of the Amazon, and your guides will point out dozens of exotic bird species as the sun sets over the horizon.

Afterwards, you return to the lodge for another gourmet dinner. In the evening, you venture out to the lake for a closer look at the Black Caiman, a crocodile unique to the Amazon which can grow as long as 14 feet.

(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 3: Kayaking in Pañacocha Lake

After an early breakfast, you board a motorized boat and travel on the Napo River to the entrance of the Pañayucu River, which is followed until arriving at Pañacocha Lake. Here, you begin to explore the Pañacocha Reserve by kayak. The Pañacocha Reserve features a network of waterways and lagoons encompassing 56,000 hectares, all of which is fully owned and managed by the Kichwa community.

You will search for wildlife along the main lake and other small lakes, such as Piguallicocha, where you are likely to find species of kingfisher, jacamar, trogons, potoos, hoatzin, anis, terns, hawks, and eagles. You will also keep an eye out for more species of monkeys and tropical plants that populate this lake ecosystem.

Your main objective for the day is to spot the pink freshwater dolphin, which is an endangered species that has become extinct from many other Amazon tributaries. These intelligent animals grow to be up to 9 feet (3 meters) in length and are considered sacred by the local tribes, as there are tales of dolphins that have rescued human lives. In the late afternoon, you return to spend the evening at the jungle lodge.

(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 4: Jungle Exploration Hike & Kichwa Community Visit

After breakfast, you paddle to reach the Chorongo (Woolly Monkey) trail head and begin a hike to pristine primary forest within the Chuallacocha Reserve. You walk through dense jungle and cross muddy swamps on log bridges. Along the way your guides will help us spot bromeliads, heliconias, orchids, and other tropical flowers and trees.

You will also learn about medicinal plants, taste edible fruits and insects, and discover how to weave traditional palm-fiber bags. If you choose to, you can get our bodies painted with achiote, a native plant. As for wildlife, you are likely to see cuckoos, tinamous, snakes, and much more.

If you walk quietly and stay alert, it is also possible to see giant anteaters (with great luck), black-mantled tamarin monkeys, poison-dart frogs, and countless other surprises that the forest holds in store for you. In the afternoon, you visit a Kichwa indigenous community to find more about their way of life.

You tour the local school, health center, and traditional thatch-roof homes, and learn about Kichwa customs in the preparation of foods — all the while seeing how your investment in this trip is making a positive impact on their way of life.

(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 5: Parrot Clay Lick & Return to Quito

After an early breakfast, you board a motorized canoe for a ride on the Napo River back to Coca. Weather and time permitting, you may stop for a visit of the Parrot Clay Lick within Yasuni National Park.

The Clay Lick is an amazing gathering place of hundreds of parrots (four species) that use the clay to neutralize the toxins in many of the fruits and plants they eat. From here, you continue on to Coca and head to the airport for your afternoon flight back to Quito.

(Breakfast)