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Amazon Kayak Adventure, five exotic days kayaking and hiking in Ecuador's Yasuni national park

Kayaking is a great way to get around and see Ecuador's Yasuni Mational Park

Duration: 8 days
Cost: $1795/Person
Spend five exotic days kayaking and hiking in Ecuador's largest national park, the Yasuni. This one-of-a-kind Ecuador tour deep into the bio-diverse world of the Amazon is made all the more memorable by your hosts, the Huaorani people, who until 1950 were unknown to the world. Here at the mighty river's headwaters, they have lived for millennia as hunters and gatherers, and today remain mostly isolated from the contemporary world. This moderate to challenging trip requires no previous kayaking experience.
 
The rivers born on the eastern slopes of the Ecuador Andes travel down to the lowland Amazon, the world's largest rainforest, and home to dozens of indigenous cultures. A population of 1,200 Huaorani live in the region of the Napo, a whitewater tributary of the Ecuador Amazon, in and around Yasuni, the country's largest National Park, considered the world's most bio-diverse forest. The Huaorani had no contact with the outside world until the late 1950s, and some of their clans avoid it still. Within the Huaorani Ethnic Reserve that is surrounded on three sides by the park, the people maintain a largely traditional lifestyle as hunters and gatherers, sharing the forest with wild animals and protected from their fiercest enemy, progress. This kayak expedition is about experiencing paradise through the eyes of the indigenous people who dwell here.
If a private departure would be of interest, please contact us regarding details and costs.

Itinerary details for Amazon Kayak Adventure

• Day 1 (Sat) QUITO View Quito accommodations picture gallery On arriving at the Quito, Ecuador, international airport, you will be transferred to your hotel. If time allows, optional tours of Quito's museums and other popular sights may be arranged.
  Begin Optional Pre-Itinerary Tour Extensions
• Day 2 (Sun) QUITO – COCA – SHIRIPUNO RIVER - INTRODUCTION TO THE RAINFOREST View Huaorani Kayak Camp picture gallery You will be transported from your Quito hotel to the airport for your thirty-minute flight to the Amazon frontier town of Coca. From here you will be taken overland for two hours to the banks of the Shiripuno River, where kayaks and a bi-lingual Huaorani guide will be waiting. After a safety briefing, your Amazon kayaking adventure gets underway. Travelling along the river, you will learn about rainforest flora and fauna before arriving at your first campsite destination near the Noneno community. Besides enjoying a gourmet meal prepared by your guides, you will have the opportunity to visit with a Huaorani family to learn about the lifestyle and beliefs of this ancient culture from their stories and chants. (L,D)
• Day 3 (Mon) HUAORANI COMMUNITY - SHIRIPUNO PADDLING View Huaorani Kayak Camp picture gallery After breakfast and before heading out on a full day of kayaking, you'll stop for the first of your Amazon tours: a visit to the Noneno community. This is a settlement of thatched-roof dwellings where you will learn more about Huaorani rainforest traditions, including the exchange of gifts and how to use a Huaorani blow gun and spear. The rest of today's Amazon travel paddles through a wildlife-rich area of colorful birds, monkey species and mammals surrounded by lush vegetation, where you'll see first-hand how adept the Huaorani are at surviving in a rainforest environment. Dinner will be prepared at the evening's campsite. (B,L,D)
• Day 4 (Tue) SHIRIPUNO LODGE - JUNGLE NIGHT EXPLORATION View Huaorani Kayak Camp picture gallery After breakfast, you'll continue paddling through another picturesque segment of the river, watching for wildlife and stopping to gaze at a giant Ceibo tree. In the afternoon you will reach your accommodations for the next two days: the comfortable, but basic Shiripuno Lodge. The complex has a wooden deck and social area with hammocks for relaxing. In the early evening you'll finish your Amazon tours for the day by setting out to explore the rainforest on foot in search of nocturnal wildlife such as frogs, snakes, spiders, owls, rodents and bats with both naturalist and Huaorani guides. (B,L,D)
• Day 5 (Wed) RAINFOREST HIKE - LAKES EXPLORATION View Huaorani Kayak Camp picture gallery For a change of pace, today you'll enjoy an easy four-hour Amazon rainforest hike, exploring a varzea (flooded) forest and the forest floor where Parkia, Ficus, and Ceiba trees are common. After an early breakfast, you'll reach the nearby trailhead by canoe and hike through the forest up a 1,000-ft hill to get a look at the multicolored canopy from above. This is an area where woolly monkeys, white-lipped peccaries and jaguar tracks are easy to spot. You'll find out more about the Huaorani's practical, medicinal and spiritual relationship with the rainforest from your guides, returning to the lodge for lunch, and later explore some small lakes in canoes. This fascinating flooded forest is a popular fishing spot for the local population and a memorable excursion for guests on Amazon tours because it is good place to view shore birds, including the bizarre-looking hoatzin, and caimans lurking in the vegetation. You'll also explore some giant ant colonies and learn about the symbiotic relationship among insects, animals and plants. Back at the lodge you'll watch the Huaorani work with chambira, a palm tree fiber used for a variety of purposes. At the end of the day, there will be time to relax in a hammock before dinner. (B,L,D)
• Day 6 (Thu) COCA This morning you'll get an early start for your return journey to Coca by motorized canoe, making short stops along the way to view wildlife. Likely sights along this route are different monkey species including the red howler monkey, the spider monkey and the woolly monkey. If you encounter Huaorani families cooking or making handicrafts, you'll have an opportunity to observe their activities and perhaps share some fresh yucca, a rainforest staple, with them. By afternoon your Amazon tours come to an end when you reach the bridge where the vehicle will be waiting to return you to Coca for one last relaxing night in the sultry Ecuador Amazon at a comfortable hotel. (B,L,D)
• Day 7 (Fri) COCA - QUITO View Quito accommodations picture gallery After breakfast, you will be transferred to the Coca airport for your flight back to Quito. (B)
• Day 8 (Sat) QUITO Southern Explorations' services end with your transfer to Quito's international airport for your departure home. Galapagos adventures, trip extensions to other regions or extra days in Quito can also be arranged if you have more time to explore Ecuador. (B) Begin Optional Post-Itinerary Tour Extensions
• Key: (B)reakfast (L)unch (D)inner
• Note: Ecotourism helps sustain the Huaorani way of life and the internationally important unique rainforest habitat. Although this trip does not provide such city comforts as hot water and private showers, most visitors find the rare glimpse of a primordial world through the eyes of the Huaoranis to be worth the trade-off. Accommodations are non-standard including solar showers and portable toilets. The majority of the meals for visitors are prepared from foods brought from Quito, including drinking water. Normally breakfast consists of granola, fresh fruit, whole wheat bread, fresh coffee or tea, cereal, marmalade, pancakes or French toast, yogurt and eggs of your choice. For lunch or box lunch, a variety of sandwiches, fruits, cheese, raisins, peanuts, dried fruits, juices and fresh vegetables are offered. Dinners include delicious soups each day and gourmet main courses such as spaghetti al pesto, fettuccini, risotto; and local dishes such as rice with beans, plantains and yucca, with a variety of meats or fresh local fish from the river, mashed potatoes and fresh salads and vegetables, complemented with red or white wine, water or juice.
   
  Because this trip takes place mostly in a remote, undeveloped area, medical facilities are limited, and there is a greater risk of discomfort, sickness, theft, natural disaster, etc. You will be well-cared for by native guides and our bilingual kayak expedition leaders. In the Amazon, an itinerary serves only as a guideline since the true schedule will be set by the environment itself. Since weather or river conditions may change unexpectedly, guides are instructed to modify the itinerary for the best interest and safety of the group. Flexibility on the part of visitors will allow everyone to get the most from their experience.
• ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Province: Pastaza
  Altitude: +/- 722 ft
  Life zone: Tropical Humid Forest
  Territory: Huaorani (1.6 million acres)
  Distance: About 56 miles south of Coca
  Accommodation: Camping, Basic Lodge and Tourist Hotel
  Average temperature: Day 59-93 °F / Night: 53-62 °F
  Season: Year-round
  Travel time: 30 minute flight, Quito-Coca; 2 hour drive to river put-in, each way.
  Degree of difficulty: This moderate to challenging itinerary travels mostly in a remote, undeveloped area. Guests must be aware of the possible dangers of this type of travel (e.g. limited medical facilities in the area, mountain and river travel, non-standard accommodations) and that conditions may mean a greater risk of discomfort.
• Equipment Equipment used: Portable toilet, solar showers, biodegradable soap, Eureka and Northface tents, Prijon expedition kayaks, lifejackets, dry bags, a dugout canoe with and without outboard motor, rubber (Wellington) boots.
• Safety Guides are WFR (Wilderness First Responder) certified and carry a complete first-aid kit including an anti-snakebite suction cup; GPS for exact positioning and satellite phone for emergency communications. Contingency plan includes helicopter emergency evacuation service. (Cost is additional, but could be reimbursed by Travelers or Health Insurance).
• About the food So as not to reduce the local Huaorani food supply, most food, including drinking water, is imported from Quito Gourmet meals are prepared by guides and lodge staff. Breakfast includes granola, fresh fruit, whole wheat bread, fresh coffee or tea, cereal, marmalade, pancakes or French toast, yogurt and eggs of your choice. Box and picnic lunches include a variety of sandwiches, fruit, cheese, dried fruit, juices and fresh vegetables. Dinner includes fresh soups, pastas, local dishes, rice, beans, plantains, yucca, meats, fish, mashed potatoes, fresh salads and vegetables, complemented with wine (two nights), water or juice.
• About this Tour Guests will receive a conservationist interpretation of the rainforest's ecology and learn first-hand about the actual conditions of the Ecuador Amazon Rainforest. These Amazon tours are conducted to reinforce and promote the long-term preservation of the Huaorani's cultural identity and their environment. Your visit will help encourage responsible Ecuador ecotourism as a viable, sustainable alternative in hopes of preventing the surrender of these lands to the oil industry. Campsites may vary based on weather conditions. Goods are recycled, and all non-organic garbage is transported out.
  While travelers are used to a schedule, they may find it more satisfying while visiting the Amazon to let the forest, the weather and the Huaorani guides determine how the adventure unfolds. Departures from the itinerary due to weather, river conditions, health or other cause may occur without prior notice. Being flexible in the Amazon will allow you to get the most from your experience.

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2008 SCHEDULED TRIP DATES

Saturday Departures
2 person minimum / 8 maximum

August 16 - 23
September 13 - 20
October 11 - 18
November 8 - 15
December 13 - 27

Private Departures can be arranged. Please contact us regarding private departure costs.

INCLUSIONS / EXCLUSIONS

Included in tour cost

- 2 nights hotel Quito

- 2 nights camping, 2 nights basic lodge, and 1 night tourist-class accommodations in Coca (twin shared basis)

- All airport/hotel transfers

- Road and river transportation to and from Coca

- All camping gear and tents

- Meals as outlined in itinerary

- Expedition kayaks and safety gear

- Certified professional English-speaking and native guides

- Entrance fee to Huaorani Territory and all scheduled tours

- Southern Explorations pre departure services

- For groups larger than six, additional dugout canoes accompany the group for logistical support.

Excluded in tour cost

- Airfare: Quito/Coca/Quito $130 (subject to change)

- International round-trip airfare to and from Ecuador

- Airport taxes international (around $35) and local (around $5)

- Tips/gratuities and other personal expenses

- Travel and medical insurance

- Continental breakfasts are included at all hotels. All other meals are not included unless specified in the itinerary.

PHYSICAL RATING

Moderate

ECUADOR ACCOMMODATION

Amazon Kayak Adventure:

2 nights hotels
2 nights camping
(North face 3 person tents for 2)
2 nights basic lodge
1 night tourist-class accommodations

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Travel documents:

- You need a valid passport. No advance Visa is required for US citizens.

Vaccinations:

- There are no required vaccinations for travel to Ecuador, although certain vaccinations are recommended. Please consult your doctor, local Traveler's Clinic or County Health Department for the most up-to-date information on travel to Ecuador.

Weather:

- The "dry season" in the Ecuadorian Andes is June - September and a short dry season in December and January. April - May is considered the Andean spring. All other months, one can expect some rain. Daytime temperatures range from 68ºF- 72ºF in the sun. Nighttime temperatures range from 45ºF - 48ºF. Rain can happen in any season; bringing quality rain gear is the best way to stay dry.

SINGLE SUPPLEMENT

Additional $185

- Single Supplement is the additional cost of a single traveler not sharing a room in double occupancy. We will match you with another same gender traveler unless you request single accommodations.

Prices based on 3% cash discount