Your Travel Experience with chilepro
Day 1
Departure from Quito to Suchipakari Lodge at Tena
You can choose between a private or shared transportation to the Lodge
Welcome to the lodge
Upon arrival at the Lodge, you will begin the tour with a welcome lunch and a short briefing with general information about your stay at Suchipakari Lodge. You will walk through primary and secondary forest trails, observe distinct species of birds and insects as well as a great variety of trees and medicinal plants. The guides will explain how such plants are used not only for its medicinal properties but also in construction and other local activities. Along the trails, there are several opportunities to boost the adventure factor with vines for swinging from trees or walking under towering trees through untouched forest to observe the giant kapok tree (Ceiba Pentandra) and the Strangler Fig Tree (Ficus sp), feeling the presence of innumerable creatures filling every corner of the forest. In the afternoon, you will go on to experience the true adventure of explorers. At a sandy river beach, our guide shows us how to use your own hands to paddle onboard fun tubes. While floating on the water, you will get to enjoy the view of the incredible landscapes while flexing your paddling skills. If you wish to, you can float down the river for about an hour with the fun tubes and then return to the lodge for your long-awaited dinner and welcome cocktail.
Day 2
Discover the Naporuna Territory
After a tasty breakfast, you will explore incredible the rainforest surrounding Suchipakari Lodge. Here, there are a number of walks (with varying levels of difficulty) that can last anywhere from an hour-and-a-half all the way up to four hours, taking you through the dense and humid jungle, crossing muddy paths and encountering all sorts of wildlife. Meanwhile, your local guide will introduce you to all the hidden secrets and wonders of the rainforest. After lunch, you will learn about the way of life of Indigenous families during this intimate encounter. A Quichua woman will welcome you and through open dialogue, you will learn about their daily life and demonstrate to us how to make chicha, a local beverage (tasting optional!), as well as perform spiritual cleansing rituals that are still practiced today throughout the nearby communities. Finally, you will participate in a blowgun target-shooting contest – try your luck and see if you can hit the monkey target - but don’t expect to beat the natives! It’s a fun and unique experience, in which we discover both the differences and similarities between our own culture and others. A special dinner will be served before heading back to the lodge.
Day 3
Discover Napo River and surroundings
After breakfast you will be ready to start today’s adventure! You will board a dugout canoe and navigate 1 hour down the scenic Napo River. The destination is AmaZOOnico. You will never get closer to jaguar, ocelot or tapir than you will at this rescue sanctuary for Amazon's wildlife. Led by volunteer guides, you will hear the incredible and sometimes tragic stories of the residents of the centre . Here you will see coatis, capybara, tapirs, and several species of monkey, snakes, boa and a variety of macaws, toucans, parrots, or colorful birds, many of which wander around freely in their natural habitat at close range. By visiting AmaZoonico you will be helping to guarantee the protection of these creatures. Here, a box lunch will be served, You will continue on to the Family Kichwa, where a local host shows us how to call the caimans on the lake. We can observe the prehistoric bird “Hoatzin”, woolly monkeys, squirrel monkeys, just to mention a few. You will also learn about their farming habits, medicinal plants, as well as the ancestral way of hunting with blowguns (cerbatana) and handmade traps in the forest. You will have the opportunity to see real hunting traps which were traditionally used by the local natives. The guides will demonstrate how they work and explain which animals are caught in each one. Return to Suchipakari EcoLodge to enjoy the facilities of the hotel and have a delicious dinner.
After dinner, a night walk will begin where you will have a refreshing experience of the sounds and sights of the Amazon Jungle at night. Brace yourself for some of the most incredible sightings during this walk. Make sure that you bring a flashlight along with you for this nocturnal adventure.
Day 4
On the chocolate route
After breakfast you will have the opportunity to learn interesting aspects of cocoa and chocolate, from its origin and history, participating in every part of the production process, from harvesting of the fruit, drying and grinding of the seed, to developing of the traditional drink of our ancestors, and of course enjoying a high quality organic chocolate. After your chocolate discovery activity, you will check out of the lodge and return to Quito.
Transfer from Tena to Quito
After check out, you will return to Quito