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Machu Picchu - Lake Titicaca
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Ancient Civilizations of Peru
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Colca Canyon - Machu Picchu
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Machu Picchu & Galapagos
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Enchanted Isles of the Galapagos
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Galapagos
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Galapagos & the Kingdom of Quito
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Galapagos & the Amazon
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Galapagos - Amazon
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Historic Haciendas of the Andes
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Cotopaxi - Antisana - Otavalo
(7 days/6 nights)
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All rights reserved.
Yasuní National Park, Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador
Luxury Ecuador Tours & Travel
Heading out to explore
the lake, Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador.
Photo: Peter English. Luxury Ecuador Tours & Travel.
Combines creature comforts with incredible wildlife...
Land Price (Imperial)
4 days/3 nights US$ 1,950 5 days/4 nights US$ 2,245 8 days/7 nights US$ 3,085 per person
The land price includes escorted transfers, private excursions with a native guide and a naturalist, entrance fees, private bungalow with private bathroom, gourmet cuisine (see details), all land and water transportation, and travel insurance for guests through the age of 59 years (over that age, there is a supplementary fee). All prices are per person based on two people sharing a guest room. For a detailed description of our services, see Opulent Itineraries. Season: The parrot clay licks are most active from October to April, with a peak in December and January. Excursions depart every day but Sunday.
Detail Map
Intra-Tour Flights & Fares
Air fares are in addition to the land price.
Quito - Coca - Quito: US$ 160 per person
White-fronted Capuchin Monkey, Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador.
Photo: Peter English. Luxury Ecuador Tours & Travel.
Highlights
4 days/3 nights at lodge
Napo Wildlife Center
Day 1: Quito - Coca - Napo Wildlife Center. Transfer to the airport. Flight to Coca. Arrival at the airfield and reception. Riverboat down the Napo River and dugout canoe up a blackwater creek to the lake and lodge. Overnight in the Napo Wildlife Center.
Days 2 & 3: Napo Wildlife Center. Jungle excursions. Overnight in the Napo Wildlife Center.
Quito
Day 4: Napo Wildlife Center - Quito. Canoe to the Napo River and riverboat to the Coca airfield. Flight to Quito. Arrival, reception and transfer to the Casa Gangotena. Dinner at Alma. Overnight in the Casa Gangotena -- Plaza View Room.
Your next destination
Day 5: Quito - Your next destination. Continue on a cruise of the Galapagos Islands or an exploration of the Ecuadorian Andes.
Details
Parrots at the clay
lick, Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador.
Photo: Peter English. Luxury Ecuador Tours & Travel.
Cobalt-winged parakeets were already clustering on trees in groups of 20s and 30s
like lush bunches of grapes as we settled into the blind.
-- Connie Rogers, The New York Times, August 1, 2004
Napo Wildlife Center
Location: Añangu Reserve, Yasuní National Park, Ecuador. Reserve size: 52,000 acres within the 2.5-million-acre Yasuní National Park. Wildlife it protects: 562 bird species (including Scarlet Macaws and Mealy Amazon Parrots), Giant Otters, Jaguars, Black Caimans, Harpy Eagles, Crested Eagles, Common Woolly Monkeys, Black Spider Monkeys and nine other primates.
Adventure for the rest of us
The Amazon Basin is famous for its wildlife, but not for its creature comforts. With the Napo Wildlife Center, you get the best of both worlds. Here, you can see thousands of parrots at the two, nearby parrot clay licks, Giant Otters in the lake and streams, 11 species of monkeys in the trees and over 550 species of birds in the forest. When your day is done, you can take a hot shower, sit on your private porch overlooking the lake, have a cold beer from the bar and enjoy a healthy international dinner. This is the jungle in style.
From start to finish, the Napo Wildlife Center combines creature comforts with incredible wildlife. Bilingual guides explain the intricacies of the rainforest while the staff works to make your stay the trip of a lifetime. And why wouldn't they? They are not only your staff but also major stockholders of the lodge! In addition to being the best wildlife lodge in the Amazon of Ecuador, the Napo Wildlife Center also conserves 82 square miles of pristine rainforest in its private reserve, based on a conservation partnership with the local community.
Partial view of a cabaña
interior, Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador.
Photo: Pete Oxford. Luxury Ecuador Tours & Travel.
Each chair... had been ferried downriver precariously balanced on a dugout...
-- Connie Rogers, The New York Times, August 1, 2004
Lodge highlights
The huge rooms at the Napo Wildlife Center are the most spacious and comfortable in the rainforest. Each meticulously clean room includes:
- 1 king-sized bed and 1 twin bed
- Pivate bathroom with plenty of on-demand hot water
- Private porch overlooking the lake
- 24-hour electricity for bright lighting and plenty of outlets for recharging batteries (120v)
- Ceiling fans and secure screens for bug-free ventilaton
The view from a private cabaña, Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador.
Photo: Peter English. Luxury Ecuador Tours & Travel.
The dining facility is covered by an enormous thatched roof and has an adjacent observation tower. Inside the facility is a modern kitchen with state-of-the-art water filtration, a large area for dining and relaxing, and a well-stocked bar.
Another beautiful sunrise
from the dining hall tower, Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador.
Photo: Peter English. Luxury Ecuador Tours & Travel.
Behind us, the violet silhouette of the Andes stood out on the horizon
and in front... was the vast, seemingly virgin Amazon basin.
-- Connie Rogers, The New York Times, August 1, 2004
About the consevation project
The Napo Wildlife Center supports a unique, 82-square-mile (52,000-acre), private nature reserve on the northern edge of the Yasuní National Park. The reserve and associated lodge were created and built by the traditional Quichua Indian community of Añangu in partnership with the nonprofits Tropical Nature and EcoEcuador. Funding for this project came from charitable contributions to Tropical Nature.
The Napo Wildlife Center is the only lodge on the south bank of the Napo River, which harbors 30% more bird and animal species than the north bank. With parrot licks, Giant Otters, Woolly Monkeys, and ten other primates, Napo Wildlife Center is the finest wildlife destination in the Amazon of Ecuador.
A visit to the comfortable Napo Wildlife Center is an unforgettable experience that directly protects both the community's reserve and Yusuní National Park.
An early morning at the dock, Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador.
Photo: Peter English. Luxury Ecuador Tours & Travel.
The main attractions
Native guides
Visitors will be led by a native Añangu guide, an expert on the rainforest's secrets, and a naturalist, knowledgeable in tropical forest biology. Both of your guides, with their unmatchable enthusiasm, will create informative and enjoyable excursions every day, each tailored to take advantage of the peaks of animal activity and weather conditions. Some outings will be before dawn or at sunrise to maximize wildlife observation, and others in the afternoon or at night.
Parrots at the clay lick, Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador.
Photo: Marcia Strouss. Luxury Ecuador Tours & Travel.
Suddenly... hundreds of birds rose in the air and descended on the clay lick
in a dazzling rain of turquoise, red, yellow, orange and green.
-- Connie Rogers, The New York Times, August 1, 2004
Parrot clay licks
The two most accessible parrot clay licks in Ecuador are part of the Napo Wildlife Center reserve. We have constructed viewing blinds at each of these clay licks so that visitors can comfortably watch as hundred of parrots and parakeets come to eat the clay that aids in the digestion of their diet of unripe seeds and fruits. Parrots visit the clay licks at different times of day, so it is easy to visit both clay licks in a single outing.
Activity kicks off at the main lick between 7 to 8 in the morning and at the second lick after midday. Species include Mealy, Blue-headed, Yellow-crowned, Orange-winged and Orange-cheeked Parrots; Cobalt-winged, Dusky-headed and White-eyed Parakeets; and the occasional rarities, like Scarlet Shoulder Parrotlet and Scarlet Macaws. In the best weather conditions, at least 800 individuals and most species can be spotted, and on other days, in spite of the rain, one can still see a few dozen. You could make it a full-day excursion, visiting both blinds, equipped with a freshly-made box lunch, or a half-day, visiting the main lick and returning for lunch at the lodge.
Giant Otters, Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador.
Photo: Luis Claudio Marigo. Luxury Ecuador Tours & Travel.
At the lake's entrance, six giant otters exploded out of the water,
bouncing up and down, screeching and barking, like guard dogs...
-- Connie Rogers, The New York Times, August 1, 2004
Giant Otters
Once thought to have been hunted to extinction in Ecuador, Giant Otters thrive in the lake and streams surrounding the Napo Wildlife Center. These seven-foot-long (two-meter-long) otters are unique to tropical rivers of South America and can be individually identified by their white throat patches.
Golden-mantled Tamarin Monkey, Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador.
Photo: Peter English. Luxury Ecuador Tours & Travel.
We fell into the seductive, slow rhythm of the forest, letting the habits
of other primates guide our day.
-- Connie Rogers, The New York Times, August 1, 2004
Canopy tower
Only 35 minutes from the lodge is the most professional canopy tower ever built in Ecuador. Designed to provide maximum safety to users, this stainless steel structure complies with international standards. It is over 125 feet tall and right next to a giant, 155 feet kapok tree, where a platform provides ample space for 15 guests and views of Howler, Capuchin, Monk Saki and Spider Monkeys in the nearby forest. On a clear day, the view extends to the Andes, where Gran Sumaco and the snow-capped Antisana and Cayambe volcanoes can be seen. In addition to mammals, such as the Three-toed Sloth, active feeding bird flocks reach the vicinity of our kapok tree, offering sightings of more than 80 species in a single morning -- among them, large toucans, macaws and colorful tanagers -- and making the canopy platform into a paradise for avid birdwatchers and nature lovers. Recent visitors have seen the Ornate Hawk Eagle, Crested Eagle and Harpy Eagle at the canopy tower for four consecutive days!
Birdwatching our way upstream, Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador.
Photo: Peter English. Luxury Ecuador Tours & Travel.
We loaded ourselves into a dugout canoe and glided upstream
into a dimly lighted tunnel of mangrove and fig trees.
-- Connie Rogers, The New York Times, August 1, 2004
Lake & streams
The Napo Wildlife Center has a large lake with two streams that can be quietly explored in a dugout canoe paddled by our expert guides and staff, eager to spot and show you wildlife. The possibilities are great for finding monkeys, like Squirrel, Saddle-backed and White-fronted Capuchin or those that inhabit only our south side of the Napo River, such as Monk Saki, Spider, Woolly and Golden-mantled Tamarin Monkeys. Napo Wildlife Center is home to 11 species. All four species of caiman are found here, including Black Caimans, which can easily be seen during nocturnal canoe rides or even on sunny days by the edge of floating vegetation.
Following the streams, there is a good chance to observe Giant Otters. Streams have dense vegetation on both sides, large trees overhead and calm flowing waters. No one knows exactly what awaits in the next meander: a flooded forest with anaconda or a gentle, easy-moving, Three-toed Sloth!
Rufescent Tiger Heron, Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador.
Photo: Peter English. Luxury Ecuador Tours & Travel.
In the trees, the volume of trills, caws, whistles and chirps
began rising with the sun.
-- Connie Rogers, The New York Times, August 1, 2004
Forest trails & hikes
Hikes along a variety of forest types are possible on different trails. One can appreciate the biological richness of the tropical forest -- discovering new plants and colorful or well-camouflaged insects. On forest trails, guests can see monkeys, lizards, tortoises, frogs and army ants in addition to an array of birds, including toucans, macaws, parrots, manakins and hummingbirds. Our staff is constantly aware of wildlife movements and they report to each other when and where it will be best to look. This is a territory of rich biodiversity, the land of anything is possible and expect the unexpected. The largest mammals like Jaguar, Puma, Tapir, Giant Anteater and Giant Armadillo have been spotted in our area.
Black-banded owl, Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador.
Photo: Peter
English. Luxury Ecuador Tours & Travel.
Wending our way quietly upstream at the end of the day,
Jiovanny spotted a zigzag heron, a rare trophy for a birder's life list.
-- Connie Rogers, The New York Times, August 1, 2004
Birdwatching
Over 562 species of birds have been recorded at the Napo Wildlife Center, more than one-third of all of Ecuador's birds -- a vast and rich bird life that can reward the most avid birdwatcher with the unrivalled, south Napo River species. Napo Wildlife Center and Añangu are a classic location for travelers to Ecuador who seek overwhelming bird diversity.
Agami and Zigzag Herons are found near the lake and creeks, including all five kingfishers. The large raptors like Harpy and Crested Eagles find healthy mammalian food in our area. The active calls of the forest-floor, mixed-species flocks with the largest numbers of the surprising antbirds can be found. Canopy flocks are normal to run into, chances are that birds provide an hour or so of a multitude of "wow"s. Gear up with the best binoculars for the most superb views and active excursions, helped with the expertise of the top native bird guide along the entire Napo River: Jiovanny Rivadeneira. He is the head of a number of native guides that will eagle-eye sight and successfully find for you that great plumaged world. Our canopy tower provides unrivalled opportunities for birding at the best rainforest in the country.
Panorama of the dining room and bar, Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador.
Photo: Peter English. Luxury Ecuador Tours & Travel.
... a local matriarch who lives in a house on stilts in the middle of a manioc field
greeted us hospitably with bowls full of chicha, the local beer.
-- Connie Rogers, The New York Times, August 1, 2004
The Añangu community
Añangu is not only home to the Napo Wildlife Center, it is the ancestral territory of an indigenous Quichua community. The Añangu people are active participants in the conservation and management of a large territory within the National Park. We would like to invite you to see the community that had a dream and initiative a long time ago to manage this vast rainforest territory by establishing its own lodge, helped by the EcoEcuador Foundation. You can join some families on their daily activities when harvesting bananas, coco and manioc, or help prepare chicha, a traditional alcoholic drink. Try this unique experience with the Añangu, masters of the tropical forest.
To get to Napo Wildlife Center, guests fly by jet from Quito to the town of Coca on the Napo River. After a short drive to the dock, we board a large, motorized, covered canoe for a two-hour trip downriver. Upon arriving at the entrance to the Napo Wildlife Center Reserve, we switch to smaller, dugout canoes and are paddled up the blackwater creek to the lake and lodge (no motorized transport is allowed on the creek or lake so that wildlife isn't disturbed).
This paddle can take anywhere from one to three hours, as on the creek guests might see Giant Otters, potoos, kingfishers, Hoatzins, jacamars, hawks, and monkeys. We eat lunch en route and arrive at the lodge by late afternoon.
© 2013 Inka's Empire Corporation, Machu Picchu Luxury Tours. All rights reserved.
