Yasuni Amazon Expedition 5D/4N

Overnight bus to Coca

Kichwa Añangu community and Hike (L/D)
Once you arrive in the morning, you'll embark on a comfortable covered motorboat. Here we start a canoe ride along the Napo River for about 2 hours with box lunch and coffee are provided on route to keep your energy up! Arriving at Napo Cultural Center, you have the outstanding chance to step onto the aboriginal territory of the Kichwa Añangu community, whose members will welcome you with a traditional and refreshing wayusa drink. The local Hotel Manager will give quick instructions and take you to your comfortable room with views of the rainforest to get ready for the first activity in the afternoon. You'll be hiking along the Playas trail, to experience Amazon wildlife for the first time in the river islands and shores, amidst one of the most biologically diverse places on Earth. Kayaking is also available as an optional activity for around 45 min., to enjoy an overwhelming and colorful sunset in the vastness of Napo River. Then head back to your cabin, rest a little bit, and be prepared for a well-deserved dinner.

Napo Cultural Center (B/L/D)
Early breakfast and then head in the motorboat to one of the highlights of Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, the parrot clay lick in the riverside of the Napo River. Bring your binoculars and camera lenses to see flocks of blue-headed, yellow-crowned parrots and even dusky-headed parakeets, from the boat. Then walk around 30 min, through the pericos trail to reach the blind in the forest with a direct view to the amazing parakeet clay lick, which brings visitors face to face with up to 11 species of parrots and parakeets (including parrotlets and macaws), sometimes even mammals like howler monkeys, tapir and peccaries come to this place to drink water and get vital minerals for their body. We end this morning with a visit to the intercultural interpretation center Kuri Muyu which means golden seed in native language and is managed by the women of the community, also known as mamakuna. Learn about the Kichwa culture, crafts, customs, and traditional use of natural resources, directly from the people of the aboriginal community. We return to the center of the community to have lunch at the dining hall and to take a break in the lodge, before hiking one hour in order to climb up the observation tower, reaching 36 meters above the surface, with high chances to spot a variety of birds, howler monkeys, squirrel monkeys, toucans, parrots and sloths. Time for dinner followed by a unique activity at Napo river, onboard the ancestral catamaran to learn more about their legends and traditional chants, while women grill some delicious snacks in the fire.

Napo Cultural Center (B/L/D)
Enjoy the sunrise at breakfast and visit the sustainable community projects to get to understand the Kichwa worldview. Then, take a walk into the Mama Kuna trail, an excellent opportunity to see wildlife, ceiba trees, strangler, bamboo cane, vines, and shrubs endemic from Yasuní. In the afternoon after a delicious local lunch, paddle around Añangu creek, a black water ecosystem where you can spot monkeys jumping from tree to tree, caiman and sometimes even giant river otters trying to catch fish. Upon arriving you will have time to settle back and prepare for a traditional typical dinner to taste local flavors of the Amazon, such as maito, which is wrapped grilled fish in a bijao leaf and if you have an adventurous palate try the grilled worms of the Chonta locally known as Chontakuru. After dinner, prepare your flashlight for a night walk around the lodge to see different kinds of insects, reptiles, and even nocturnal mammals like the night monkeys.

Wayusada Ritual and Return to Quito (B)
To end your last day in the perfect way, you'll take part in the optional Wayusada ritual. Early start at around 04:30 am, as it is the time when the Kichwa family share together the sacred Wayusa. This ritual has been a way to pass their ancient knowledge to the new generations. There are traditional chants and the option to have dreams read with the wise old Mamakuna of the community, a mystique experience indeed. Then head back for breakfast, while our staff pick you luggage for your return to El Coca, onboard our comfortable motorboats for the last chance to appreciate the Ecuadorian rainforest landscape. From there, you'll catch a public bus from Coca to Quito.