La Selva Ecolodge

Destination overview

One of the first Amazon rainforest lodges in Ecuador, the award winning La Selva was completely remodeled and reopened in July of 2012, and has become the premier eco lodge in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

La Selva Jungle Lodge is a Resort located in a rainforest paradise in one of the most biodiverse areas of the planet.

There are a lot of possible excursions and tours with an English-speaking guide, some more physically challenging than others, which cater to all ages and physical abilities.

Situated on Garzacocha lagoon, spotting monkeys, hundreds of species of birds , sloths, caymans and butterflies are just a short walk or canoe paddle away.

An easy trail close to the hotel is usually filled with wildlife at any hour of the day. A short walk through rainforest will allow you to appreciate the giant kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) and the Strangler fig tree (Ficus sp), along with thousands of other plant and animal species.

Accommodations

The cabanas are inspired by native bamboo design: authentic, airy and comfortable with unexpected amenities including private bathrooms, hot showers, electricity, ceiling fans, and are immaculately cleaned daily.

Our cozy private bungalows are made entirely of secondary growth rainforest materials and designed to blend with the surroundings. Each one has a private bathroom, a hammock and mosquito netting for each bed (although you will be surprised at what little need you will have for this item due to the lack of insects).

There are 12 thatched cabanas of varying sleeping configurations and several public gathering spots, including the spacious dining room with a rooftop lookout point, an open-air combined bar and a lounge with a wrap-around view of the lagoon.

In an effort to conserve the authentic Amazon experience and for ecological reasons, please note that there is no air conditioning in the rooms at La Selva. However, for your convenience and comfort there are fans for use 24 hours a day, and after a short period you will be surprised at how quickly your body will adapt to the change of climate.

Naturalist & Native Guides

When visiting La Selva Jungle Lodge, it is important to know that while on trips, guests are always in good hands with experts in the area. Adventures are a large part of La Selva and great guides are the key to exciting excursions in the Amazon.

At La Selva, guests are given the opportunity to explore intricate trail systems led by both a local Native Guide and a bilingual Naturalist Guide divided into small groups in order to maximize overall experiences. La Selva’s guides are the key to fulfilling and captivating outings because they already know the area well hearing, seeing and even smelling things guests cannot, they are passionate about the jungle and their years of experience make all the difference between an acceptable tour and an astounding tour in the Amazon.

Groups are based on guest’s interests and guides will further customize programs to optimize all available resources based on weather, wildlife and natural circumstances to create the best Amazonian program possible.

Programs

The Amazon Jungle offers opportunities for cultural exchange, photography, adventure, hiking, relaxation, birdwatching and wildlife observation. The area surrounding La Selva has perhaps the largest list of bird species in the neo-tropics due to its ideal location on the border of Yasuni National Park. Thanks to biodiversity and top-notch guides, you will have the chance to see unique flora and fauna.

Most choose a 4 or 5 day tour. Custom birdwatching packages can be designed according to your needs. Contact us about designing the perfect tour for your specific interests, needs and tastes.

Location

Located in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest basin of Ecuador, La Selva Amazon Ecolodge has been in successful operation for twenty five years. We are a highly respected jungle lodge in South America and recipients of the “Ecotourism Award” at the World Congress on Tourism and Environment.

La Selva Amazon Ecolodge is located on the border of Yasuni National Park around sixty miles from the town of Coca, down the Napo River (one of the main tributaries of the Amazonas River) and one mile inland from the river itself.

To begin your journey a motorized canoe will be waiting for the group to take them down the Napo River (approximately 2 and a half hours). A short hike follows this trip to finally board a paddle canoe to cross Garzacocha Lagoon before arriving at the lodge.

Upon arrival to La Selva’s main dock, our staff will help you carry your luggage (carry-on baggage as well as camera gear will be the guest’s responsibility). You will be greeted with a complimentary cocktail as well as introduced to your bilingual naturalist guide.

How to get to La Selva

On your departure day our representative will meet you at the Quito airport one hour before departure time. Boarding passes will be distributed and our staff will help you check your luggage and assist you throughout the entire check-in process. Luggage weight limit is 20 Kg per passenger. You will also receive a short briefing about the journey.

La Selva Amazon Ecolodge works with TAME or AEROGAL airlines. After a 30-minute flight you will arrive in Coca where our representative will help you with your luggage and transport you to the city’s main dock.

At the dock, a motorized canoe will be waiting to take you down the Napo River. During the ride along the river, which lasts about 2 ½ hours, each guest will enjoy a boxed lunch.

At La Selva’s main dock, the lodge staff will help guests with their luggage (carry-on baggage, as well as camera gear will be the guest’s responsibility). After a 15-minute walk, guests will board a paddle canoe to cross the beautiful Garzacocha Lagoon, an amazing start to your jungle visit.

Approximately 15 minutes later, the resident manager will greet you with a delicious welcome cocktail. From there you will continue on to relax in the bar area with a fresh tropical fruit snack and a short briefing with general information about the lodge and activities, provided by one of our bilingual naturalist guides.

Itineraries

4 days / 3 nights

PLEASE NOTE THAT RAINFOREST ITINERARIES MAY VARY SLIGHTLY SO AS TO MAXIMIZE WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS, DEPENDING OF THE REPORTS OF OUR NATURALISTS GUIDES, YOUR MAIN INTERESTS AND WEATHER CONDITIONS.

ARRIVING

You will be met by a La Selva representative in the National Terminal of Quito’s airport to assist you and give you a short briefing about the journey.

After a 30 minute flight to Puerto Francisco de Orellana, known as «El Coca», we will transfer you to the dock to board the motorized canoe that will take us to La Selva on the Napo River. Your luggage will be handled by our representatives. A boxed lunch and fresh water bottles will be provided.

A relaxing journey of approximately two and a half hours will be the beginning of experiencing the tropical rainforest.

ITINERARIES

Itineraries depend on weather and natural conditions. The first day, after receiving your accommodations, you will have an introductory briefing and a short activity to introduce you into the rainforest beauty.

For the rest of the days at La Selva, activities will be designed in accordance to the number of groups at the lodge, weather, facilities, logistics and specific season of the year. We offer a certain number of activities that will be provided in different schedules for each group.

INTRODUCTORY RAINFOREST BRIEFING:

Important introductory explanation before «getting into» the forest held by one of our Naturalist Guides.

MATAPALO TRAIL:

This trail was named after the Spanish name of the famous Strangler fig (Ficus Aurea) one of many remarkable trees that you will find during this short introductory walk, where your native and naturalist guides will start to share with you part of their knowledge about flora and fauna of the tropical rain forest.

NIGHT WALK:

A flashlight and a camera will be the only things you will need to enjoy all of the insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals that you might see during an hour walk in the darkness of the forest.

NIGHT CANOE RIDE IN GARZACOCHA LAGOON:

With the help of a spotlight, your guides will take you in a paddle canoe around the lagoon looking for caimans, boas, bats, owls, night mammals and more nocturnal wildlife. If the sky is clear, you might have the chance to do some star gazing.

DAY CANOE RIDE IN GARZACOCHA LAGOON:

A 1 1/2 to 2 hour canoe ride will let you observe the biodiversity around the Garzacocha lagoon, where the famous Hoatzin Stinkbird can be seen as well as some fish, wet and beautiful trees that grow inside the black waters sytem and good chances to see monkeys.

CHAGUAMANGO TRAIL:

Trail begins at the lodge and finishes at the edge of the lagoon. At the end of the walk head back to the lodge by canoe. If lucky, you might see big troops of squirrel monkeys approaching the water, allowing you to take great photos of wildlife.

CHARAPA TRAIL:

This trail lasts about one and a half hours. It’s a wonderful loop that begins with a walk, returning to the lodge by canoe. Along the way we will try to sight different groups of mammals, monkeys and birds that in the afternoon hours get close to the lagoonshore to look for food. Apart from a clear afternoon, you can also enjoy a beautiful sunset from the canoe.

OBSERVATION TOWER:

A 20 minute walk will lead you to the tower. This construction will allow us to be 120 feet above the forest floor to enjoy the canopy of the tropical rain forest. Observing with a telescope will enable us to see birds from the canopy, and maybe even monkeys or sloths. On the way back we will hike for about 2 hours. Our native guide will show some of the medicinal plants that natives still use and the naturalist will provide information about the ecology and natural history as well.

PARROT CLAY LICK:

Visit the most biologically diverse spot on Earth, the Yasuni National Park. A 20 minute canoe ride plus a 15 minute walk will bring you back to the Napo River. A motorized canoe ride lasting 10 minutes will let you enjoy one of the most amazing displays of the wild world. Hundreds of parrots and parakeets will approach the treetops and later come down to a clay bank to eat the soil rich in minerals. It is essential to have binoculars to enjoy the experience.

Once you identify the different species of parrots and parakeets, your naturalist guide will provide a lot of interesting information about the behavior of these spectacular birds. The motorized canoe ride will continue for approximately 30 more minutes of birdwatching along the river banks.

After a wonderful morning full of parrots, parakeets and other birds, now enjoy a unique cultural activity. An Amazonian Kichwa family will receive you in their home. Visit their garden called a «chacra», followed by a visit in their house to show you a part of the Amazonia that you will not find on the maps or in a book: the Amazon people. A motorized canoe ride, walk and a paddle canoe ride will bring you back to the lodge.

EVERY DAY YOU WILL HAVE A BRIEFING ABOUT NEXT DAYS ACTIVITIES

Meals
BREAKFAST: Wake up call and breakfast according to activities
LUNCH: 12:30 p.m.
DINNER: 7:30 p.m.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

SPECIFIC TOPIC TALKS: One of our Naturalists will hold an optional activity to talk about a specific topic of the rainforest.
DEPARTURE BRIEFING: Just before dinner on the previous night’s departure, La Selva’s Manager will provide all the necessary information needed prior to departure of Coca and flight back to Quito.

5 days / 4 nights

PLEASE NOTE THAT RAINFOREST ITINERARIES MAY VARY SLIGHTLY SO AS TO MAXIMIZE WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS, DEPENDING OF THE REPORTS OF OUR NATURALISTS GUIDES, YOUR MAIN INTERESTS AND WEATHER CONDITIONS.

ARRIVING

You will be met by a La Selva representative in the National Terminal of Quito’s airport to assist you and give you a short briefing about the journey.

A relaxing journey of approximately two and a half hours will be the beginning of experiencing the tropical rainforest.

ITINERARIES

INTRODUCTORY RAINFOREST BRIEFING:

Important introductory explanation before «getting into» the forest held by one of our Naturalist Guides.

MATAPALO TRAIL:

NIGHT WALK:

NIGHT CANOE RIDE IN GARZACOCHA LAGOON:

DAY CANOE RIDE IN GARZACOCHA LAGOON:

CHAGUAMANGO TRAIL:

CHARAPA TRAIL:

OBSERVATION TOWER:

PARROT CLAY LICK:

SACHA HUGRA TRAIL:

A unique experience – walk through an amazing section of primary forest for about 4 to 5 hours. You might have the chance to find the biggest mammals of the rain forest. A healthy rainforest makes you feel the energy of nature like no other place on the planet. The biggest and probably oldest threes of our resources can be found here, be amazed with their size and beauty.

For some of our guest this walk can be found difficult. We do offer them the opportunity to enjoy of a portion of it instead of all of it, depending on their physical condition.

EVERY DAY YOU WILL HAVE A BRIEFING ABOUT NEXT DAYS ACTIVITIES

Meals
BREAKFAST: Wake up call and breakfast according to activities
LUNCH: 12:30 p.m.
DINNER: 7:30 p.m.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

SPECIFIC TOPIC TALKS: One of our Naturalists will hold an optional activity to talk about a specific topic of the rainforest.

DEPARTURE BRIEFING: Just before dinner on the previous night’s departure, La Selva’s Manager will provide all the necessary information needed prior to departure of Coca and flight back to Quito.