A trip to the Ecuadorian Amazon guarantees a majestic experience

A trip to the Ecuadorian Amazon, which encompasses about forty-six thousand square miles, is a unique opportunity to experience the breadth and wonder of Ecuador’s biodiversity. Located in the jungle’s southern region near the Peruvian border is the Kapawi Ecolodge and Reserve, a remote complex on the Capahuari River reached from Quito only by several small plane rides and a final approach by canoe. Although remote, it is a warm and inviting place ideally suited as a base of operations for jungle exploring visitors.

The complex was established in1996 when the tour operating company, Canodros, and Ashuar leaders agreed to a two million dollar investment by Canodros to develop the property, which lies within the territory of the indigenous Ashuar people. The company signed a 15-year lease on the property, including a monthly rent of $2000 and a $10 per visitor fee to be given to the community. When the contract expires in 2011, Canodros will give Kapawi to the Ashuar, who will own and manage it from then on. About half of the employees at Kapawi and at related services come from the Ashuar communities. Ashuar guides, who impress visitors with examples of the harmonious relationship between their traditions and nature, accompany all of the tours.

Though nestled deep in the Amazon jungle, accommodations at Kapawi are remarkably modern. Twenty cozy cabins, built in a similar manner as the Ashuar homes, include private bathrooms with sun-heated showers. Solar energy, environmentally appropriate sewage and waste management, biodegradable products and canoes with electric and four-stroke outbound engines minimize pollution and adverse impact on the environment. Electricity is provided by a photovoltaic system.

Kapawi offers unlimited opportunities for communion with nature — visitors there are unfailingly astonished by the sight of hundreds of species coexisting within steps of their cabins. Canoe rides along the Pastaza River provide them with opportunity to observe birds in their existential dances on the river shores and in the jungle’s vegetative canopies. Parrots and macaws swoop down from trees to feed on the banks of the river, occasionally surprised by majestic fishing hawks claming their domain. Pink dolphins are often seen swimming alongside passing canoes. On trail tours, explorers are immersed in wildlife while learning from the Ashuar about the medicinal properties of many of the flora. Baby and full-grown caimans, king vultures, cardinals, Russian ducks, rodents, monkeys, bats, huge ants, transparent and neon green frogs, butterflies and much, much more are in abundance everywhere. Hikes into Ashuar communities allow visitors to observe and learn about native traditions and buy handmade crafts.

The Ashuar people — and the jungle itself — are noble reminders that explorations of the Ecuadorian Amazon should be made with particular care and awareness of its fragility, for earth’s natural balance depends greatly on the existence of its delicate ecosystems. Mindful of this, visitors to the jungle can come away knowing they have experienced a truly unique, majestic and environmentally important part of our planet.

See www.kapawi.com for more information on Kapawi Lodge & Reserve.