Yasuni National Park Tours & Trips

I started off with an 8-day Central Highlands volcano tour and then this morph into an additional few days in the cloud forest, followed by 4 days in the Amazon followed by 12 days in the Galapagos on a nice cruise. All aspects were arranged through authentic, Ecuador and particularly Ariel who facilitated all the added on tours to the original tour. He was freely available and seemed to be waiting by the phone for my phone calls if someone didn't meet me at the airport, although at all proceeded very smoothly.

I hadn't planned on going to the Ecuadorian Amazon, it was just by chance I saw it, as I was booking my accomadation in Ecuador. It was a true privilege to be welcomed at the Napo Cultural Centre and live amongst the Kichwa community, that uphold their traditions to this day. They all welcomed me with smiles and open arms, although many don't speak English or Spanish I could get by and learnt some of their Kichwa along the way! They are all very humble and and take great pride in their jungle and preserving what they can, hence putting bans on hunting animals and fighting to keep their land. There were only 2 of us that stayed at the lodge which was fine as we had a guide each. My guide was absolutely amazing, his ability to spot wildlife is unbelievable. I think we saw 8 different types of monkey species, parakeets, different types of birds....the only thing outstanding that I wanted to see was the sloth and anaconda. On my last day after coming back to the lodge at midday he text me to say come to main area, he had found the sloth. I couldn't of been happier. My guide was very much, what did I want to see and get out of this trip. The rooms are comfortable and water is replaced everyday, the rooms are made up everyday. There's a ceiling fan and a fridge with various drinks. The meals served are amazing and you never go hungry. They also have a bar where you can get other drinks. As this is within the community you do get to mix with the other families that live there, mainly the children as they come for school in the morning and leave in the afternoon. The owners and those that work there are all very nice and accomodating, I had the best time there. I think the best part for me was the canoe ride down the Napo river, gave me a chance to really see lots of different types of animals and true Amozonien life. It was tough for my guide and the other gentleman who were canoeing for about an hour. But it was fantastic. Highly recommended this trip, you do have the option of 3 different types of accommodation. I liked this one as it was part of a community and you could see how everyone goes about daily life. And you can tell its a very tight community.

Great guides, comfortable lodging, good food