The Andes Mountains run the length of Ecuador and are actually two lines of peaks 25 to 30 miles apart. They divide the mainland into three regions, each of which has a very different set of environments. These regions are the western coastal plain, the central highlands, and the tropical forest of Amazonia to the east.

The western range, the Cordillera Occidental, is generally lower in elevation than the eastern range, the Cordillera Real, though some of the highest elevations in all of the Americas are to be found in both ranges. The highest peak in South America lies in the Cordillera Real, Serra Chimborazo at 20,700 feet. Many of these peaks are active or dormant volcanoes. Ecuador has the world’s largest concentration of volcanoes, numbering over thirty, of which eight are considered to be currently active.

East of the Cordillera Real begins the Amazon watershed that Ecuadorians call the Oriental. As the crow flies, the distance from the high passes of the Real to the lowland rain forest is only 50 miles, but there is a drop in elevation from 11,000 feet to only 700 feet. The eastern faces of these steeply slopes are constantly bathed in moist air currents rising from Amazonia, creating very moist cloud forests rich in bromeliads.

In the space of only a few horizontal miles, the cloud forests give way to lowland tropical forest. The lowland forest of Ecuador has broad rivers that drain into the Amazon River and eventually the Atlantic Ocean, over 2,500 miles to the east. The lowland rain forest of Ecuador is one of the most remarkable in all of Amazonia. Though sharing the bulk of the species that are to be found in the most of the lowland forest, the Oriente possesses one of the greatest collections of endemic species in all of tropical America. The current scientific explanation for this richness is known as the refugia theory.

The term refugia has been applied to several areas which ring the outer fringes of the vast expanse of the Amazon Basin. Based on geological evidence and the present distribution and diversity of the flora and fauna, these areas are believed to have remained forested during periods when the central portion of the Amazon Basin was subjected to severe climatic changes. It is thought that the lowland forests of Ecuador constitute the richest of all Amazonian refugia. Our trip examines this exuberant life in this region.

The Oriente Lodge is located about 50 miles downstream from the port town of Coca and twenty minutes from the banks of the majestic Napo River. It is situated beside a tranquil oxbow lake, Pilchicocha, which was once the channel of the Napo River itself. Here the rich and varied sounds of birds, insects and Howler monkeys in a sea of lush tropical vegetation distinguish one of the last truly untouched places on the planet. In this delightful setting guests can experience a whole range of activities, such as guided walks thorough primary forest, canoe rides on undisturbed black water streams, access to the rainforest canopy via a magnificent 40 meter high tower and a guided tour of one of the biggest butterfly farms in Ecuador. At the end of each day there is ample time for relaxation with hot showers a hammock on your own private terrace and excellent food. The Oriente Lodge an enthusiastic and well trained staff provides guests with a friendly environment as well as a professional appreciation of the needs of international guests.

Getting to the Lodge
Your journey to the Amazon Basin starts in Quito at 2800 meters above sea level, with a 45 minute flight over the Andes to the port town of Coca. On arrival you will be met by a guide from the Lodge and taken across town to the Napo river in a "Chiva" bus, a traditional vehicle of the region. At the dock our covered motorized canoe will be waiting to take you on a 2 hour trip down the Napo River, the largest river in Ecuadorian Amazonia. Here the guides will explain your surroundings in detail and a box lunch will be served.

Although the Napo River is a kilometer wide in some areas, it is often surprisingly shallow. The motorist will zigzag his way down the river following the deepest channels and avoiding tress that have fallen during floods. Small Quichua communities live along the riverbanks, where thatched roof houses are built on stilts and surrounded by small gardens called chacras. In recent years, enormous oil reserves have been discovered in this region and during your stay the guides will explain some of the problems the area is facing from the oil industry.

Upon arrival at the Oriente Lodge's property, guests will take their first walk on a raised boardwalk through flooded palm forest to Pilchicocha lake (our staff will transport your luggage for you!). Here, dugout canoes await t paddle across the lake to the lodge itself. The staff will welcome you with a cocktail and snacks, and after a brief orientation guests will be shown to their rooms. Tehere is usually opportunity to swim, bird watch or visit a small lookout with a scenic view of the lake and lodge before sunset.

Accommodations:
The Lodging at the Oriente was carefully designed to be comfortable for the traveler yet preserving the flavor of the jungle. Our 20 cabins are constructed with traditional local materials and blend completely with their surroundings. High thatched roofs provide shade and cover a private terrace attached to each cabin, where individual hammocks are hung, overlooking the forest. Electricity is available from 4:30 a.m. until 10:00 p.m., and the modern bathrooms have hot water showers. Windows are screened against insects, and each cabin contains two double beds.

Activities at the Oriente Lodge
All of the Oriente Lodge's guests are divided into small groups, each of which will be led by a native guide with experts first-hand knowledge of the rainforest's medicinal plants, and bilingual naturalist guide educated in biology and the ecology of the area. Guided tours are provided for visitors in English, French and German or Spanish. All activities are carefully coordinated so that each group ultimately visits the same places, but at different times. In this way, guests can fully experience each activity as part of a small, quiet group. every evening at dinner the naturalist guides discuss the following day's activities with their group.

A typical day at the Oriente Lodge begins at sunrise or earlier, in order to take advantage of the cool morning hours when the animals of the rainforest are most active. Each group may decide on its own wake-up and breakfast time, which may vary depending on the activity planned for each morning. These visits are designed to last between 3 and 5 hours. Rainforest hikes are of varying distances, but generally it is preferable to walk slowly in order to fully appreciate the surroundings and increase the chances of spotting animals. Although it takes time to tune in to the subtleties of the jungle, many of the rainforest's secrets are easy to rediscover with the aid of the guides' keen eyes. Photo opportunities are endless, as are opportunities to ask the many questions that are bound to arise.

Normally groups return to the lodge with enough time to take a swim in the lake or to shower before lunch, which is at 1:00 p.m. Since the early afternoon is the hottest time of the day, when animals are least active, there is usually time for a siesta before afternoon activities, which begin at about 4:00 p.m. By this time, temperature cools off and walking is more pleasant. For at least one afternoon these walks can be extended into dusk so that groups may experience the sensory overload that the rainforest brings after dark, when the evening insect and frog chorus begins. By walking slowly and scanning the vegetation with flashlights, many of the forest's nocturnal creatures can be revealed. Dinner is served at 7:30 p.m. and afterwards guests can paddle around the lake in dugout canoes to hunt for caimans, nocturnal birds or simply stargaze on clear nights.

Trails
This is the first walk guests will enjoy upon arrival from Coca. It is a raised boardwalk linking the sediment-rich white waters of the Napo River and Oriente Lodge itself. This boardwalk leads through a seasonally flooded palm swamp where waling on the ground would be difficult, if not downright impossible, during much of the year due to ground water. Although the trail can be covered in a mere half hour, Squirrel Monkeys and tiny Pygmy Marmosets are often sighted here and offer the opportunity to stop and watch. At the end of the boardwalk, dugout canoes (and paddlers, of course!) wait to take guests across tannin-rich black waters of Pilchicocha lake to the lodge itself.

Liana Trials:
These trails lead us through pristine terra firme forest behind the lodge. In this type of forest, which is on "high and dry" ground and never floods, the rainforest canopy reaches its greatest height. One-hundred and fifty foot kapok trees tower above, and roots from huge buttresses and stilts to give trees support on the thin soil. Liana chica ("small liana") is a shorter loop taking up to four hours to complete, while liana grande ("big liana") is twice the distance and the choice of die-hard hikers.

• Lagartococha: a beautiful trail through terra firme forest takes us to Lagartococha, or "caiman lake", another oxbow lake which once formed part of the Napo River. This lagoon is now totally covered with floating vegetation, except for a channel which has been dug out around its edge. Upon arrival to Lagartococha the group will board a dugout canoe and paddle through this channel, searching for birds and other animals while surrounded by black-water plants and palm trees. This visit may be done in the morning, when there is time to follow more trails behind the lake, or in the afternoon, in order to walk back to the lodge after dark.
• Garza ("heron"): This relatively new trail leads us on a long loop mainly through terra firme forest, with a boardwalk crossing through the flooded forest surrounding the eastern edge of Lagartococha. This type of flooded forest, which floods with black water, is known as igapó, and offers a sharp contrast to the adjoining terra firme.
• Pantano : This trail leads from the lodge around the west side of the lake back towards the Napo River. Here guests will pass through three distinct forest types: terra firme, igapó, and finally varzea forest which periodically floods with the white waters of the Napo, before reaching the boardwalk. In the afternoon an attractive option is to return from here to the Napo, along the trail to "oropendola island", where many parrots and oriole family species fly in to roost for the night. After sunset, groups may return to the lodge on a night walk down the trail and paddle across the lake searching for caimans.
• Orchid Creek - observation tower: One of the Oriente's greatest attractions is the forty-meter high observation tower. Built around a giant kapok tree situated on a hill, this tower provides one of the few opportunities on the planet to climb into and above the rainforest canopy for a magnificent view of the surrounding area. Be it soon after sunrise of before sunset, from here it is possible to observe toucans, parrots, and dozens of other species of birds searching for food in the treetops. With some luck howler monkeys or three-toed sloths may also be see, especially with the aid of a powerful telescope which will be carried up by your guides.
  
  The tower may be reached on foot by half-hour walk through terra firme forest, which is an easy way to get to the tower for sunrise. However, no one can miss out on at least a one-way to or from the tower along Orchid Creek, a narrow black water runoff from Pilchicocha to the Napo River. In a dugout canoe guests may ride for about an hour along this creek through beautiful flooded forest, a trip many often choose to repeat.
• Danta ("tapir")
  Only for adventures!!! This walk follows along, narrow (and often submerged!) boardwalk around the east side of the lake through varzea and igapó flooded forests between And and the base of the observation tower. Monkey sightings are common here, and although the hike is fun, be prepared to get wet!
• The Butterfly House:
  The Oriente Lodge is now home of one of the largest butterfly farms in Ecuador. Originally designed as a live exhibition greenhouse of local species, the Butterfly House is now successfully breeding nearly 40 species of butterflies, many of which are being exported to exhibition centers in England, Germany and the United States. Guests will be shown how the butterflies are bred and raised, and later be free to wander through "the flying room", where hundreds of colorful butterflies including spectacular blue morphos fly freely from flower to flower.
• "Loros" the Parrot Clay Lick: Half an hour by motorized canoe down the Napo River is Ecuador's most accessible parrot lick, an exposed clay bank where beautiful parrots of several different species gather in the early morning. In ideal conditions (sunny and dry), the parrots often perch on and eat the exposed clay, which acts as a sort of "antacid" for them: Parrots eat a variety of fruits, many of which are toxic or highly acidic, and the clay draws these toxins out of their bodies. On an ideal morning hundreds of parrots can be seen gathering around this bank between 7:00 and 8:00 am for a spectacular show of sound and color. Early morning trips to the lick are possible, but this visit is strictly weather-permitting: The parrots will not come in the rain! Later, adventurous guests may return to the lodge from the Napo via a precarious walk along tree trunks, through flooded swamp and then across "tarabita", a steel cable zip-line hung between two trees on either side of Orchid Creek!

1) Full Package This includes transfers from the international airport on your arrival in Ecuador to a four star hotel in Quito, two nights there, transfer to the local airport for the short flight to the Amazon, the 5D/4N stay at the lodge, all meals at the Lodge, a fantastic buffet breakfast at the hotel in Quito and a transfer to the international airport on your departure from Ecuador. It does not include lunch and dinner in Quito, airport departure taxes or room service in the hotel.

7 Days/ 6 Nights (Available every Sunday through Saturday)
Prices:
$1,175 double occupancy
$1,418 single occupancy
$1,260 for a single passenger who is willing to share a room at the lodge, this price includes single accommodations in the hotel in Quito

2) Lodge Only: stays without hotel nights in Quito This program includes all of the services of the lodge, but you must join the group at the airport for the flight to the Amazon and make your own hotel and transfer arrangements. We will help you coordinate with the group traveling to the Amazon---its quite easy to do. Prices include all meals at the lodge and air transportation to the Amazon and are per person based on double occupancy.

5 Days/ 4 Nights (Available every Monday through Friday)
Prices:
$945 double occupancy
$1,103 single occupancy (subject to availability)

4 Days/ 3 Nights (Available every Friday through Monday)
Prices:
$840 double occupancy
$967 single occupancy (subject to availability)

Tips to Help You Plan Your Trip
Clothing: Lightweight pants (trousers) and long sleeved cotton shirts are ideal. Walks may be taken in shorts and T-shirts but exposed skin will need covering with insect repellent. Full water-proof clothing often gets you as wet with sweat as the rain would do anyway, but ponchos are recommendable for severe tropical cloud-bursts.

Bar: Bar items and tips are not included in your package. Drinks are paid on the last night of your stay, in dollars, travelers checks or sucres.

Luggage: Your luggage will be put into plastic bags when you travel on the canoe on the Napo River for protection against spray and rain.

Laundry: No laundry service is provided at the lodge. Please remember it takes a long time to dry clothing in the rainforest, so pack additional items that might get wet during rain.

Drinking water: All the drinking water that is served at the Lodge has been treated, tested and is perfectly safe for human consumption. If you prefer, you may purchase bottled mineral water from the bar.

On the Canoe Trips: The canoe is covered to protect against sun and rain, but a light jacket or poncho is useful to protect against the wind and spray.

Meal Requirements: At the Lodge our chef will be happy to prepare vegetarian meals especially for you upon request.

Photography: High-speed film and a Flash for cameras is recommendable for shady walks under the forest canopy. However, slower film is fine for photos on rivers, the tower and at the lodge.

Recommended Packing List:
Passport
Rain Poncho
Binoculars
Flash light
Camera, film and flash
Insect Repellent
Sun protection (sun block, sunglasses, hat or cap)
Lightweight pants and long sleeved shirts for walks
Shorts and short sleeved shirts for the lodge
Comfortable shoes and extra socks
Bathing Suit
Day Pack
Rubber Boots*
* The lodge can provide boots up to men's US size 13. These can be worn instead of walking shoes when the trails are muddy after rain. comfortable sandals and shoes can be worn while walking on the raised boardwalks that connect the cabins to the main dining lodge. There is a twenty-pound weight limit on baggage for the Aerogal flight from Quito to Coca. Please put heavy items in hand baggage.