SANI LODGE
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Sani Isla is located between 2 of the more diverse ecological reserves in the world, The Yasuni National Park and the Cuyabeno reserve. Our territory represents a natural corridor for an amazing variety of bird species, so we are proud to say that coming to our lodge is like going to BIRD WATCHERS HEAVEN. In our short history as a lodge, there have been found more than 500 species in our land and we are constantly finding new species to add to our list.
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OVERVIEW
- Accommodates a maximum of 38 guests (at the cabins)
- The lodge itself consists of: ten, private, thatch-roofed cabanas
- 4 family size Cabins
- Private bathroom.
- The cabins are spaciously designed for double or triple occupancy
- All Cabins have screened in windows to guard against insects while you sleep
- Electric lights at the lodge run from ecologically friendly solar energy.
- We provide mattress, pillows, sheets so you will not have to bring extra items.
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CAMPING
Our camping site is located 1 hour away from the Lodge, at the end of our Trail named Coto and near the Challuayaku stream of our Calluacocha black water lagoon. Once you arrive to the Lodge and have a warming welcoming from our staff, depart to the Camping site in a paddle canoe along with your naturalist guide, a cooker and a native guide whom will camp with you during your stay.Our camping site offers an exhilarating experience for our more adventurous travelers. At this site you will be able to feel the energy and the vivacity of the Amazon Rainforest.
We have built wooden platforms with thatched roofs where we place the tents to provide extra shelter. We provide tents, mattresses, sheets, pillows, and drinking water. Please bring your own flashlight.At the site, there is a shower and a dry latrine to be used by our guests.
All meals are prepared there by our chef and elaborated with the same quality. The activities are included in the price and are exactly the same as those offered to guests staying in the Lodge but depart and arrive to the Camping. Definitely, the site is made for people who want to live close to the experience of knowing the Ecuadorian jungle.
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Activities
- Observation Tower
- Caiman Watching
- Hiking
- Night Walks
- Community Visit
- Yasuni National Park
- Blowgun Practice
- Kayak
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Services
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Guidance
- Transportation
Guests see in average from 100 to120 species. But for avid birders, this statistic may vary enormously up to 250 species. We recommend at least the tour of 4 nights / 5 days to get better chances of finding that unique species that make our lodge such a extraordinary place for Birdwatching.
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ITINERARIES
DAY BY DAY ITINERARY 4 DAYS / 3 NIGHTS
Day 1
Your journey starts with a 35-minute flight from Quito at 10:30 am to Coca where the staff will pick you up and transfer to a local ho tel located on the banks of Napo River. There, your bilingual guides will explain about safety before embarking for a 2 ½ boat trip on the largest Ecuadorian affluent of the Amazon, the Napo River. During the journey you get a taste of the Amazon; ancestral communities, birds such as: herons, egrets, vultures, while enjoying delicious packed lunch. The canoe ride is followed by a 15 minute walk through flooded forest and 20-minute paddle canoe across the beautiful Challuacocha Lake. The staff will welcome you with refreshing cold drinks and snacks before you settle down in your cabins.
Late afternoon, you will have a short walk on the nearby trails or a canoe ride with many chances to observe primates, Amazonian birds, black caimans and a close encounter with the amazing flora represented by cedar trees, orchids, and bromeliads. Return to the lodge, where our chef will be happy to offer a wide variety of national and international cuisine that caters vegetarians and vegans.
After dinner explore our black-water Oxbow Lake, one of the increasingly rare havens for the endangered black caiman, supporting a healthy population of these large up to 6 meter (18ft.) long South-American crocodilian. Back to the lodge.
Day 2
After breakfast, experience the life on the tree tops from the 36 meter (118 ft.) observation tower. To get there your leaders will paddle on the Challuacocha Lake for 30 minutes followed by a short 10-minute walk. Over 565 species of birds have been registered so far, including colorful birds such as macaws, toucans, honeycreepers, tanagers, flycatchers, hummingbirds and with a bit of luck a close view of howler, squirrel monkeys or sloths resting on the canopy. The tower gives you a unique perspective, opening up a whole new world of Amazon biodiversity that is often difficult, if not impossible to see from the understory. The journey continues exploring the nearby trails searching for more Amazonian creatures. Return to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch there are many alternatives for your enjoyment, bird-watching from the dining hall or simply get relaxed on the hammocks. In the afternoon, hike Chorongo or Coto trails of 3 hours, fantastic terra-firme forest to discover the relationships among the different living creatures and the role they play in this complex ecosystem. Orchids, vines, strangle figs, ancient trees; bromeliads are all part of this fabulous tropical rainforest. Dinner at the lodge.
After dinner take a night walk to see how myriads of insects, spiders and frogs come alive.
Day 3
After breakfast departure to the Napo River to board the boat and visit the parrot-clay lick at Yasuní National Park for a wonderful view of hundreds of parrots searching for a gap to land and eat the earth. Here you will see Mealy Amazon, Yellow-crowned, Orange-winged and Blue-headed parrots. Continue with a hike on the south of the Napo inside Yasuní National Park considered for scientists like the most biodiverse area in the world, here, some species that cannot be found in the north might be spotted: golden–mantled tamarins and spider monkeys, Blue and yellow macaws and with a bit of luck a close encounter with white-lipped or collared peccaries. Head back to Sani Community Center to visit a native house to get a taste of how a typical Kichwa family lives. Enjoy their food, drinks, customs, and culture of the Sani community and learn how the lifestyle of the locals is environmentally sustainable. Return to the lodge late in the afternoon for a well-deserved diner.
After dinner take a night walk to see how myriads of insects, spiders and frogs come alive.
Day 4
After breakfast head back to the Napo River to board the boat and visit the parrots wall at Yasuní National Park for a wonderful view of hundreds of parrots searching for a gap to land and eat the earth. Here you will see Mealy Amazon, Yellow-crowned, Orange-winged and Blue-headed parrots. Then return to Coca on time to get your flight back to Quito at 11:50 am.
End of services!
The operator reserves the right to change the itinerary without previous notice due to weather, regulations or unforeseeable circumstances.
ADDITIONAL DAYS
The 5 days program includes more hiking and sailing in paddle canoes. Extensions 6, 7, 8 days can be arranged upon request.
DAY BY DAY ITINERARY 5 DAYS / 4 NIGHTS
Day 1
Your journey starts with a 35-minute flight from Quito at 10:30 am to Coca where the staff will pick you up and transfer to a local hotel located on the banks of Napo River. There, your bilingual guides will explain about safety before embarking for a 2 ½ boat trip on the largest Ecuadorian affluent of the Amazon, the Napo River. During the journey you get a taste of the Amazon; ancestral communities, birds such as: herons, egrets, vultures, while enjoying delicious packed lunch. The canoe ride is followed by a 15 minute walk through flooded forest and 20-minute paddle canoe across the beautiful Challuacocha Lake. The staff will welcome you with refreshing cold drinks and snacks before you settle down in your cabins.
Late afternoon, you will have a short walk on the nearby trails or a canoe ride with many chances to observe primates, Amazonian birds, black caimans and a close encounter with the amazing flora represented by cedar trees, orchids, and bromeliads. Return to the lodge, where our chef will be happy to offer a wide variety of national and international cuisine that caters vegetarians and vegans.
After dinner explore our black-water Oxbow Lake, one of the increasingly rare havens for the endangered black caiman, supporting a healthy population of these large up to 6 meter (18ft.) long South-American crocodilian. Back to the lodge.
Day 2
After breakfast, experience the life on the tree tops from the 36 meter (118 ft.) observation tower. To get there your leaders will paddle on the Challuacocha Lake for 30 minutes followed by a short 10-minute walk. Over 565 species of birds have been registered so far, including colorful birds such as macaws, toucans, honeycreepers, tanagers, flycatchers, hummingbirds and with a bit of luck a close view of howler, squirrel monkeys or sloths resting on the canopy. The tower gives you a unique perspective, opening up a whole new world of Amazon biodiversity that is often difficult, if not impossible to see from the understory. The journey continues exploring the nearby trails searching for more Amazonian creatures. Return to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch there are many alternatives for your enjoyment, bird-watching from the dining hall or simply get relaxed on the hammocks. In the afternoon, hike Chorongo or Coto trails, fantastic terra-firme forest to discover the relationships among the different living creatures and the rol they play in this complex ecosystem. Orchids, vines, strangle figs, ancient trees; bromeliads are all part of this fabulous tropical rainforest. Dinner at the lodge.
After dinner take a night walk to see how myriads of insects, spiders and frogs come alive.
Day 3
After breakfast departure to the Napo River to board the boat and visit the parrot-clay lick at Yasuní National Park for a wonderful view of hundreds of parrots searching for a gap to land and eat the earth. Here you will see Mealy Amazon, Yellow-crowned, Orange-winged and Blue-headed parrots. Continue with a hike on the south of the Napo inside Yasuní National Park considered for scientists like the most biodiverse area in the world, here, some species that cannot be found in the north might be spotted: golden–mantled tamarins and spider monkeys, Blue and yellow macaws and with a bit of luck a close encounter with white-lipped or collared peccaries. Head back to Sani Community Center to visit a native house to get a taste of how a typical Kichwa family lives. Enjoy their food, drinks, customs, and culture of the Sani community and learn how the lifestyle of the locals is environmentally sustainable. Return to the lodge late in the afternoon for a well-deserved diner.
After dinner take a night walk to see how myriads of insects, spiders and frogs come alive.
Day 4
Explore the hidden corners of Sani Lodge in a 7-hour hike on Chorongo Largo trail for a close encounter with stunning wildlife represented by wooly monkeys, troops of Squirrel and white fronted capuchin monkeys, parrots, macaws, toucans and with a bit of luck tapirs and even peccaries. Discover the magic world of untouched and virgin forest in a life-time experience. For your total enjoyment lunch will be served in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by tree ferns, ancient kapoks, palms, and tons of magical energy at all levels. Return in the afternoon to the lodge for dinner.
Day 5
After breakfast head back to the Napo River to board the boat and visit the parrots wall at Yasuní National Park for a wonderful view of hundreds of parrots searching for a gap to land and eat the earth. Here you will see Mealy Amazon, Yellow-crowned, Orange-winged and Blue-headed parrots. Then return to Coca on time to get your flight back to Quito at 11:50 am.
End of services!
The operator reserves the right to change the itinerary without previous notice due to weather, regulations or unforeseeable circumstances.
ADDITIONAL DAYS
The 6-day program includes more hiking and sailing in paddle canoes. Extensions 7, 8 days can be arranged upon request.
.
ADDITIONAL DAYS
The 6-day program includes more hiking and sailing in paddle canoes. Extensions 7, 8 days can be arranged upon request.
IT IS INCLUDED:
- Accommodation in comfortable tent with: a mattress, sheets, pillows and candles.
- All meals starting with dinner in the first day and finishing with breakfast the last day.
- Snacks for all the excursions.
- Native and bilingual guide.
- Rubber boots and rain ponchos.
- All the excursions and private transportation from airport Coca to the lodge and viceversa.
IT IS NOT INCLUDED:
- Air transportation from/to Quito. We can arrange your flights.
- Bus tickets
- Personal expenses, extras and tips.
- Taxes
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