NAPO WILDLIFE CENTER

The Napo Wildlife Center, NWC Amazon Lodge, is the greatest and ultimate alternative luxury eco-hotel in Amazonian Ecuador. This ecotourism project includes the conservation of approximately over 82 square miles (53,500 acres - over 21,400 hectares ) of the most pristine Amazon Rain Forest within the Yasunì National Park, an important UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and the largest tract of tropical rain forest in Ecuador.

The lodge complex is located by the Anangucocha lake, within the unique ancestral territory of the Anangu Quichua Community, part of the Yasuni National Park. In the early 90’ the community envisioned building their own lodge to provide themselves jobs and protecting their land. With great effort they built back then 4 well established shelters and a large house for kitchen and dining room, however buildings remained incomplete there at that early stage for many years as they had no more money to finish them or to establish a proper infrastructure to call it a first class jungle hotel. They wanted high quality facilities and accommodations, to provide an exclusive and personalized rain forest experience, intimate with nature, under a dedicated private and unique lodge, but only to a selected number of guests.

Finally in year 2000 after several local and international contacts the project was able to move forward and establish the community’s and its nature tourism leaders dream. The community, entitled by its constitutional rights over their land, approached Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment which through its National Park service declared them honorific park rangers and approved the project signing a renewable management agreement of this territory part as well of the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve.

Thanks to the Anangu Community initiative, their manpower, supported by the best technical assistance, financed with donations in partnership with the independent Ecuadorian non profit conservation organization, EcoEcuador, Napo Wildlife Center was born in 2003. The most carefully designed first class Amazon lodge in Ecuador. Since its pre-inaugural trip in March 2003 the lodge has been recognized by both guests and companies for its impeccable operation, service and experiences provided to all visitors. The New York Times featured NWC in its travel section in 2004, the BBC from the UK visited in same year for a nature special, Victor Emanunel declared it as “One of the top 10 birding sites of the world” during his lecture at the 2004 British Birdwatching Fair, the World Travel Market in London awarded NWC as Best in a Protected Area in 2006. Now NWC counts with many and countless reviews about the lodge throughout the international media worldwide.

The Rainforest

The Napo Wildlife Center lies within the Yausuni National Park. Yasuni National Park is arguably the most biologically diverse spot on Earth. The park is at the center of a small zone where amphibian, bird, mammal, and vascular plant diversity all reach their maximum levels within the Western Hemisphere. Moreover, the park breaks world records for local-scale (less than 100 sq km) tree, amphibian, and bat species richness, and is one of the richest spots in the world for birds and mammals at local scales as well.

Napo Wildlife Center

The lodge consists of 16 luxury cabañas and a large dining hall with a library and a well-stocked bar. Attached to the bar is a 50-foot viewing tower from which you can see the Andes on a clear day! The rooms are huge (over 450 sq. ft.), always clean, and include: • one king-sized bed and one twin-sized bed (up to 3 people) • safety deposit box in each room Private bathrooms with on-demand hot water showers Private porches with lake views 24-hour electricity with plenty of lights and plenty of 120v outlets Ceiling fans and secure screens for plenty of bug-free ventilation

Napo Wildlife Center Itinerary

The journey to Napo Wildlife Center  begins and ends in the city of Puerto Francisco de Orellana, locally known as Coca (approximately a 25 minute flight from Quito).  After a short drive from the airport to the dock, we board a large, motorized, covered canoe for a scenic two-hour trip down the Napo River. Upon arriving at the Napo Wildlife Center landing, entry point of the Añangu rainforests and Yasuní National Park. As we prepare to embark onto the paddle-canoes (motorized transport is not allowed within the Añangu Reserve) taking us to the main lodge

• 4-day program: 3 Nights/4 Days, Friday to Monday.

• 5-day program: 4 Nights/5 Days, Monday to Friday

• 8-day program: 7 Nights/8 Days, Monday to Monday or Friday to Friday

It is possible to begin your Napo Wildlife Center program everyday except Sunday. Additional costs may apply for private canoe transfer to the lodge.

Napo Wildlife Center Activities

Napo Trail
cuts from the Napo River to Anangu Lake, just across from the Lodge, and can be used as an alternative to Añangu stream as an entrance to pathway, yet the experience is very different. The trail, which takes you to the canopy tower, is rather flat terra firme forest, which makes it easy to walk on.

Community Trail
runs along or parallel to the Napo River, where the Añangu Kichwa community is located. It is not deep jungle, more riverine second growth (as opposed to primary forest) giving you the opportunity to see a different side of the diversity of habitats and wildlife in the Amazon Basin.

Tiputini Trail
probably the wildest of them all. If you walk long enough on it, you will see the most variety in terms of habitats, with seemingly limitless terra firme and swampy

Canopy Tower
You can climb the 130-foot high stairs to the canopy tower for fabulous views over the canopy. A very special vantage point indeed that gets you up where many birds, reptiles, insects and mammals that are difficult or impossible to see from the ground can be readily observed and sometimes come close to meet you in the same tree. Bring your binoculars, camera and telephoto lenses, set up a telescope: this is a spectacular scenic opportunity. Not to be missed.

Clay Licks
These are true nature spectacles. One located along the Napo River and a second one inside forest, at the saladeros several amazon, parrot, parakeet and parrotlet species come in numbers to ‘detox’, with an occasional macaw or two. There have been wonderful sightings of tapirs, ocelots, owls and other forest denizens center stage, as you quietly watch from behind a manmade blind, comfortably enjoying the activity.

River Islands
A phenomenon of fast-flowing rivers, unique to the Amazon, Napo River Islands are created by silt and fallen trees washed downstream during rainstorms in the Andes. If enough material builds up an island is formed (sometime even over night). Depending on the age of a given island, different colonizing plant species dominate, from grasses and shrubs to the point where the islands can support a forest. These islands support some animal species that can be found nowhere else. They are a fascinating addition to Amazonia’s peculiarities and can be visited if you so wish to do so.

Napo Wildlife Center Location

Napo Wildlife Center is an Amazon rainforest lodge located within Yasuni National Park, Ecuador. The Napo Wildlife Center is a community-based ecotourism project that has turned the surrounding 82 square miles into a private reserve within Yasuní National Park. Ecuador's two most accessible parrot clay licks are located on Napo Wildlife Center land and Giant Otters inhabit the lake in front of this amazon lodge.

Napo Wildlife Center 2012 Pricing

• 3 night / 4 day price: $800 standard / $1199 suite per person based on double occupancy
$1199 standard single occupancy / $1442 suite single occupancy
Children under 12 sharing accommodations with their parents receive a 30% discount. 3 nights / 4 days programs operate Friday to Monday.

• 4 night / 5 day price: $990 standard / $1200 suite per person based on double occupancy
$1485 standard single occupancy / $1794 suite single occupancy
Children under 12 sharing accommodations with their parents receive a 30% discount. 4 nights / 5 days programs operate Monday to Friday

Single Occupancy Supplement add 50%

Pricing Include:

All meals, filtered drinking water, jungle excursions with a native guide and a bilingual guide, canoe transportation, and accommodations.

Pricing Does Not Include:

Air Ticket to Quito-Coca-Quito $160 per person, Yasuni Entrance Fee $22 per person, Items of a Personal Nature, Gratuities, Soft Drinks or Alcoholic Beverages while at the Lodge, Boutique purchases.