Bamboo Lodge Cuyabeno
Amazon Jungle Tour
4 Days & 3 Nights
Amazon Jungle Tour
When & where?
The 4 days & 3 nights amazon jungle tour starts every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday at 9.30am from the Hotel Arazá in Lago Agrio (Nueva Loja). On the last day the tour ends around 2.30pm after lunch in Lago Agrio.
How much does it cost?
The price depends on the room or suite you choose. All our rates you can find here.
What’s included?
Breakfast before and lunch after the tour in Lago Agrio
Full transportation by private shuttle and engine canoe from Lago Agrio to the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve (Bamboo Lodge), during the tour and back to Lago Agrio
Fully guided program with a licensed bilingual naturalist guide (English and Spanish)
Meals & drinks (breakfast, lunch & dinner (vegetarian or vegan meals possible) & drinks: water, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, lemonade/juice)
Accommodation in standard room or suite (as selected) in Bamboo Lodge
Welcome or Goodbye Cocktail
Rain poncho, life jacket & boots for the duration of the tour
Not included: Transport from Quito (or other cities) to Lago Agrio, drinks from the bar, tips
Itinerary
This is a sample itinerary. All activities largely depend on weather, season, group interests, and guide decisions based on passenger safety – so there might be changes to this itinerary, always in your best interest for a great amazon rainforest experience.
Day 1 – Arrival day
9am – 12pm
You can arrive at our meeting point, the Hotel Arazá in Lago Agrio, at any time in the early morning and rest in the lobby until the tour starts. From 6am – 9am breakfast is included and there are also bathrooms with showers and a pool you can feel free to use. Our team will pick you up at 9.30am to start your journey to Bamboo Lodge. After a 2 hour shuttle ride you arrive at the entrance of the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve.
12pm – 4pm
Your guide registers you at the entrance of the Cuyabeno Reserve and gives you general information and important safety instructions. Then you will board the canoe and get the first glimpse of the amazing amazon rainforest. During a 2 hour canoe ride down to Bamboo Lodge you get the first chance to observe amazon wildlife and vegetation. Once you arrive at Bamboo Lodge you have lunch and move into your room,
4pm – 9pm
After a short rest you head out in our light paddling canoes to explore the “Laguna Grande” (Big lagoon). You have a great chance to see the pink river dolphins and other wildlife and then you can swim in the middle of the famous “Laguna Grande” and enjoy your first jungle sunset. After dinner you go on a night expediton by engine canoe to seach for caymens and other night active animals.
Day 2 – Paddling adventure
7am – 12pm
This day is a full paddling adventure day. You have breakfast at the lodge and then you go on a long paddling trip. You visit the “Cananbueno” lagoon, a highly protected area of the Cuyabeno reserve where no engine canoes are allowed to enter. Floating in complete silence through the amazon rain forest is an unforgettable experience and without the engine noise the chances to spot wildlife are much better.
1pm – 7pm
You take a lunch box from the lodge with you and have a break to eat in the forest and you will go on a short walk. The paddling adventure continues until you reach the lodge and have time to rest and enjoy the forest from a hammock. Depending on the weather and the time you arrive back in the lodge, you might go to the Laguna Grande again to have a swim and enjoy another beautiful sunset.
7pm – 9pm
You have dinner at the lodge and then, if you are not tired, there is time for an exciting night walk.
Day 3 – Amazon culture & forest
7am – 12pm
After breakfast travel down the Cuyabeno river in an engine canoe until you reach the Siona community “Puerto Bolivar”. On the way down to the community your guide points out amazon wildlife like monkeys, birds, snakes, etc. In Puerto Bolivar a Siona woman welcomes you and takes you to harvest yuca. She shows you the whole process of making cassava, a traditional yucca bread. Of course you can assist and try the bread afterwards.
1pm – 4pm
You head back to the lodge to have lunch and a little rest. In the afternoon you explore the jungle hiking.
4pm – 9pm
Starting the walk around 4.30pm allows you to experience the transition from day to night in the jungle. On the walk, you will get to know different forest types (high lands, swamps, flooded forests). Your guide explains rain forest ecosystems, wildlife and medicinal plants, and of course will point out wildlife. Dinner at the lodge.
Day 4 – Departure day
5.30am – 9.30pm
Get up early for bird watching. Most birds are most active in the early morning, so on this last day you get up for sunrise. From our bird watching tower you might see toucans, arasaris, oropendulas, and more. If the weather is good you head out one last time in our paddling canoes to see the sunrise at the “Laguna Grande”. Back at the lodge you have breakfast and you pack your luggage to start the way back to civilization at 9.30am.
9.30am – 2.30pm
Your last canoe ride on the Cuyabeno river back to the entrance of the reserve – maybe you see some more wildlife on the way. At the Cuyabeno entrance our shuttle waits for you and you say “goodbye” to your guide. Our shuttle takes you back to Lago Agrio.
Approximately 2.30pm
Our shuttle driver Jaime takes you to a restaurant in Lago Agrio where you have lunch. After lunch, he can drop you off at the bus terminal, the Hotel Arazá, or anywhere else in Lago Agrio. I you book the tourist shuttle back to Quito the shuttle picks you up directly from the restaurant.