5, 6, 7 and 8 Day Tour | Sani Lodge near Yasuní Reserve

NOTE 1: Sani Lodge holds Jungle Tours starting from 3 days. Below you may find a sample 4 Days / 3 Nights intinerary. Extensions for 6, 7 and 8 days can be arranged upon request. Please let us know and we will send all info. 

NOTE 2: The following is a sample itineraries of Sani Lodge. Excursions and times on this itineraries are subject to change and largely depend on weather, season, group limitations, group interests, and guide decisions based on passenger safety and organized operations.

Day 1: Arriving from Quito to Coca

Your journey starts with a 35-minute flight from Quito 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.

Briefing about Amazonia will be given by one of our bilingual guides, while enjoying Ecuadorian beers, spirits and cocktails prepared by our bartender.

Day 2: Birding from the Tower

After breakfast, experience the life on the tree tops from the 36 meter (108 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. Diner at the lodge.

After diner 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 3: Yasuní National Park

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 mostbiodiverse 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 diner take a night walk to see how myriads of insects, spiders and frogs come alive.

Day 4: Going back to Coca and flight to Quito

The first day, your flight from Quito leaves early in the morning so you can get to the lodge before noon. Enjoy the afternoon on the lagoon and still have time to enjoy an evening´s activity. Your last day is far from ending, because it will be time for a final activity in the rainforest so as to close your stay with a flourish. Remember, you will have more time to spend doing the activities you love the most and enjoying the biodiversity that you will find only here in Sani Lodge.

Jungle Trip Tips for Sani Lodge Tour

* What about insects and malaria, are special vaccinations required?

No vaccinations are required to enter the Republic of Ecuador or Sani Lodge. There have not been any cases of tropical diseases (malaria, yellow fever, cholera) reported in or near the lodge. However, we always suggest that our passengers consult their physician to get the most up-to-date information and advice.

* Packing List:

• Passport and color copy
• Cash in small denominations for bar services, tips or souvenirs 
• Personal medication to last for the duration of your trip Sunhat + Sunblock Sunglasses
• Walking shoes/sneakers + waterproof sandals such as Tevas or keens
• Socks: we recommend tall socks that don’t slip easily inside rubber boots. Two pairs per day are ideal.
• Light-weight, earth- or dark-coloured, long-sleeved shirts and t-shirts
• Light-weight quick-dry hiking pants
• Goretex jacket
• Rainponcho
• Insect repellent
• Binoculars (waterproof) + Backpack
• Headlamp (or Flashlight) + Extra batteries.
• Camera + Dry bags Rubber
• Boots supplied at the lodge. Available sizes 5 to 10½   * Swimwear to use in the Spa and Hot Tub

  Note: Luggage weight limit: 20 Kg per passenger

* The Lodge

Sani Lodge accommodates a maximum of 38 guests (at the cabins), emphasizing quality rather than quantity, and thereby offering you a more intimate experience with the amazon rainforest.

The lodge itself consists of ten, private, thatch-roofed cabanas and 4 family size cabins, each with a private bathroom.

The cabanas are spaciously designed for double or triple occupancy, and have screened in windows to guard against insects while you sleep. Electric lights at the lodge run from ecologically friendly solar energy.

Children under 5 years old stay free, 5 to twelve years old have 50% discount