Tena Jungle Tour

Day 1: Your trip starts at the Arajuno Bridge, about 45 minutes away from Tena. Your naturalist guide will give you information about the place, important recommendations and other tips to start a great experience in the tropical forest. A motorized canoe that goes upstream for about 20 minutes will take you to the lodge. During the boat trip you can enjoy the beauty of the Amazon rainforest traveling along the river. Once you arrive at the dock area of ​​the lodge, the staff will welcome you and give you brief and general information about your accommodation and the activities during your stay. After a lunch served in the lodge and getting settled in your room, you can take part in a tubing activity. Before dinner you can join the optional night walk. A flashlight and camera are the most important tools on this night excursion, which allows guests to hear the nocturnal sounds and to look for fishing bats, owls, a variety of insects, tarantulas, toads and frogs, and possibly snakes. If the sky is clear, you might have the chance to do some stargazing.

Day 2: If the climate permits it, you will have an early morning activity today. Bird lovers can take a canoe ride for 15 minutes upstream to enjoy the parrot clay lick (saladero). Here you can appreciate a unique site where parrots and parakeets gather in order to obtain the minerals that will help them to digest the fruits or seeds they have consumed. Hundreds of parrots and parakeets will approach the treetops and later will come down to the clay bank to eat this soil rich in minerals. It is essential to have binoculars to enjoy it. Afterwards you will return to the lodge for breakfast. After a scrumptious breakfast you will head out for a hike through the primary and secondary rainforest. Your expert naturalist guide will teach you about the ecology and flora and fauna of the rainforest along the trail. You will observe a great variety of insects, a diversity of birds flying around you and with some luck reptiles or monkeys. This activity takes about 2 ½ -3hours. You will then return to the lodge for lunch and a siesta. In the afternoon it is time to enjoy a cultural activity. You will pay a visit to an Amazonian Kichwa community will where you will learn about their way of life and the interaction they have with the forest. This encounter is going to show you that part of the Amazonia that you do not find on the maps: The Amazon people. Part of the visit to the community involves the demonstration of the famous chicha, a fermented yuca drink that has become part of their festivals and daily use. You will have the chance to help with the preparation of this beverage and also try some of the local cuisine. The visit ends with a traditional dance performed by the kids in this community and you also have some time to buy some handicrafts, made by the indigenous people. This little business is to support the indigenous people in their daily life. Afterwards you will return to the lodge where a delicious dinner will be served.

Day 3: After breakfast you will check out and take the motorized canoe ride for 20 minutes to return to the Arajuno Bridge.

In the 4 days 3 nights tour, a visit to Isla Anaconda and AmaZOOnico are scheduled for day 3. After a delicious breakfast buffet, you will take a 40 min canoe ride downriver to visit Isla Anaconda. Here you can observe the prehistoric bird hoatzin, woolly monkeys, squirrel monkeys, just to mention a few. You also visit a family in one of the indigenous communities to learn about their farming habits, medicinal plants, as well as the ancestral way of hunting with blowguns (cerbatana) and handmade traps in the forest. On this trip a box lunch will be provided. After lunch you will go to AmaZOOnico, which is sheltering a number of different jungle animals, some in danger of extinction. AmaZOOnico is not a zoo but a rescue center for animals of the Amazon in Ecuador. Here you can observe a wide variety of monkeys, macaws, ocelots, capybara, toucans, parrots and much more animals in their natural habitat at close range. After this visit you will return to the lodge for dinner.

Note: The lodge reserves the right to change the itinerary at any time due to weather, events out without our control and operational decisions where deemed advisable for the comfort and well-being of the passengers. In this program the exact activities and its order can change depending your guide, the weather, the season and your day of arrival.