Sacha Lodge Amazon Experience

Make your own way to Quito airport for your 30 minute flight over the Andes Mountains leading you to a bustling oil town called Coca located in the Amazon Basin. A quick lunch in Sacha´s private house and then its off to the town docks where you will board private canoes for the 2 hour journey down river to the Sacha Lodge. A 30 minute walk through the rainforest leads you to lake Pilchicocha. Here, you are met by native workers to paddle you across the lake to your final destination. Expect to arrive at Sacha Lodge in the afternoon. Swim in Lake Pilchicocha, which is a black water lake home to many species of fish and animals. A refreshing swim after arriving may be just what you need after being in the equatorial heat all day. Visit the butterfly house with your naturalist guide to view the beautiful colors of many different species of butterflies. After dinner, accompany your naturalist guide on a night walk through the rainforest to view the hundreds of different species of animals that can only be found at night. Or maybe a canoe ride on the lake to view the spectacled and black caimans with their glowing orange eyes as you silently paddle across the lake to get a closer view. NB: More details regarding exact flight times will be provided after booking.

Meals:  L,D

There is a plethora of activities to keep us busy over the coming two days. Choose from the Canopy Walk, across a 36metre bridge built above the jungle canopy or climb the Kapok Tower where panoramic views of the forest unfold all around and birdwatch for species including rainbow-coloured toucans and numerous parrots. Take a short early morning canoe ride from the lodge to the Yasuni Parrot Lick (on Sundays and Wednesdays only) to witness a variety of parrot species perch on and eat the exposed clay in a spectacular show of sound and colour. Walk through the lodges renown Butterfly House where they are successfully breeding nearly 40 local butterfly species. Venture out in the daytime on one of the forest walks looking for crested owls or spider monkeys or return after dark with your flashlight ready to spot creatures of the night, from tarantulas and boas to stick insects and frogs. Hop in a dugout canoe and paddle one of the many streams surrounding the jungle and experience the ethereal world hidden in the forest. Be sure to keep your ears and eyes peeled as birds call in surround-sound and vast families of monkeys leap from branches overhead. In the evening take a trip on the lake and go Caiman spotting, whose eyes glow ghoulishly red in the torchlight, as the amphibious creatures float along the swampy shallows. With over 600 species identified in the area, Sacha Lodge is a haven for avid birdwatchers. If you advise us in advance of your visit we can provide specialist bird guides, who know the best spots for the hard-to-find species, and can easily identify species by both sight and sound. When the heat of the day becomes to much take a refreshing dip in the Lake Pool. The lodge's private plunge pool, protected by a mesh cage, allows you to cool off and relax in the black shallows of the Pilchicocha Lake, without the fear of encountering the unknown. A typical day at Sacha Lodge begins early with a buffet breakfast around 6-630am, before we head out for an early morning excursion. Returning to the lodge around 11.30am to enjoy a snack we then take some leisure time to relax or have a swim before lunch is served around 1pm. Around 3pm we head out for an afternoon activity, before arriving back around 6pm for a pre-dinner refreshment and to make plans for the coming day. Dinner is served around 7pm before heading out on a night excursion around 8.15pm. NB: Please note some activities are weather dependant.

Meals:  B,L,D

Breakfast and a departure from the lodge at 07:30am. One last walk on the boardwalk to the river, and from there a 2 hour canoe ride back to Coca for your 35 minute flight back to Quito. NB: It is possible to add an additional day at the Sacha Lodge making it a 5 day / 4 night itinerary. Please ask us for costs.

Meals:  B