Introduction:
At LA SELVA Jungle Lodge, situated high on Lake Garzacocha, deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon
region, we offer you the ultimate in luxury jungle experience. Ours is a very special way
to visit the Amazon rainforest. We have many exciting excursions which will give you a
genuine feeling for this important, beautiful and richly biodiverse region of the world.
It is our hope that your stay with us will give you an experience of, and a relationship
with our jungle which you will never in your life forget. Besides our small size (which
will remain unchanged despite great demand) and our vast experience, LA SELVA also offers
you as much world class efficiency as you want. We like to say that anything we can
control we do control, and friendly service is one of our trademarks. Be sure to check out
our ecologically oriented facilities which will heighten your vacation adventure. What can
you expect to feel at LA SELVA? As close to nature as you've ever been. Through more than
fifteen years of refinement, we have achieved a oneness with our environment. We sit high
on a lake called Garzacocha. The cabanas come of native design; rustic, authentic,
comfortable with unexpected amenities, hot water and sanitary beyond your wildest
expectations. The food is our pride. It blends the finest ingredients Ecuador has to offer
with French, North American and Ecuadorian culinary skills. Expect to try most of these
fruits: uvillas, guayabas, guanabanas, naranjillas, morete, obos, taxo, granadilla and
tomate de arbol. We make Amazonian pizza that will rival any; veal milanesa a l'Amazon;
and local fish, when available, prepared with one of our numerous original recipes
(vegetarian and special diets are available request). To get a feeling for where you are
headed, imagine a tranquil country, Ecuador, and to the east, deep in a rainforest of
unparalleled biodiversity, deep in the sensuous Amazon Basin, a lodge, a paradise, where
anything is possible.
We would like to take this opportunity to inform to those who do not know yet: after
many meetings with the local witch doctors and with their help and support, we invented
"hot water", however for the most adventurous guests, we still have the option
of an ambiance temperature shower. This change has been implemented long ago, but this is
the first formal announcement about it.
THE LA SELVA ADVENTURE
Many people ask
for written itineraries for their trip to LA SELVA and we are always hesitant to do so.
There is so much to see and so many different ways to see it that we prefer to give you a
partial list here of some of the innumerable possibilities - more than can be done in any
given trip - and allow you to rely on your guide's experience and your group's preference
as the best way to discover LA SELVA.
OPTIONAL EXCURSIONS WHICH FORM ITINERARIES
WALK BY A NATIVE'S HOUSE: Cross Garzacocha Lake. Two and a half to three hour
walk on a purposely underdeveloped trail which has some physical challenge. Half of the
walk takes place in primary forest and the other half passes the huts of our indigenous
neighbors along the Napo River.
MANDICOCHA TRAIL: An easy trail close to the hotel which is usually
filled with wildlife no matter what hour of the day you do it. The excursion can last as
long as you want.
EL SALADO: This is a two hour excursion often combined with a picnic
lunch and trips across the Napo River. Visit a site where, with a little luck, parrots and
parakeets, by the thousands can be seen.
HIGH FOREST TRAIL: The duration can vary between three to five hours.
Cross the Napo River and arrive at a challenging trail which offers yet another ecosystem.
It is a chance to see birds and wildlife nowhere else seen. Try the lemon ants!
PILCHE TRAIL: Cross Garzacocha Lake then one hour or more of walking. See
an enormous colony of leafcutter ants and whatever wildlife may come your way.
NIGHT EXCURSIONS: Canoe or walking trips after dark to view nocturnal
animals such as caiman, monkeys, insects and owls. Sample the LA SELVA nightlife.
OBSERVATION TOWER: Not far from the lodge you can observe many birds
flying by at eye-level, wildlife of all kinds, and, yes, a bird's-eye view of it all.
PEDRO'S TRAIL: Two versions available. Cross Garzacocha lake, walk
through the virgin forest and arrive at the tower; four hours. Short version: Pass
butterfly farm and join the trail in the middle; two hours.
CHAWAMANGO'S TRAIL: Head east at Mandicocha trailhead and walk along the
lake. Arrive at Napo River. Return by elevated walkway and cross Garzacocha by canoe;
three hours.
LITTLE CHAWAMANGO: Short trip by foot around the edge of Lake Garzacocha.
Return by canoe to the lodge.
RUTH'S TRAIL: Across the Mandicocha Lake, it goes on and on and on. Good
place to look for jaguars.
COMBINATIONS OF THE ABOVE ARE LIMITED ONLY BY OUR NATURALIST'S IMAGINATIONS -- WHICH ARE,
OF COURSE, UNLIMITED.
LA SELVA'S EXTRA SPECIAL FACILITIES
THE
BUTTERFLY FARM. The interest in our butterfly farm is overwhelming. Now entering
its 10th year of operation, our guests have enjoyed this attraction even more than we
expected. Only 5 minutes from the lodge, a guide will take you there at least once during
your stay; however, many people go back a second and third time on their own. The LA SELVA
Butterfly farm was designed to present an ecologically sound, sustainable alternative way
to help preserve the rainforest. It is another step in our ongoing effort to find viable
ways (besides ecotourism) to help save this beautiful rainforest. So we breed butterflies
- we don't catch them in the forest - and sell them live all over the world. The staff of
15 which we employ increases as our operation increases. Plans for expansion are in the
works. The farm is the first professional enterprise of its type in South America, the
only one in the world located in primary forest and one of only a handful throughout the
world. We produce as many as 35,000 butterflies per year from egg to caterpillar to pupa
for exportation. LA SELVA sends pupae to such diverse locations as a zoo in Holland, a
castle in France, and Cypress Gardens in Florida where they fly in enclosed botanical
gardens, spreading the message of beauty and the importance of the rainforest with every
beat of their wings. As for the guests of LA SELVA, they have the opportunity to see this
miracle of nature (with luck they may even witness the marvel of metamorphosis), and our
butterfly farm is perhaps the best photo opportunity that LA SELVA has to offer.
THE BIOLOGY FIELD STATION. In 1992 LA SELVA created, built and continues
to fund The Neotropical Field Biology Institute. Researchers from around the world come to
our lodge to carry out scientific investigation. Ask your guide what may be happening
during your stay. You might have a chance to rub elbows with a field biologist.
BIRD WATCHING. With perhaps the highest species list in the neotropics,
LA SELVA uses native birding experts for those guests with this singular passion. The
natives speak minimal English, but know the names of all the birds, and, more importantly,
how to find them. Please specify in advance if you are a birder and would like to take
advantage of this service.
THE
AMAZON LIGHT BRIGADE
In Addition to LA SELVA Jungle Lodge, we have come up with yet another way to see the
rainforest: more exclusive, more expensive, more adventurous. The Amazon Light Brigade, as
we call it, is dedicated to the proposition that life is probably as short as everyone
says it is. Read on only if you believe that exploration is a physical expression of
intellectual passion. This high-adventure program is only possible because LA SELVA Jungle
Lodge exists. We use the infrastructure of the lodge to support the expedition, and to
provide you with the quality of food and service which we would not go anywhere without.
It also allows us to create poetry in motion: we hike, we paddle canoes, we camp, and we
laugh. It is a point-to-point luxury safari with a maximum of eight guests and a minimum
of fifteen staff members to serve you. While there is no guarantee that you will see more
than people at LA SELVA (we cannot control where the animals go), if you believe, as we
do, that the body is the temple of the mind, and that the rainforest, in all of its
complexity, will boggle the mind, then you will love The Amazon Light Brigade. There is
pleasure in physical exertion that most of us understand. There is ecstasy to be found in
pumping your blood in the jungle. The Light Brigade is a challenge, but well within the
reach of the moderately active, healthy person. The group is small, and, always magically,
becomes closely-knit. We sleep in roomy tents, but no camping experience is necessary. We
call ourselves The Light Brigade because we travel without much baggage, attack life with
a passion and because we reach for the sun. LA SELVA is famous for its food, and so, too,
is The Amazon Light Brigade. It is our belief that good taste and the pure sensuality of
eating our cuisine heightens your experience of the rainforest. If good liquor is a part
of your regimen, it is on the house as well as anything else your body deserves after a
hard day of being intrepid. Along with your guide, a dedicated naturalist, you will have
the experience of a lifetime. There is nothing quite like The Light Brigade in the world.
It is a vacation as well as a commitment. It was designed for people with passion who
desire to explore personal frontiers as well as those of the wilderness. The Amazon Light
Brigade should be for everyone - but it is not. In any case, our slogan is "THE ONLY
EQUIPMENT YOU NEED IS PASSION". For details, departures, and prices for the
Amazon Light Brigade, please
click here.
SERVICES AND PROGRAMS
Arrive at
the airport in Quito, and one of our representatives will be there to greet you. Your
ticket will be handed out before boarding. Your flight will land in the jungle outpost of
Coca. After a 15 minute transfer to a private dock, enjoy the scenic two hour canoe trip
down the Napo river to our lodge. An English-speaking naturalist will accompany you. Along
the way you will have received a box lunch, and a large selection of snacks awaits you in
the bar along with a complimentary welcome cocktail and your naturalist guides. An
excursion will be arranged as quickly as you want. The guides will suggest the best ways
to get started at LA SELVA.
The cabanas are private bungalows, elevated from the floor and have screens in order to
let the air come in and out and refresh the ambiance of the hut. They are of native
design, built with the same material that people on the region use for their housing.
Comfortable, with mosquito nets over each bed, and a private bathroom per cabin. La Selva
has 12 double cabins (twin beds), 1 Honeymoon Cabin (double bed), 1 triple cabin (3 single
beds), 2 quadruple cabins, and 1 family cabin (3 rooms with 1 double bed and 5
single beds, 2 bathrooms). We provide, daily, and for each cabin, bottled-purified water.
We encourage our guests to explore the surroundings on their own, however certain
precautions must be taken: Before departure, notify the administrator or guide of your
intended route. Stay on established trails unless details of a more adventurous outing
have been thoroughly worked out. It is quite possible that a group of novices will tip
over a small canoe, so dress accordingly.
| Rates are Per Person | ||||
| Program | Double | Operates | ||
| 4D/3N | $697 | Wed/Sat or Fri/Mon | ||
| 5D/4N | $832 | Sat/Wed or Mon/Fri | ||
| Extra night | TBA | |||
| Flight Quito/Coca/Quito | $120 | Daily except Sundays | ||
| Yasuni National Park Fee | $25 | |||
Child under 12: 30% discount on lodge package |
||||
(Subject to change)
