The jungle is one of those intriguing places on earth. Full of wild animals in an endless battle for survival, and hardened plants that through centuries evolved unusual properties. Especially the largest jungle in the world, the Amazonian rainforest is a place that calls attention for many reasons. The fact that less than 20% has actually been touched by humans makes it the least explored place in the world. For everyone with a heart of an explorer, this is a destination in the bucket list.
There are actually 4 countries from which you can visit the Amazon:
- Brazil: Has the largest part of Amazon and you could actually experience its vastness. Could be more commercialized because of the great tourist influx.
- Peru: Has the biggest amount of flooded forest and the easiest access from a nearby city.
- Colombia: A common starting point is Leticia, a small city built in the boarders of Brazil – Peru – Colombia. You can visit only with flights from Bogota or a boat ride from Peru.
- Ecuador: Has the least amount of rainforest but also the highest biodiversity and the least developped touristic infrastructure.
During the pandemic, many countries closed their boarders to tourists. As a result, when my visa in Brazil was close to expiring, I was “forced” to move to Ecuador. After spending few months traveling around the country, I fell in love with the Andean lifestyle, the immense volcanoes and the stressless life in the Pacific. I spent some days in the city of Banos, a region with many waterfalls and hot springs that are worth adding in your plan if you are visiting Ecuador.
In this busy little town, I came across many tourist offices promoting trips to the Amazon, and more specifically in Cuyabeno national park. I am not a big fun of tour groups, but visiting these remote parts of the Amazon is only allowed with a certified guide.
Getting a guide while being on Banos was actually much cheaper than the prices mentioned online from Quito. The average day cost would be about 50$ including:
- Comfortable accommodation in a lodge inside the national park
- Three meals per day
- Water, juice, coffee
- Rides with the canoe
- Daily excursions in the jungle and the river
- Bilingual guide (Spanish and English)
- Waterproof coat and boots for the excursions
After some searching, I ended up booking my accommodation at Cuyabeno River Lodge, and the cost of the trip was only 35$ per night. For my 4-days-3 nights stay in the Amazon I had to pay only 105$! It seemed like a great deal, and I didnt have to set my expectations too high for that cost. I had no idea though, that a life-time adventure was coming ahead.
.
Getting there
From Banos I had to get a night bus to Lago Agrio, the largest city near the national park. If you are coming from Quito, the Ecuadorian capital, you will still have to take a bus to the same destination. The bus ride took about 10 hours, and I arrived at the station early in the morning. From there, they indicated to me another bus that would get me even closer to the jungle’s entry point. On the way, I met with my guide, who was seemed knowledgeable and friendly from the first moment. That increased my anticipation for the ways coming ahead.
The bus dropped us at the last registry point in Cuyabeno national park, where we had to give our passports for an inspection. The scenery already started changing with dense vegetation and bird sounds all around us. After we finished with our last contact with civilization, we entered the canoe that was waiting for us in the river and started the 2-hour trip to our destination.So there we were, rolling down the Amazon, with the only companions for a few days my girlfriend, an adventurous guide and a smiling indigenous boat driver.
While approaching the lodge, the vegetation was becoming denser and wildlife more and more active. The guide spotted a little group of squirrel monkeys, and asked the driver to turn off the engine. We spent some time spotting them jumping and searching for food on huge trees. They didn’t seem like the monkeys at beaches in Thailand or Bali which daily interact with hundrends of tourists and they know how to smile for a picture if you give them a banana. For the first time, I could come across such a special animal in its most authentic habitat, and observe it while it is going through its everyday life.
We kept on our way to the lodge and enjoyed more of the magnificent nature around us. Soon we started seeing the little wooden houses on the river side, meaning we reached our destination.
Accommodation and food in cuyabeno national park.
The Cuyabeno River lodge consists of a few cabanas spread along the river. As soon as we arrived with the canoe, we got to see our little cabin with the name ‘Caiman”. All the cabins had a native style but were equipped with a comfortable bed and mosquito net for protection during the night. It was spacious and with many windows around the walls, offering direct view to the jungle and the river. It felt like a little home in the middle of nowhere.
Our first look in the cabin was interrupted by the guide shouting to get quickly in the main area. He had just found a baby python behind the kitchen and he was as happy as a kid to carry it around his arm and share all he knew about it with me. After getting to know more of the python, I got to see the main area of the lodge, an open construction with chairs and tables for the guests to have their meals. Right next to it is the observatory deck. This deck would get you as high as the surrounding trees, offering every morning a close look to exotic birds like Toucans and Macaws, and passing monkey families.
Food was served every morning, afternoon and night and when we were heading to excursions we would pack it and bring it with us. It was always plenty, diverse and well prepared. All the products used for cooking were local, meaning that we had some really fresh and strange dishes on the menu like fried piranhas.
The daily schedule
Day 1: Hiking in the Amazon during daytime and nighttime.
Few hours after our arrival, the plan was to start a 2-hour walk deeper in the jungle of Cuyabeno national park. We put on our waterproof boots and started heading towards the dense vegetation. It’s common for rain to keep on pouring for days non-stop, so I felt lucky for the sun and the dry paths.
The guide was alert, waiting for a sound to betray the existence of an animal nearby. On the way, he showed us a special leaf that with its fibers you can make a strong rope, and another trunk that if you cut it open and take some of its juice you get a slow burning candle. Definitely useful in case we got lost!
After a while we spotted a tarantula’s nest. In order to get this special animal out and admire it, we had first to make it a bit angry. We lit a small fire and drove the smoke inside the hole. Soon, this Amazonian predator came out and protected its home with its legs ready to attack.
We found our way back to the cabins to get some rest. Under the hot amazonian sun, the river seemed perfect for a refreshing dive. I asked the guide whether it was safe to swim in front of the lodge. He reassured me, smiling that it was 80% safe, and the rest 20% was my connection with nature. He then explained that in these waters often pass by electric eels, piranhas and anacondas, but they all have no interest in making humans their meal. However in areas where they nest or reproduce, as well as the deep waters where large caimans pass most of their time the danger is much higher. He described an incident that happened a few years ago, when a visitor ignored the advice not to jump off the boat, and he dramatically disappeared on the bottom of the river in a region where electric eels are nesting.
After a rewarding jump in the river and some delicious dinner, we were ready to head for our night walk. During the night, the Amazon becomes the active habitat for almost half of the total animal population. We came across a a frog, called monkey frog, hanging on a tree and hunting insects while moving from branch to branch like a monkey. And a tree, that the locals called the devil’s tree, because its roots have the shape of giant penises.
Around 22.00 we were back in the lodge, tired from a full first day. I laid in my bed, feeling I was in the only safe spot in a vastness of wildness. I was a small part of a complex ecosystem, far away from any human exploitation and destruction. I got to sleep excited for what awaits me the next day.
Day 2: The long river drive to the flooded forest
The sun started rising and around this time a passing family of wooly monkeys made sure to wake us up. Had some breakfast and quickly packed the lunch because today, we would spend most of our day in the boat around the big lagoon and the flooded forest. The guide smiled at me, telling me that many surprises were waiting for us on the way. We entered our trusted canoe, and full of excitement, started heading down the river.
I still can’t forget the feeling of being on the edge of the boat, almost flying above the water. watching the story of the greatest jungle unfolding in front of my eyes. I was like a kid in his dream amusement park. The vegetation in Cuyabeno national park was vastly changing every few hundred meters. Some parts were full of imposing trees with several meters trunks and long vines falling in the water. In other parts, the land was full of a poisonous palm tree with spikes as big as half a meter. Everything seemed so alive, and equipped with weapons for the continuous fight of survival.
After about an hour in the river, we noticed that something big was moving under our canoe. The driver was amazed to see a family of pink Amazonian dolphins. Boto is a very intelligent and rare to see type of dolphin that weighs about 150kg and has a gray-pink color. Mom, dad and their baby circled curiously our boat, and left us all with an impression that we just lived a special moment.
We kept on our way and a couple of hours later we arrived in the big lagoon. This is the deepest spot of the region. Large caimans live in these waters and it is definitely not wise to get out of the boat. We continued a bit further and reached the flooded part of the forest. During the dry period, you can actually walk in this part of the jungle, but during my visit, there was 6 meters of water. Few branches of the trees could barely come over the water surface, so we started a very strange way of fruit picking, the first time in my life from within a canoe. The fruit we were looking for was camu camu, a red cherry-like superfruit that has very high content in vitamin C, and has been proven to help in digestive disorders.
It was about time for our lunch, so we headed to the nearby shore where we could tie our boat. When we finished eating, the guide told us it was time for the next surprise of the day. We got off the boat and started hiking along this part of the jungle. After a few kilometers a stone monument appeared curved in this isolated place. On the label “Monumento Mitad del Mundo”, which means monument in the middle of the world. We were in a special place with coordinates Y:0000000. We were on the Equator.
The sun was about to set, so we had to head back to the lodge. On the way, we found a tree with the fruit genipa americana. The indigenous tribes use the juice from this fruit as an ink in order to draw warriors representations of animals in their bodies. The guide asked me to take off my shirt and he drew something in my back using this fruit. In the end, I took a look, and there was nothing! He laughed and told me that it takes few hours until the ink appears.
We reached the lodge, and even though I was excited to wait and see my new tattoo, fatigue hit, and soon the evening found me asleep in my Caiman cabin.
Day 3: The day fishing and tubing
On the last morning of our adventure, I woke up excited to go through the day, and check my indigenous tattoo from the previou day. A huge blue turtle was finally formed on most of my back. Perfect addition for the last day.
Our guide came by and told us that today we would have to paddle down the river and catch our breakfast. We carried some sticks, fishing lines and some pieces of chicken into the boat and we started going down the river. After some minutes we reached a point where the water seemed more shallow and cloudy. I was told that this was a passing place for piranhas, so there was a high chance to fish some of those.
The guide put some of the chicken in the end of the fishing line and started moving the stick quickly up and down on the water surface. This is a fishing technique to imitate a hurt animal falling in the river and attract the piranha’s attention. After some failed attempts, it was my turn to give it a try. I put the last piece of chicken on the line, and tried to imitate the technique. Few seconds later I felt something eating my bait and started. moving the line up slowly, hoping to see a big fish right in the end… But unfortunately no luck. Our guide came to save the day by doing something really cool. He managed to catch a small fish without even a bait. He then used the small fish to catch a big piranha. At least we wouldn’t get back empty handed!
After having our meal, we loaded some tubes in the canoe and moved to the next plan. We would get on the tubes and let the river guide us down its stream for a couple of hours. In the beginning it sounded terrifying to have part of my body under a river where we repeatedly saw anacondas and electric eels. But then I thought that since other people have been doing it for years and they have been safe, I have nothing to be scared about.
The thrill got higher when I saw that the starting point was the same that we were fishing piranhas before. We entered the water and started tubing down the river. The first sensation of excitement, fear and connection with nature was incredible. It is strange to think how alienated is the opinion of an average person formed by all these horror movies and misinformation around these creatures. It makes you think how we might misunderstand many aspects of life, just because we base our opinion on fake information.
We kept on rolling down, listening to the bird sounds and feeling the warm, powerful water. Sometimes a stick underwater would hit my leg, and make my pulses rise, but in the end reached our destination safely.
In the night, we took a small boat and paddled down the river. There was a full moon, the brightest moon I have ever seen in my life. We had no lights on, but the moonlight was making our path bright along the way in Cuyabeno national park. Those endless stars and the calm sound of the river flow made the sweetest conclusion in my Amazon story.
Final thoughts
My experience in Amazon and Cuyabeno national park was very special and memorable, but it doesn’t mean that everyone should have the same expectations from this trip. I was very lucky to have a knowledgeable, and adventurous guide that wanted to share with us the original jungle experience. He had participated in many ayahuasca ceremonies with the indigenous tribes and he had a lot of passion and respect for nature.
While looking for your own guide, try to read all the reviews from previous participants and do your own research before making up your mind. Also its usually preferable to look for someone on the spot, and go with the locals rather than big organized companies.
If you haven’t already, you should put Amazon in your bucket list. No matter from which country you visit this magnificent jungle, everyone should experience at least once being part of this elaborate and competitive ecosystem. In a strange way, this jungle feels closer to our nature than the modern cities.
