Kapawi
Ecological Reserve

Kapawi is located in the Ecuadorian Amazon Basin, 100 miles east of the Andes. Part the Napo Pleistocene Refuge, Kapawi is a  center of high endemism  with an amazing  diversity of animals, plants and ecosystems: dry and flooded forest, lakes, swamps and an extraordinary system of rivers. 

Services Isolation  from the rest of the world doesn't mean a lack of comfort, at least not in Kapawi, we offer 20 double rooms, each with  its private bathroom, sun-heated showers, and electricity provided by photovoltaic system.

Services
Isolation  from the rest of the world doesn't mean a lack of comfort, at least not in Kapawi, we offer 20 double rooms, each with  its private bathroom, sun-heated showers, and electricity provided by photovoltaic system. 

Located on the shore of the Kapawi lake, every room has a wide terrace where you can observe the daily visitors: ducks, hummingbirds, egrets, parrots, or you can listen to the music of the myriad of frogs singing at night.

We serve a tasty combination of international-Ecuadorian food with emphasis on local products.  A wide variety of exotic fruits will be offered.  Soft  drinks, snacks and hot water for coffee  and tea are available all day. A well endowed library is open all day long. Paperbacks, magazines and books are available. A small boutique stocks essential items, as well as handicraft and souvenirs.

We, the Achuar We were born in the forest. We were the last indigenous group in the Ecuadorian rain forest to remain isolated for centuries until the early 1970's. Our traditions are still intact, our land untouched by logging or oil companies, our skies covered by flocks of colored macaws and we have fought for this conversation.  Now we want to start this project that can lead towards a sustainable development for our people, for our future.  We want you to be part of it!

Ecotourism in Kapawi It has been said that an Achuar is a living encyclopedia. An Achuar can recognize everyone of the 500 species of birds found in Kapawi. The same person can distinguish every tree and explain their medical or practical uses.  That  is why in Kapawi you will be  lead  by an Achuar guide and a Naturalist guide as well.  Both of them will make your experience unforgettable.

© Jeff Waugh

Kapawi is a place of multiple choices and is characterized by its flexibility we do not offer fixed programs, but you, with your guide and your group can design the most suitable one to meet your interests and physical condition.

• Easy: Programs that include short hikes in the rain forest  (up to 3 hours) on  well defined  trails, visits to the Achuar communities as well as trips in canoes.  Overnight stays in the lodge or in tents.

• Moderate: Programs that include medium-distance  hikes (up 5 hours) sometimes crossing flooded areas.  Overnight stays in the lodge,  the Achuar communities, and  tents.

• Difficult: Demanding hikes of many hours or days in poorly defined and often flooded trails.  Porters will carry food and supplies. Explorations journeys to virgin areas are occasionally offered.  Trips dawn inaccessible rivers are done in inflatable rafts.  Excellent physical conditional is required!

Most of the itineraries will include visits to the Achuar communities, hikes in the rain forest, canoeing in rivers and lakes as well as bird watching.

The Forest and Its Creatures The Achuar live in perfect harmony with their environment, where all animals and plants have human-like attributes with a soul and an independent life.  According to the Achuar every plant or animal has its own language and some elements of this language can be understood by the Achuar.

© Jeff Waugh

The rain forest doesn't posses any secrets for these people.  They know every type of tree and every animals species.  They know where to fish, how to hunt and when to sow their crops.  The forest is their nourishing mother.

The Achuar also believe that when somebody dies, some parts of the body become autonomous and will reincarnate in species animals. Thus, the  lungs and the butterflies, the shadow becomes a deer, the heart lives in a bird and the liver is an owl.  Therefore, the iwianch are materialized forms of a person's soul. The iwianch animals are never hunted or eaten by the Achuar, since in doing so they would be committing cannibalism.

Kapawi is a magical place. 
A place full of legends, myths and wildlife.
Come and enjoy the best preserved natural sanctuary 
in the Ecuadorian Amazon basin!

Kapawi Ecological Reserve

Rain Forest, the tropical forest of the earth's equatorial zone, found in areas where the rainfall is abundant year-round and totals 200-400 cm (80-160 in) annually. There are more species of plants and animals in tropical rain forests than all the rest of the world's ecosystems combined. About 70 percent of all plant species in these forests are trees, with the upper tree story composed of solitary, 60-m (200-ft) giants.

A lower story of trees characteristically forms a continuous canopy, which grow on other plants. Little light reaches the forest floor. Leaf litter is minimal and nutrients released through decomposition are quickly reabsorbed by the trees.

Rain forests often provide the only home for thousands of known or as yet undiscovered species of animals and plants. The destruction of these rain forests is eliminating many of these irreplaceable species at an alarming rate.

NOTE: Due to varied weather conditions, we recommend that you consider adding an extra day to your itinerary after visiting Kapawi to make sure you meet your connecting flights from Quito to your next destination.