Sacha Lodge lies in the heart of this wilderness, 50 miles down the Napo River from Coca, a small jungle town. Blessed with a stunning lakeside location and experienced and enthusiastic personnel, the lodge provides a base from which to appreciate the raw beauty of the rainforest and a relaxing retreat in which to enjoy the comforts and services available.

Your journey to the lodge starts in Quito with a 40 minute flight to Coca. In the airport, you are met by a guide from the lodge and taken across town by bus to the dock. Here our covered motorized canoe will be waiting to take you two and a half hours down river.

Although the Napo River is a kilometer wide in places, it is often surprisingly shallow. Pushing a large canoe full of people off a sandbar is not something the crew wants to do, so the canoe zigzags its way down the river following the deepest channels. The riverbanks are home to Quichua communities. Traditionally, their thatched roof houses are raised on stilts and surrounded by small gardens or chacras, where they grow coffee, bananas and yuca, among other things. Your guide will be there to explain the surroundings in more detail and answer any questions.

After docking, a short walk awaits you. At first, this follows a village path next to the river and then a raised boardwalk through flooded palm forest. Giant electric blue morph butterflies, blue-and-yellow macaws, and squirrel monkeys are regularly seen here. From the end of the boardwalk, a dugout canoe takes you down a channel and across Pilchicocha Lake to the lodge. After a brief orientation, groups of 4-6 people are assigned their guides, a bilingual naturalist and a local Quichua guide.

Electricity is available from dawn to 10 PM and the modern bathrooms have hot showers. Windows are screened against the insects. The cabins are linked together by elevated walkways to the main building where the dining room, bar and lounge are situated. Above the bar is a small lookout that offers views over the lake and lodge.

Most of our day, however, will be spent in the forest. Mornings start early; groups are usually on the trail by 6:00 am. Not only is it cooler at this hour, but animal and bird activity is at its peak. Most trails return you to the lodge for lunch with ample time after for a swim and an afternoon siesta before you hit the trails again. In the evening, a night walk through the rainforest is an experience not to be missed - a sensual delight filled with new scents, sounds and shapes. The trails vary in length from an hour to a full day and there is scope for all abilities and interests.

Explore the wonders of the Amazon at Sacha!

Sacha Lodge owns 3000 acres of rainforest covering a variety of different habitats, mostly in primary jungle, they range from terra firma to swamp to rivers and lakes. Although most tours are on foot, some can be combined with river trips in a dugout canoe. Tours are not just limited to the ground either. The forest canopy has been made accessible by the construction of an observation tower that climbs 135 feet into the epiphyte-laden branches of a kapok tree. The jungle stretches to the horizon in all directions. On a clear day, the snowcapped peak of Sumaco, an extinct volcano 100 miles away, is often visible.

From this vantage point, flora and fauna, invisible from the ground, can be studied at close quarters. Water-filled tank bromeliads stand side by side with sprays of orchids, hopping between them are a host of exotic birds with equally exotic names: Paradise Tanager, Spangled Cotinga, Many-banded Aracari. The canopy is one of the least studied habitats and harbors thousands of still unknown plant and animal species. To be surrounded by such richness is a rare experience.

Further down the Napo from Sacha, a parrot salt lick offers the opportunity to see hundreds of parrots and parakeets. They are attracted to an impressive red cliff on the riverbank early each morning in order to fulfill their daily mineral requirements. Whether clinging to the cliff or wheeling in circles above it, they provide an unforgettable spectacle of color and noise.

The land was bought in 1991 by Beni Ammeter, a Swiss entrepreneur, who has been in Ecuador for the last 25 years, and Sacha Lodge received its first visitors in 1992. Because Sacha actually has title to the land, hunting and farming are not permitted. The adjacent Quichua villages benefit from employment and other services that the lodge provides. Through tourism, Sacha has made the land economically competitive, and by educating the visitors and promoting the knowledge and culture of the indigenous people, it offers a way to protect the rainforest.

Tips to Help You Plan Your Trip

• It is always advisable to consult your physician regarding health measures before travelling. For a short visit to the rainforest, the malaria risk is minimal.Bar items and tips are not included.

• Your luggage will be put into plastic bags for the trip down the river, but it is advisable to bring extra bags for valuables and wet clothes.

• The canoe is covered to protect against sun and rain, but a light jacket or poncho is useful to protect against the wind and the spray.

• Please remember that no laundry service is available at the lodge so be sure to pack extra t-shirts and socks.

• Drinks at the bar are put on a tab to be paid on the 1ast night. The bill can be paid with US dollars, sucres, or traveler's checks.