Kapawi - Amazon Eco Lodge and Reserve
Kapawi Ecolodge & Reserve is built entirely using traditional Achuar architecture and fans out around the edge of a stunning lagoon of plant and bird life. The accommodations consist of 19 comfortable double guest rooms, each with private bath. A large dining room and a separate bar/library are centrally located and form the well used main social and meeting areas of the lodge.
A beautiful raised, wooden boardwalk, that winds its way from the river through the jungle to the lodge itself, ties all of the buildings together and also provides a viewing platform extending out into the lagoon.The boardwalk and the dining room veranda are great places for early morning bird watching while sipping freshly brewed coffee.
In the dining room you will be served delicious combinations of Ecuadorian and international dishes, combined with products from the rain forest area. Our staff are always keen to provide you with outstanding service whether you are dining in our dining room, on the veranda overlooking the lagoon or beneath the canopy in the forest.
The bar/ library is open all day and is well equipped with games, paperbacks, magazines and a collection of books focusing on rainforest wildlife and indigenous culture. A small boutique provides essential items you may have forgotten (film, toothbrushes, toothpaste, sunscreen lotion, insect repellent, hats, etc.), as well as Achuar handicrafts and Kapawi souvenirs.
After a wonderful day full of new and fascinating experiences, nothing is better than relaxing in a hammock or reclining chair on the bar¹s wide veranda and watching the sunset while listening to the sounds of the jungle and sipping something delicious from our well stocked bar.
The lodge offers a multitude of activities, so that with your guides and your group you can design a flexible program to suit your interests and activity level. Most itineraries include a visit to an Achuar community, where you will be invited into a home to experience Achuar hospitality and taste the famous manioc beer. Depending on your fitness levels there are a variety of hikes in the rainforest to learn about the flora, fauna and Achuar cosmology and culture. Your Achuar guide will delight and amaze you with all the different uses of the plants, from food to medicine, to building materials. If you are lucky enough to come across traditional Achuar foods you will have the opportunity to taste lemon ants or palm larvae, not for the faint hearted!
Kapawi lodge is a paradise for bird watchers and amateurs alike, more species of bird are found in the Kapawi area alone than in all of North America. Kapawi is on the banks of the Capahuari river, so you can fish for pirana, or take a traditional Achuar canoe or kayak to explore sleepy streams, thick with jungle foliage, you will feel a million miles from western civilization. For those of you who prefer less effort, slip into a rubber ring or swim and let the current carry you down stream, and there is no need to worry, the only wild life you are likely to encounter while in the river are the magical pink dolphins. Something not to be missed is the alfresco dinning experience in the forest, after a beautiful walk your guides will set up a delicious hot lunch for you in the forest beneath the jungle canopy.
Your day in Kapawi can start as early as 6:00am if you are keen to catch the animals and birds at their most active. If requested your Achuar guide will wake you with a knock on your cabin door. Hot drinks and light snacks are available before heading off for your early morning activities, but don’t worry, nothing too strenuous for first thing in the morning, just relax in the canoe as you are taken upstream bird watching or downstream to the clay lick where the parrots and macaws gather most mornings. The dawn light and the symphony of insect, bird and animal calls at this time of the morning will be etched into your memory forever.