Suggested itinerary
1st day: Quito - Tena - Cuya Loma Amazon community cabins
On the first day, we meet in the RICANCIE central office. After receiving detailed instructions about the program, we travel by car for a half-hour to the entrance for the cabins in Cuya Loma, which are about 20 minutes away. We have lunch alongside the Napo River. During a short hike into the forest we learn about traditional traps for hunting and fishing. Later, we can swim, practice canoeing in dugouts, or rest in hammocks. In the evening, we have dinner around a campfire and listen to Kichwa stories and myths.
2nd day: Cuya Loma Amazon community cabins
After breakfast, we walk up to a farm in Cuya Loma and participate in traditional family work. We get an explanation of how rural Kichwa agricultural plots (chacras) are used, and learn about the changes introduced in recent years. We return to the cabins for lunch. In the afternoon, we learn how to make traditional handicrafts. We have dinner at the cabins, where there is a cultural program with Kichwa music and dance.
3rd day: Runa Huasi Amazon community cabins
After breakfast, we say goodbye to Cuya Loma, then cross the Napo River and continue by car for an hour to the point at Ahuano, where we board a motorized canoe. We head down the Napo, then up the Arajuno River for a half-hour to the cabins at Runa Huasi. We get settled in and eat lunch. In the afternoon, we visit Amazoonico, an animal rescue center, which is home to animals that have been captured for pets or that have been injured. Among the species we find here are monkeys, ocelots, jaguarundi, tapirs, macaws, and boas. We return to the cabins for dinner.
4th day: Runa Huasi Amazon community cabins
After breakfast, we visit a Kichwa museum to learn about hunting and traditional traps. We practice with the blowgun, then continue by canoe to a family farm, where we can watch chicha being made, and then enjoy a taste. We lunch in the cabins, and in the afternoon there is time to rest in hammocks or swim in the river. Afterward, we hike uphill for about an hour to an overlook above Runa Huasi, which rewards us with a spectacular view of the peaceful Napo River basin, bathed in the afternoon light. In the evening, we return to the cabins for dinner. Later, there is an opportunity to participate in a shamanic ceremony around the campfire.
5th day: Runa Huasi Amazon community cabins - Tena - Quito or Baños
After breakfast, we head up the Arajuno River by motorized canoe to the bridge at Campococha. We take a car back to the RICANCIE office, arriving in time (11 a.m.) to board a bus to Quito or Baños.
Tour operators offering this tour:
Ecuador tours and Galapagos cruises : www.latintrails.com