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JUNGLE TOUR DETAILS
  
Since this is such a unique experience, please contact us for any specific questions or requests. Generally tours run from Wednesday to Wednesday. Due to the small group sizes we are extremely flexible on what you can do… but here is a sample itinerary to give you an idea…
Flights leave from the Shell/Puyo area. We suggest that you travel from Quito to Banos, (about a 3 hour drive) to spend the night or a couple of days. From Banos to Shell/Puyo is about a 2 hour drive. Since it is a charter we can arrange any time we’d like… but a 9AM leaving time works fine.
1st Day
 9AM flight from Shell/Puyo to Bameno. We will travel by small plane for about one hour ten minutes to arrive to the small village of Bameno. We will be greeted by the Huaorani residents at the airstrip. From the airstrip we will board a motorized canoe and head upstream on the Rio Cononaco for about 1 hour. We’ll make camp on a beach on the side of the river. Lunch will be served here at about 1:00PM. After lunch a short walk to the lagoon will be lead by the Huaorani guide and naturalist guide. Dinner will be at 6:30PM.
2nd Day
 6:30AM Breakfast. Followed by a nature walk into the forest. Return at midday affording time for a dip in the Rio Cononaco. Lunch is at 1PM. After lunch we will pack up and start heading upstream slowly… enjoying the beautiful scenery and looking for wildlife. After about 1 hour we will reach the main campsite. A short nature walk will be taken and dinner will be served at 6:30PM.
3rd Day
 6:30 Breakfast. Followed by a canoe ride and walk to a Salt Lick. We’ll wait silently to see what comes in… with a chance to see macaws, parrots, peccaries. A pack lunch will be served at the lick followed by a 4 hour walk back to camp. Dinner is at 6:30PM. A night excursion by canoe will be arranged with a possibility to see caimans (alligator relatives).
4th Day
6:30 Breakfast. Similar schedule as day 3 only with visit to a completely different salt lick. Dinner at 6:30PM followed by a night walk.
5th Day
6:30 Breakfast. Nature walk for 3 to 5 hours. Return to camp for lunch. Short walk in the afternoon. Dinner at 6:30PM.
6th Day
6:30 Breakfast. Canoe ride and visit to a lagoon. Will be served pack lunch in the forest. Dinner at 6:30PM at the camp.
7th Day
6:30 Breakfast. Pack and load canoe and float down to the 1st campsite. Relax, hike or swim.
8th Day
6:30 Breakfast. Pack and load canoe. Arrive to Bameno. Residents of Bameno will have hammocks, blowguns and other handicrafts for sell. Flight back to Shell/Puyo at 10:00AM.
Costs
7 night/8 day tour = $1,540 per person
Includes
1. Flight from Shell/Puyo-Bameno-Shell/Puyo
2. All meals, starting with lunch on the 1st day and breakfast on the 8th day
3. Bilingual naturalist guide
4. Huaorani guide
5. Local canoe transportation on the Rio Cononaco
6. Entrance fee to the Huaorani Community Bameno
Not included
Transportation from Quito to Shell/Puyo (5 hour drive from Quito)
ENTRANCE BY MOTORIZED CANOE
ITINERARY
First you arrive to Coca by flight ($120 round trip) or bus ($10 one way and 9 hours). From there you will travel about 2 hours on the Via Auca, a road that brings you to the upper waters of the Rio Shiripuno. We will travel down the Rio Shiripuno for about 11 hours, which will be divided up into 2 days, camping one night on the side of the river and arriving mid-day on the second day to Otobo’s main campsite. The Rio Shiripuno and later the Rio Cononaco are small rivers and the chance for seeing wildlife on the way down is excellent.
This tour lasts 7 nights/8 days with most of this time at Otobo’s main campsite. The canoe ride out is about 15 hours and will also be divided up into 2 days. There is also the option to canoe in and fly out. Just let us know and we can tailor-make your adventure!
Prices for Motorized Canoe/Camping Tour (7nights/8 days)
2 to 3 guests - $1,050 per guest
4 or more guests - $840 per guest
Price includes
All meals, transport Coca-Rio Shiripuno-Coca (car transport), Rio Shiripuno Bridge-Otobo’s campsite-Rio Shiripuno Bridge (motorized canoe transport), bilingual naturalist guide, native Huaorani guide. All tents, blankets, towels, etc are provided.
Price does not include
Flight or bus fare, Quito-Coca-Quito. Any alcoholic beverages. $25 Huaorani Entrance fee.
OTOBO´S AMAZON SAFARI ITINERARY (4n/5days)
1st Day (December 28th, 2009)
Arrive to Shell from Baños or Puyo… arriving to the Shell airport at about 8:30AM or 9:00AM. After weigh-in and baggage check fly to Bameno, about a 1 hour flight.
Arrive to Bameno at about 10:30AM disembarking from plane and transport gear to an awaiting motorized canoe. Travel upstream on the Rio Cononaco for a picnic lunch on a white-sand beach. Swimming the Rio Cononaco is possible here.
After lunch and swimming continue on upstream for another 1 hour ½ where we arrive to Otobo´s house and camping area…. At about 3:00PM. After introductions to all of Otobo´s family, a short walk is optional, with a Huaorani native and a naturalist guide Ryan Killackey.
We´ll return to camp before dark. Guests are welcome to swim or rest in their tents and air mattresses. Small fires will be set up near the hammocks so the guests can fan the fire to keep mosquitoes off.
Dinner will be at 7:00PM.
2nd Day
We suggest an early morning rise and breakfast at 6:30AM. After breakfast, native and naturalist guides will lead a walk to a salt lick… where sometimes mammals and birds come to eat. The walk is a canoe ride and an hour walk inside the forest.
After the walk we will return to camp for lunch. After lunch we will visit Otobo´s family… father, mother, sister and brother-in-law. We´ll ask to see if his mother will demonstrate how to make a cumen… the string used to hold the penis. At this time we can also test our blowgun skills.
We can return back to camp for a rest, then dinner and for those who would like a ride in the canoe looking for Caimans (a South American alligator) and other night creatures.
3rd Day
Again we suggest an early morning wake-up and breakfast. Afterward we will return to the forest and on to a lake where the guests can try their hand at fishing for piranha. As always, the guides will keep a sharp eye out for any interesting creatures or plants we might encounter.
We´ll return to camp for lunch. After lunch those who would like are welcome to swim in the Rio Cononaco.
At around 4 in the afternoon, we will take another short walk… examining part of the garden of Otobo´s family and entering the forest once again.
We´ll return for dinner and a short night walk will follow.
4th Day
Again an early wake up and breakfast… followed by a drift down the Rio Cononaco to arrive to the 2nd campsite area.
Lunch followed by swimming/bathing in the Rio Cononaco.
At 3:00PM native and naturalist guides will lead a 3 hour walk in the forest.
7:00PM dinner followed by night walk.
5th Day
Wake up, breakfast and then 2 hour canoe ride to Bameno to catch our planes to Shell.
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