Ecuador - Amazonian Mammals

Napo Wildlife Center, or NWC, is a comfortable rainforest lodge within the Yasuni National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve; the largest, best conserved and most diverse tract of Amazon rainforest in Ecuador. Built on the shore of tranquil Añangu Lake, NWC is a conservation project which supports a unique 82 square-mile private nature reserve within the park, an ancestral territory of the Añangu community who co-own the centre. Wildlife viewing possibilities abound in the vicinity of the lodge, with amazing parrot and mammal clay licks, active lake wildlife guarded by the resident family of Giant Otters, stunning endemic monkeys and a huge list of over 565 bird species. The lodge also boasts two solid canopy towers which transport us into the rainforest canopy at dawn to witness flocks of colourful tanagers and other species which are difficult to see from the rainforest floor. We have four full days to explore this fabulous habitat. Depending on our party size, we will divide into two or more sub-groups, and be assigned a native Añangu guide, who doubles up as an official Yasuni Park Ranger. All of the local guides at NWC are a wealth of information on the forest’s medicinal plants and other useful items of the rain forest. Each group will also have the company of an experienced bilingual naturalist guide with a great deal of knowledge on tropical forest biology. We will be sure to take advantage of the highest peaks of activity, together with prevailing weather conditions, with early morning excursions scheduled for dawn and sunrise. After break for lunch and a siesta, further outings will take place in the afternoon and evening and, for those who want to, after dark, when the forest really does come alive and when an overwhelming concert of natural sounds floods the atmosphere!