Cuyabeno – 3 days in the jungle of Ecuador
SOLEQMASTER
Our intern Elizabeth spent three days at the Bamboo Lodge in the Cuyabeno Reserve in the Ecuadorian rainforest. Read about her experiences in one of Ecuador’s most important protected areas:
Day 1 – The journey from Quito to Cuyabeno
From the terminal “Quitumbe” in Quito we drove at night at about 12 o’clock in the direction of Cuyabeno jungle. The travel time was about eight hours. Our travel group consisted of 7 people between 21 and 66 years old who wanted to explore the rainforest above the Amazon together.
From the terminal we continued by cab to the hotel in Lago Agrio where we waited for our guide and the onward journey to the Cuyabeno Bridge. During the waiting time we could help ourselves to the breakfast buffet, which was included in our tour price.
We spent the rest of the time at the pool of the hotel and then drove at 9:30 in the morning with our guide Guido towards the Cuyabeno Bridge, where we arrived after about 2 hours.
There we had the opportunity to use the toilet and change clothes, because here in the jungle it was incredibly warm compared to Quito. All the clothes we needed to warm up in Quito made us sweat here. At 12:20 and equipped with drinking water, cameras, life jackets and lots of sunscreen we boarded a motorboat, which took us across the “Cuyabeno River” to our accommodation. During the trip we stopped to watch monkeys, birds and snakes. It was impressive to see so many different animals in the wild!
We arrived at our accommodation, the Bamboo Lodge, shortly after 14:00. Lunch was already waiting for us there, which included three courses. After lunch we could relax in our rooms for a short while. Afterwards we went with canoes to the big lagoon of the “Laguna grande”, where we saw pink dolphins. We were also allowed to go swimming in the lagoon and watch the beautiful sunset from there or from the boat.
At 8 pm we had dinner, with which we strengthened ourselves for the upcoming hike. The hike with our guide Guido started at 9 pm and lasted about one hour. It was fascinating to observe the small, nocturnal animals. We discovered spiders, frogs, small bugs and even a baby snake and Guido gave us background information about all the animals and their habitat.
After the night hike, our day ended and we fell asleep in our rooms at Bamboo Lodge, in the middle of the Ecuadorian rainforest.
Day 2 – The day in the rainforest
The second day was the only day we spent completely in the Amazon rainforest. After breakfast, we took canoes to another part of the rainforest.
There we took a tour of about 2.5 hours through the jungle, watching and listening to birds, seeing spiders, bugs, and fascinating plants! After our tour, we ate from our lunch boxes in the rainforest and then headed back in our canoe towards Bamboo Lodge, which we reached at about 3:30pm. In time for sunset, we motorboated our way to Laguna Grande.
After watching the sunset, we motorboated along the shore of the rainforest to view more nocturnal animals. We saw red glowing eyes that belonged to caimans and snakes. In the evening, we ate and went to bed early, because for us the next and last day should start already at 5:30 am.
Day 3 – The departure day
At 5.30 am our alarm clocks rang. At 5:45 am we met with our guide Guido and went by motorboat to Laguna Grande to see the sunrise at 6 am. Despite the fact that the sunrise was not perfectly visible due to the cloudy sky, the yellow-orange colors shimmered through the clouds and made for a great sight. Afterwards, we searched for the birds that were already singing the rainforest in the early morning hours. We saw many species, including parrots and river birds.
We arrived back at Bamboo Lodge at 7:30 am, then had breakfast at 8 am, packed our things and left around 10 am for the Cuyabeno Bridge, which we reached at 11:30 am. After a short time, we were taken by bus back to the town of “Lago Agrio”. Around 2 pm we had lunch in a restaurant, which was also included in our trip. In the hotel, which we already visited on our first day, we relaxed at and in the pool.
At 20.00 o’clock we drove again from the terminal in Lago Agrio to Quito. At about 4 o’clock in the morning we all reached the terminal Quitumbe tired and exhausted, but still happy and impressed by the last days.
Have Elizabeth’s experiences inspired you, and would you like to get to know the Cuyabeno Reserve or other parts of the Ecuadorian rainforest for yourself? We will be happy to organize suitable accommodation for you and, of course, transfers to and from the lodge. Please feel free to contact us.
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