Trek through primary rainforest teeming with wildlife, eyes open for peccary, giant otters, anaconda and jaguar
Float along the Shiripuno River and wind your way into the wilderness, looking out for piranha along the way
Glamp on the river’s edge in the heart of the Amazon Basin and fall asleep serenaded by the hum of the jungle
Day 1
Welcome to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Quito! The rest of the day you are free to explore the colonial city and shake off any jet lag. There will be a group meet-up at 18:00 to get to know your guide and fellow adventurers.
Day 2
Settle into the van for a road trip bound for the city of Coca, in Orellana Province - the starting point for your Amazon jungle adventure. You'll continue into Yasuní National Park heading deeper into the jungle, including a two-hour motorised canoe down Shiripuno River. Along the way, you'll have opportunities to spot river turtles, monkeys, caiman, and many species of birds like the oropendola, caciques, kingfishers, macaws, toucans, and parrots. Your remote base for the next 4 nights in the Amazon is Noneno community, a unique experience staying with a Huaorani tribe.
Day 3
Wake up at sunrise and spend the morning with your host family in the rainforest, collecting palm leaves and learning about medicinal plants and their uses in the community. After lunch, continue on a hike led by a Huaorani warrior that takes you deeper into the jungle. Every day in the Amazon is a new adventure with the natural environment providing new exciting opportunities to encounter more wildlife, such as different types of monkeys, capybara, tapir, swallows, flycatchers, herons, sandpipers and hawks.
Day 4
An early morning start as you'll take to the river on canoes and enjoy a birdwatching activity en route to the Black Water Lagoon. The lagoon is located in a pristine area of rainforest where you'll discover a series of endemic aquatic species, giant otters, piranhas, caiman, boas, and with any luck, anacondas. Canoe back to the lodge for a rest before setting out on a night walk exploration to explore the jungle's nocturnal life.
Day 5
Fuel up with some breakfast and coffee before heading to a uniquely Amazonian clay lick for a spectacle of colours and sounds. You’ll hopefully get to see various species of parrots and macaws go to town licking the clay off the cliffs. Be on the lookout for predators such as snakes, boas and raptors. In the afternoon take a hike on a forest trail, then spot piranha along the river before sitting down to a traditional Ecuadorian dinner.
Day 6
Wave goodbye to the jungle as you take one more canoe ride (approx 3 hours) to connect with the van to make the long journey to Papallacta, a small village in the Andes. In the afternoon you are free to enjoy some well-earned downtime in the hotel's hot springs. You'll share a final evening together with your group, sharing memories, adventure stories and probably the odd photo of a giant otter from your time in the Amazon Basin.
Day 7
Your adventure ends today as you enjoy a final breakfast in the natural surroundings at your hotel. You're free to head to the airport in time for your onward flight.
Our trips do not include flights, trains or other travel to the start point and back from the end point.
Tips are not included in the trip cost. These are entirely at your discretion but there is an expectation to tip for good service. Your guide will help with advice, however, we suggest the below as a guideline:
Of course, you are free to tip more or less, and the amount should be reflective of your perception of service and quality - a tip is not compulsory and should only be given when you receive excellent service.
You know your own spending habits best, so please budget an appropriate amount for things like optional meals and drinks, shopping, optional activities, and laundry.
Travel insurance is compulsory for all of our adventures and you are required to provide your policy information before departing. Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure. We also strongly recommend it includes cancellation and curtailment insurance, should you be unable to join your trip for specific reasons such as illness. Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine (opens in new tab), as their insurance offers all of the above.
Visa requirements often change, and you are responsible for obtaining any required visas for this trip. Please check with your nearest embassy or consulate for up-to-date advice.
In Quito and Papallacta, there will be an array of traditional Ecuadorian food to sample. Traditional dishes tend to be meat-heavy, however, seafood ceviche is popular and there are plenty of vegetarian options using potato, plantain and local cheese…
For solo travellers looking for their own space, an optional private room and tent can be booked for an extra charge, see Optional Extras for the price. Please request this at the time of booking (this is subject to availability).
To request any extras, message your host via your Much Better Adventures account once you have booked your trip.
All extras must be paid before your trip starts.
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Yasuní National Park is widely recognized by world scientists as the most biologically diverse place on the planet and is recognized by UNESCO as an important biosphere reserve. The reserve is located inside the Amazon basin, at the base of the Andes mountain range, and very close to the equator line. It is the convergence of these three distinct ecosystems which gives it such astonishing local-scale biodiversity. In addition to the flora and fauna it protects, Yasuní is also special because it's the territory of the Huaorani (or Waorani) people, an indigenous hunter-gatherer community who depend on primary forests for their existence. Although many Amazonian sub-tribes are now in touch with the modern world, some tribes remain in total isolation, deep in the forest. During this trip you'll have the chance to meet some members of the community who are open to sharing their customs and culture with visitors, usually involving traditional music, dance, ceremony, and food.
To this day, over 99% of Yasuní thankfully remains untouched by humans. Yet, as with other regions of the Amazon, the forest is under increasing threat – with the principal risks being oil drilling, deforestation, illegal logging and unsustainable hunting. In 2023, Ecuador held an important referendum regarding the future of oil exploitation within the borders of Yasuní National Park. Backed by years of environmentalists' campaigning, almost 60% of Ecuadorians voted to stop oil operations within Yasuní. But the fight is by no means over, and the forest does remain under threat.
All of our trips to Ecuador are currently running without any disruption. More info can be read here.
Whilst wildlife sightings cannot be guaranteed, with a bit of luck you're fairly likely to some of the following: monkeys, squirrels, deer, capybaras, agoutis, caiman, lizards, snakes and a wide array of birdlife.
The following birds are all present, and whilst you won't see all of them you're sure to see some of these beauties: toucans, parrots, macaws, eagles, kites, hawks, falcons, hoatzin, cuckoos, troupials, honeycreepers, woodpeckers, thrushes, owls, nighthawks, nightjars, tanagers, weavers, orioles, oropendolas, caciques, herons, egrets, kingfishers, plovers, sandpipers, cormorants, aningas... to name a few.
Also present in the areas you'll visit are a number of highly elusive and very rare creatures (don't expect to see these but think yourself very privileged if you see even a trace of their existence): peccaries, tapir, giant otters, ocelots, river dolphins, land tortoises, anacondas and many more!
The weather can also have an impact on animal activity and often sightings are scarcer during rainfall.
Tips are not included in the trip cost. These are entirely at your discretion but there is an expectation to tip for good service. Your guide will help with advice, however, we suggest the below as a guideline per person:
Guides: $10 USD per day
Of course, you are free to tip more or less, and the amount should be reflective of your perception of service and quality - a tip is not compulsory and should only be given when you receive excellent service.
The tap water in mainland Ecuador is not always friendly on the stomach for those who haven't been in Latin America for a while. There is purified water in each of the accommodation which you can use to fill up each morning, so be sure to pack a reusable water bottle or two.
Shiripuno Lodge has a generator which is sufficient to charge batteries, bu there is no electricity at the Nenono Community. We recommend you bring your own portable charger for the devices you would like to use during your stay.
Yes, you are able to leave excess luggage in Quito at the start of the trip, to be collected when you return to Quito.
Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
Our team of Adventure Hunters co-create exclusive adventures which are run by highly vetted, specialist hosts. The trip is run by our trusted host partner in the destination. We only work with independent, local, in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. Read more information about the local teams we partner with. You’ll be introduced to the host straight after making a booking via the Much Better Adventures platform.
Much Better Adventures refer to the UK Government’s official travel advice when designing trips and monitoring trip operations. We recommend that all customers review the practical information available on the UK Government’s FCDO website, where you can find up-to-date advice by searching for your destination(s).
If you are based in the United States, you can also check the latest travel advisories from the U.S. Department of State.
For customers joining from other international locations, we recommend checking the official travel advice issued by your country of residence, as guidance may vary.
We recommend checking out the country-specific information and also talking to a travel nurse.
We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates daily, so prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.
If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.
All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. You must be over 18 to join one of our trips.
You're always in good company on one of our adventures.
Our trips typically consist of a mix of solo travelers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.
Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves, and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.
It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.
Don't just take our word for it:
See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.
There really is no “best” time to visit the Amazon, anytime of year offers a great chance to experience the jungle. May and June tend to be the wetter months, but the climate is slightly cooler as well. July through December see a decline in the amount of rain that falls each month. The average temperature in the jungle remains around 25°C (77°F) year-round, but during the dry season, daytime temperatures can reach 40°C (104°F).
We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre program, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 130kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
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