The Amazon is 7 million km2. It contains 20% of the water supply on the planet. Eight countries make up the Amazon: Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Surinam and Venezuela. Although Ecuador contains only 7% of the Amazon, this portion nevertheless represents 51% of it’s the ecuadorian territory. This exquisite ecosystem is intimately linked with the main economic activit of Ecuador: the exploitation of oil. According to the records of the Ministry of Environment, there are 33 ecological reserves in Ecuador. Each faces different types of exploitation and risk factors, such as hunting, fishing, fires and pollution. Within these potentially harmful scenarios, the indigenous communities try to survive.

Loja Province is over 2,000 meters over the see level and has a perfect climate. Its capital, also called Loja, is one of the oldest cities in the country and renowned as the “cradle of the arts, literature and music” of Ecuador. In this area, there are a variety of accommodations, but only one has been a finalist in the prices of London World Travel (Best Hotel and Spa Resort). Just 2 km from the parish of Vilcabamba (“Sacred Valley” in pre-Quechua language), watching the majestic Andes, lies the heavenly hotel-spa Madre Tierra.

The night bus from Quito to Coca leaves at 9:30 pm at the terminal of “Transportes Esmeraldas”on February 12th. The night bus back to Quito from Coca leaves at 8:30 pm or 9:30 pm on February 16th. (Recommendation: Please buy your tickets at least 3 days before the trip! If you prefer, we can buy the ticket for you!)

UPANO: Morona Santiago Province, Sucua is the nearest town. Clase IV, IV+
The Upano is a dream come true. The river of the Sacred Waterfalls so deep in the Amazon jungle that its sheer solitude makes …

Last weekend we decided to get away from Quito, a city perched in the Andes mountains, and head down to the Ecuadorian Pacific Coast. We headed down to Guayaquil (the biggest city in Ecuador) to …

“Los Pichinchas” is a range of mountains in the western side of the city of Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Three summits are the most important: “Rucu Pichincha” (4,680m), “Guagua Pichincha” (4,698m) and …

Ecuador in its small size has many different ecological environments and dozens of fun activities on each place. One of this activities is zip lining (canopying), which is rather new in Ecuador. There are maybe only 6-8 places across the country where you can do zip lining.

The Jatun Yacu river is a class IV river, in the Ecuadorian Amazon jungle, close to the city of Tena, which is located 5 hours away from Quito, the capital of Ecuador. It is not …

Last month I spent 20 days in the Yasuni Reearch Station, collaborating with a phD candidate in his field work for his thesis about lianas. It has always been very interesting to meet …

Napo River Festival is finally here. Four days from today (01/07/2008) the Napo River Festival will take place. As we mentioned in our previous post about the Napo River Festival, Barefoot Expeditions will be there …