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Contact:
Jiovanny Rivadeneira, General Manager
Eddy Silva, Project coordinator
Comunidad Kichwa Añangu
Ecuador
Tel: +593/2-255-6348 ó 9-505-2922
projects@napowildlifecenter.com
hotel@napowildlifecenter.com
www.napowildlifecenter.com
Recommended by:
Asociación Ecuatoriana de Ecoturismo
asec@ecoturismo.org.ec
www.ecoturismo.org.ec
Type of accommodation:
Bed & breakfast, lodge, inn
Research station
Features:
Conference rooms
Hot water
Internet connection
Kitchen
Laundry facilities
Private bathroom
Restaurant
Telephone
Television
Other: Transportation service
Number of rooms: 12.
Year founded: 2004.
Number of employees: 50.
Percent of employees who are local residents: 90 %
Type of destination:
Forest/rainforest
Indigenous community
River, lake, wetland
Able to accommodate:
Families
Seniors
Singles
Singles with children
Description of the area:
The Napo Wildlife Center's (NWC) location in the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve lends it a great variety of tourism attractions, including the natural resources and the great biological richness of this reserve that has around two million hectares (7,721 square miles) in an area with very high biodiversity and a center of endemism known as a "hotspot."
The NWC houses an incredible variety of well conserved plants and animals thanks to the commitment of the Kichwa community of Añangu to ban hunting and fishing in its territory. Yasuní is one of the most diverse protected areas on the planet with respect to flora. Studies of species richness indicate that the tropical forest in the reserve is the second most diverse in the world. This incredible biodiversity is complemented with other fabulous attractions such as rivers, the beautiful Añangucocha lagoon, and salt and clay licks where birds and mammals come to consume mineralized earth.
As for cultural resources, the community offers you different experiences such as ancestral natural resource use and management techniques, local cuisine for you to sample chicha and typical foods of the region, handicrafts made by the women with plant materials, and an interpretation center where yachaj or shamans recreate cleansing rituals.
Available activities:
Bird watching
Canopy exploration
Eco / nature / wildlife
Educational, research, volunteering
Spiritual / religious
Tours
Visits to conservation projects
Walking / hiking
How to get there:
The Napo Wildlife Center at the Añangu lagoon is 70 km (43 miles) from the city of Coca. Transportation is handled by personnel in charge of these operations in Coca and at the hotel. The NWC has fiberglass eco-canoes with four-stroke motors to transport passengers comfortably. Visitors can travel at any time with a community guide and a bilingual naturalist guide. The boatmen and their assistants are trained and licensed by Ecuador's naval forces to operate canoes for passenger transportation. During the journey, passengers enjoy refreshments and a cold lunch because the trip takes 4.5 hours to reach the lagoon, two hours in motorized canoe and another two hours in a paddled canoe.
Making a difference:
The Napo Wildlife Center (NWC) is located in an important biosphere reserve (Yasuní) and its operation is fully managed by the Añangu community. The community and the Ministry of the Environment have signed several mutual support agreements including ones that ensure the protection of the reserve through the implementation of a community park guard program and an efficient communication system with the authorities to halt any illicit act or invasion of the reserve. The community and the NWC have excellent infrastructure to help national and foreign tourists watch birds and mammals. This allows the reserve and the ministry to collect significant funds from the area's income. There is a land use zoning agreement between the Ministry and the community to safeguard some endangered animal populations.
The NWC tourism project is a pioneer in the region and has awakened the interest of other communities. Therefore, the community has begun coordinating the formulation, fundraising, and implementation of projects for sustainable development, education, health and conservation to benefit the region.
General rates:
$$$$$ -- more than $150.
For more information about our rates, visit the Lodge's Web site or write to sales@napowildlifecenter.com.
Additional information:
List of articles about the Lodge that have been published in the main communications media.
Travel Picks: Top 10 Eco-friendly destinations. Reuters. December 28, 2007.
All-Access: Ecuador, Philly Woman Treated To Trip Of Lifetime. CBC News, November 7, 2007.
Five best ... community-run lodges. Guardian.co.uk.
Welcome to the Ecuador Jungle. Washington Post. By Andrea Sachs. October, 1, 2006.
Photo captions:
Lodge: Photo of the lodge's cabins taken from the lagoon with tourists arriving at the site in the foreground.
Parrot salt-lick: Photo of some parrot (Amazona farinosa and Pionus menstruus) and parakeet (Aratinga weddellii) species taken from the lookout built by the community.
Photo of a rufescent tiger heron: Perching adult Tigrisoma lineatum taken by the black water river of Añanguyacu.
Bird-watching: Photo taken from the 114-foot high platform used to view the canopy and many bird species.
Photo of a view of the lagoon: Añangucocha lagoon from the lookout tower off the bar-dining hall.
Date this information was provided: February 2008
