Last Updated on January 5, 2016 by Jon Algie
As Hannibal from the A Team used to say, “I love it when a plan comes together”. I had that same feeling while watching the sun slowly setting above the jungle – I knew visiting the Amazon in Ecuador was the right choice. We were in a small boat on Laguna Grande, a black water lake in the Cuyabano Reserve, a popular place to experience the Amazon in Ecuador. We organised a 4 day tour in Quito and it ticked all of our jungle boxes; if you’re after a budget tour to the Amazon then look no further (well, keep reading my article and then stop looking).
A 2 hour boat ride: A great introduction to the Amazon in Ecuador
After an overnight bus from Quito to Lago Agrio (an uninteresting oil town) we set off on the muddy Cuyabeno River towards Caiman Lodge, our home in the jungle for the next 4 days. Thanks to the “jungle vision” of our guide, Rodrigo, we spotted 2 Anacondas (not the kind that terrorised Jennifer Lopez though), a family of camouflaged bats, a couple of high-flying macaws and some monkeys. The jungle-lined Cuyabano River is incredibly scenic – the slow 2 hour boat ride was a great introduction to the Amazon.
Can you spot the bat?
Caiman Lodge
One of the main reasons we chose Caiman Lodge was the fact it had a viewing tower. As the popular saying goes, it’s hard to see the forest for the trees, so seeing the jungle stretch out to the horizon from a viewing tower is something I highly recommend. Caiman Lodge is a budget option which has everything you need for a comfortable stay in the jungle. The rooms were clean (they even had nice new bathrooms), the food was good and the staff were really friendly. You can definitely find more expensive lodges in the area, but I’m not convinced they would be able to offer too much more. The only downside about staying in the jungle is that you’ll get bugs (and possibly a huge frog) in your room – but that’s going to be a problem whether you pay $250 or $500.
Sunset at Laguna Grande
It’s still early days, but the sunsets we saw at Laguna Grande, about a 2 minute boat ride from Caiman Lodge, are going to be hard to beat on this journey through Latin America. The glowing red ball of fire paints the sky various shades of pink, orange and red and you can even swim while seeing the sun go down. The water was a bit murky for my liking but others in our group enjoyed it. Just before sunset on our last day in the jungle we even saw pink river dolphins (and some grey ones). It was pretty exciting but it was frustrating trying to get a photo of them!
A trip to a village (and lots of yuca grating)
On day 2 we headed a couple of hours up river to a small village where a local woman showed us how to make bread from yuca. This process involved our group grating a whole lot of yuca – not the most exciting part of the tour. We also met a shaman who explained his role in the fabric of jungle society and then went to watch a village celebration. The games included tree climbing races and blow dart contests. On the journey to and from the village we saw lots of animals including a sloth and several species of monkey.
Caiman spotting and a night walk
I always thought caiman was just another name for a crocodile, but apparently they are quite different. We went out after dark to spot some – when you shine a torch on them their eyes reflect in the water. The boat slowly cut through the black water as Rodrigo shined his torch in search of a caiman. Flooded trees poked out of the water and made eerie reflections on the black mirror lake. The woman behind me remarked how it was like the start of a horror movie and it was just a matter of time before someone ended up in the jaws of a beast. We saw a few caimans but kept a safe distance. On the last night we went for a short night walk and saw lots of spiders and bugs, and we also saw the equator point; the middle of the world in the middle of the jungle.
A jungle walk
“Do you want the fun way or the easy way?” Obviously we chose the fun way, which meant trudging through a thick, muddy swamp. We eventually made it and it was kind of fun. The jungle walk wasn’t just a slog through mud though, we saw lots of insects and frogs, including a couple of poison dart frogs, and also got to taste and smell various jungle medicines. One guy on our group volunteered to put his arm near an ant nest. He soon had an arm full of ants which he was then told to squash – apparently locals do this to disguise their scent while hunting. The walk was fun and I now feel a bit more confident about surviving in the jungle if the need ever arises. We also did some bird watching on the last morning. It was a relaxing boat ride and we spotted a few distant parrots, toucans and other colourful birds.
The ride home
The final part of our Amazon in Ecuador tour was a 2 hour boat ride back to civilization. The jungle saved its best sight for last – we saw an anaconda strangling a caiman! It was a pretty amazing sight and the perfect way to end our Amazon adventure (I guess you have to feel a bit sorry for the caiman though).
The details
There are lots of lodges in the Cuyabano Reserve and you can easily organise tours in Quito. We stayed at Casa CarpeDM in Quito and got talking to the guy who worked there, who happened to be the part owner of Caiman Lodge. Staying at the Caiman Lodge typically costs $250 for a 3 night/4 day tour and I definitely recommend it. The cheapest tour to the Amazon in Ecuador I heard of was $230 but the lodge didn’t have a viewing tower – I’d say it’s worth the extra $20 just for that. You can take an overnight public bus from Quito to Lago Agrio but we opted for the tourist bus service. It was a little more expensive ($20) but it was safe and picked us up from the old town, which thankfully meant no late night taxi ride in Quito.
Have you been to the Amazon in Ecuador (or any other country)? Let me know how it was!
I worked with Caiman Lodge to bring you this post; all views and opinions are my own.
Jon Algie
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Wow the snake is so big..
Isn’t dangerous??
I wouldn’t get too close to it, we kept a pretty safe distance though.
In the words of Mr Ollivander “NO! NO! Definitely NOT!”
(..to the snakes, not to the Amazon!) 😉
Haha, they are harmless really (as long as you see them when you’re in a boat).
What an adventure! Sounds like an affordable one too! All the better! I love the picture of you guys through the hole in the tree!
http://www.lifeismyoyster.com
Cheers Sarah, it was an awesome tour!
I’m curious, did you not book in advance for the tour and the hotel for the amazon? We are flying into Quito from Canada, and are stuck whether or not to book in advance or just book when we get to Quito….which is cheaper and better??
Hey Mary, sorry for the late reply. We just organised it in Quito, as most people do. There are lots of different companies and I’m guessing it’s cheaper than booking online. I can definitely recommend the one we did though, so it could be worth booking online if you want to get it organised early.
Can you send the website where you booked and how much was the total cost? are there also 3 days/2 nights tours or you think it’s worth it? we are going to Galapagos after. Thanks lisa
Hey Lisa, yeah I think 3 days / 2 nights would be fine if that’s all the time you have spare. Enjoy the Galapagos Islands!
How long was the walk in the jungle? I have breathing issues so I am curious if it would be something I could do.
Hey Crystal, I can’t remember exactly how long it was but it was probably an hour or two. You could probably skip that portion of the tour if you wanted.
Do you have a website for this tour? If not, can you remember where you actually booked this from?
Thanks,
Alex
Hi Alex, just click on one of the Caiman Lodge links — you can book the tour through that site.
Hey Jon …… getting ready the end of the month for this caiman lodge trip. Do you recommend any shots we should consider ? I’ve been to central and South America many times but never considered shots but never was in the jungle either.. also I’m going to have a small roller suitcase there will be plenty of room on this boat that takes us to the lodge for everyone’s roller bags or back packs ….. I’m assuming. Thanks
Hey Sheila, enjoy the trip! I think you need yellow fever, some countries in the region require it so you should look into that (I the document but can’t remember anyone asking to see it). There should be plenty of room on the boat for your bags etc. Let me know how it goes!
Hey Jon, great read, sounds like you had a good trip through the Amazon!
I’m currently traveling in Peru and will then go to Ecuador and Colombia, so I’m trying to decide which country to visit the amazon in… and Ecuador seems like it’ll be the easier (in terms of transport) and cheaper option.
I’ll probably wait until I get to Quito to book, but the Caiman lodge sounds great! I had a look and the difference between the 3 days/2 nights and 4 days/3 nights is the day where you go to the village and make yucca bread and meet the shaman, which sounds really interesting. But I want to know in your opinion having done that day to the village, is it worth the extra money ($60AUD – more expensive for me with the exchange rate), or would the 3 day trip without the village be enough? Unfortunately, I am on a tight budget.
Cheers!
Hey Eloise, the Amazon trip we took was great and definitely the cheapest and easiest option that we researched. The village / shaman visit was OK — not my favourite part but I guess it depends what you’re into. If it is something you’re really interested in it’s probably worth doing as I’m guessing you’ll never be back in the Amazon. Let me know how the trip goes if you remember — cheers!
Hi Jon,
Loved your post and the pictures. Can you suggest how can I travel from Guayaquil to Amazon. Can I book this trip this trip while is Guayaquil?
How about the food options in Amazon ? I am vegetarian and eat no meat. Can I survive there ?
Thanks,
Raj
Hey Rajib, I’m guessing it’s probably easier / cheaper to go up to Quito and organise it from there. You probably can book it from Guayaquil if you need to though. I can’t really remember what we ate but I’m sure there will be vegetarian options, make sure you ask / email the company you decide to go with and double check though. Enjoy the trip and let me know how it goes!
Hi, I found your post while researching the amazon. We are a few weeks away from our trip – I am a single-mom taking my 4 teenagers. I really want them to experience the local atmosphere as much as possible and am debating between the tourist bus and the public bus to Lago Agrio. Did you hear of anyone having difficulties with the public bus? We will land in Quito at 0600 and spend the day exploring then catch the bus lat that same night.
Did you take the bus back to Quito the same day you got back to Lago Agrio? Does it wait for you if your boat is late? We will be going to Guacamayo Lodge. We are excited. Also worth mentioning is that we speak very little Spanish. Thanks for your advice!
Hi Joy, sounds like it’ll be a great trip! I can’t remember why we went for the tourist bus but I think it just worked out a lot easier and wasn’t much more expensive. We did get something stolen from our bag on a day bus when arriving in Quito, so I guess that might have had something to do with it. We did get the bus the same day back to Quito and I don’t think we had to wait too long — the tour companies (at least the one we went with) seemed pretty organised and will probably get you back with heaps of time to spare. Good luck with the trip, let me know how it goes!
Hi Jon,
good to read your comments .We are planning a trip next year to Amazon and I was just a bit concerned re safety of travelling on a tourist bus at night. Heard a lot about bad driving in general and accidents etc How was your ride there and back ?Any concerns?
Hey Shane, the bus was fine it was pretty much entirely full of tourists so no real concerns about theft etc. Night buses are always a bit riskier but I’ve never had a problem — luck of the draw I guess but I can’t imagine that route being that much worse than anywhere else. Enjoy the trip!
Hi wonderful adventure could you tell us the company you went with ? Thank you
Hey Geraldine, I can’t remember sorry. I think if you look up Caiman Lodge you should find some details about booking tours etc.