La Selva Jungle lodge

At La Selva Lodge, something exciting is happening every day...and you’re invited! Our trained, English-speaking guides will take you and your fellow travelers on a different tour, where you might see a boa constrictor, spot a parrot, catch a glimpse of a troop of monkeys passing overhead or even look at the trail of a tapir from the canoe!

We cannot say what you’ll do on any given day, because the guides decide what to do based on many factors, including time of day, season, weather, physical abilities of the group and where they think some exciting wildlife might be found. Here are but a few of the activities our guests enjoy.

Note: all of these activities are completely included in the price. There is no extra charge for any of them!

Butterfly Farm: Our butterfly house is located right at the lodge, only a few moments’ walk from your cozy cabins. Here you’ll learn about the life cycles of these beautiful insects: you’ll see them at each fascinating stage of their lives. The main, greenhouse-like chamber is a serene oasis of tranquility where you can sit quietly while hundreds of dazzling butterflies flutter about you. Don’t forget your camera!
* A new butterfly farm is being designed specifically to host a great variety of butterflies and plants to ensure their sustainable growth.

Strangler Trail: This trail gets its name from the famous strangler fig (Ficus Aurea, in Spanish “Matapalo”), a remarkable plant which grows up around another tree, choking it in the process (don’t worry: the strangler figs aren’t interested in people!).

Chaguamango Trail: This trail begins at the lodge, winds through the dense rainforest and ends up at the lagoon, where the canoe will be waiting for you.

Rainforest Canopy Observation Tower: It’s a whole different world up there! The rainforest canopy is an ecosystem in and of itself. High up in the treetops, birds rule. The observation platform of our 120 foot high (37 meters) observation tower sits on top of a centuries-old tree, the platform offer a 360° view for world-class birdwatching (and monkey-watching) any time of the day. As an added bonus, there are two trails from the lodge to the tower: a 20 minute “express route” and a two-hour “scenic route.” Both trails are great for seeing animals and medicinal plants used by locals for centuries. One of our can’t-miss activities!

Charapa Trail: the Charapa Trail goes from the butterfly farm along a winding path that most groups can walk in about an hour and a half. At the end of the trail, you arrive at the lagoon, where the canoe will be waiting to return you to the lodge or explore Lake Garzacocha. You can never tell what sorts of birds, reptiles, frogs or monkeys you might see on this trail, so keep your eyes peeled! If you’ll lucky, you’ll catch a magnificent Amazon sunset over the lagoon on your way back.

Parrot Clay Lick: Because of their diet, Amazonian parrots frequently need to eat salty clay to aid their digestion. There are some of these famous “clay licks” near the lodge and they are a favorite of our guests. On a good day, you can see hundreds of brightly-colored birds fluttering about the clay and squawking loudly all the while.

Community Cultural Visit: Several indigenous communities live near the La Selva Amazon Ecolodge. Our guides like to take our guests there, because the communities are always excited to receive visitors and our guests enjoy seeing another way of life – the Amazon way. You might visit a local home or school, see some of the projects the locals are working on, try local foods and drinks (roasted wood grubs, anyone?) and even shoot a blow dart gun! A highlight comes at the end of the tour, when guests have the opportunity to purchase hand-made handicraft souvenirs directly from the people of the community.

Marmoset Trail: The part of the jungle where our lodge is located also happens to be the habitat of the rare Pygmy Marmoset, the smallest monkey in the world. There is a family of them located not far from the lodge and a canoe ride and short walk will get you to a place where they are often, but not always, seen. The “Leoncillos,” or “Little Lions” as they’re known to locals, is a bucket-list sort of sighting for many of our guests.

Canoe Rides in the Creeks and Garzacocha Lagoon: Bodies of water are often the best places to see wildlife in the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve. Our traditional, hand-paddled canoes are the travel medium of choice on the lagoon and along the creeks that come in and out of it. You might see a paiche (a massive fish that occasionally likes to snap at the paddles), snakes (including the legendary anaconda), bats, any number of birds and monkeys, and much, much more. Relaxing and fun, many guests tell us that the canoe rides were their favorite part of their stay with us.

Sacha Hugra Trail: Our longest and most challenging trail is also our most spectacular one. The Sacha Hugra trail goes for four to five hours through some of the only surviving original primary rainforest in the area. It’s your best chance to see some of the larger, more spectacular wildlife. The trees, ancient and magnificent, tower above the rainforest floor like nowhere else: you can tell in the air that this place is old and timeless. If guests find it challenging or are pressed for time, they can choose to do only a portion of the hike.

Night Walk: Many of the most interesting species near the lodge are nocturnal and can only be seen at night. Grab your flashlight and join your guide and fellow travelers on a brief walk to see toads, frogs, insects, bats, scorpions and other varmints that are invisible by day. A favorite of kids!

Night Canoe Ride: Your guides will take out a canoe and a spotlight onto the lagoon to try to spot some fantastic wildlife, including caimans, snakes, bats, owls and anything else lurking around the lagoon in the darkness. They’ll try for a clear, cloudless night if possible, because the stargazing from the center of the lake in the Amazon night is truly memorable.

Explorer Kayaks: Many of our guests can’t get enough of the wildlife around our lagoon, Lake Garzacocha, so we keep some kayaks handy near the dock. You can take off on your own exploration adventure whenever you wish!

Rooms

The lodges of La Selva Jungle Lodge come of a native design: rustic, authentic and comfortable. The lodges can be described as private bungalows that are dry, cozy and immaculately clean.
The 17 bungalows at La Selva Jungle Lodge are made entirely of secondary rainforest materials and are designed to blend with Ecuador's Jungle.

Each lodge has a private bathroom, a hammock and a mosquito netting in each bed. Amenities such as hot water. Everything at La Selva Jungle Lodge is sanitary beyond your wildest expectations.

La Selva Amazon Ecolodge has nineteen spacious suites, including three scenic suites with a view of Lake Garzacocha and roomy family suites for those who have brought their children along on their jungle adventure. The Scenic and Superior Suites include exclusive rainforest showers, private balconies and great panoramic views, while the Family Suites include extra-spacious bathrooms, hammocks and a tub on a private porch.
The design of our suites is inspired by local homes used by the natives for generations: the airy, shady layout keeps things cool even in the hottest hours of the day. In the bathrooms, amenities such as hairdryers and shampoo, conditioner, and soap are included. Hot showers, ceiling fans and electricity are provided in each suite.

At La Selva Lodge, we are deeply committed to sustainable ecotourism and keeping our impact on the environment to a minimum. Therefore, we do not have air conditioners in the rooms. There are, however, large windows and a ceiling fan which keeps the air in the suites circulating. We think you’ll find that the rooms are quite comfortable.

Services

• Dining room, very spacious with a cone-shaped roof.
• Open-air bar
• Lounge area with a wrap-around view of the lake.
• You can sneak a siesta (spanish for nap) in thehammock hut, or spend some lazing about and reviewing photos of the day on your digitial camera.
• Laundry: Recognizing the necessity of some of our guests to appear less savage than others, and recognizing the very understandable miscalculations that may exist in the relationship of mud and water proportionate to the amount of clothing brought, we offer Slothful Laundry, the state of the art in Amazon laundry services.

The food is La Selva Jungle Lodge pride.

La Selva Jungle Lodge blends the finest ingredients Ecuador has to offer with French, North American and Ecuadorian cooking skills.
Fresh, tropical fruit juices accompany each meal. La Selva Jungle lodge offers its signature Amazonian pizza that will rival any, veal milanesa a l'Amazon; and local fish - when available - prepared with one of our numerous original recipes. (Vegetarian and special diets are available upon request, as well as special meal schedules and box lunch options for birdwatchers)
On top of everything, La Selva Jungle Lodge bakes its own bread and serves its own freshly made pasta. Yummy!!!

At La Selva Lodge, we take great pride in our food. Our talented chefs whip up delicious meals on a daily basis, and our guests often mention how much they enjoyed the food during their stay. All meals are included in the price of your stay.

The Restaurant at La Selva

La Selva features a large, airy restaurant and lounge, with a complete bar and wraparound window over the lagoon. Depending on the number of guests, breakfasts are usually served buffet-style and lunches and dinners are served to your tables by our courteous wait staff. Whenever we can, we use locally purchased ingredients, such as fresh fruit and vegetables. This not only assures a fresh, delicious meal for our guests, but is part of our ongoing commitment to support local communities.