Day 1 ARRIVE LA SELVA

Airport check-in in Quito will be one hour before departure time. Here you will be met by a La Selva representative who will give you a boarding pass, check your suitcase, and answer questions. From Quito it is a 30 minute flight over majestic snow-covered Andean peaks, dropping into the lowlands of Ecuador's Amazonas Region. The flight destination is the port town of Coca, where you will be met by a bilingual guide and taken to a private dock. Here you will board a covered motorized canoe for a trip down the Rio Napo. When you reach La Selva's dock, you will walk on a boardwalk above a vast palm swamp for a half-mile. The boardwalk ends at Garzacocha Lake, described by The Lonely Planet Guide as one of the most beautiful lakes in the Amazon.

Here you will cross the lake by canoe. The lodge is only about a quarter mile away. You will arrive in time for lunch. The 17 thatched-roof cabanas reflect local native design and traditional rainforest materials. Each has a private bathroom with hot water, a hammock and mosquito netting on each bed, and electricity. The lodge itself has a spacious dining room with a thatched roof and an open-air combined bar/lounge area with a wrap-around view of the lake. There is also a hammock hut available for afternoon "siestas". You may have the afternoon at leisure to enjoy the facilities of the Lodge. Or if you wish to be more active, there are many excursions to choose from. Trained naturalist guides and local native assistants will accompany you on all of your excursions

Day 2 LA SELVA

Breakfast is at 6:30 am, and you depart at 7:10 am for your morning excursion. With your guide, you will select your activities. If you want to stay close to the Lodge - you may go swimming in the lake, or take out a kayak, or try fishing from the dock. Go out on the balsa wood raft for a moment of tranquility. Five minutes from the Lodge is their famous Butterfly Farm. La Selva is a birdwatchers' paradise. Not far from the Lodge is an observation tower where you can view birds at eye level from the top platform of the tower. Lunch is served at 12:30 pm. Your afternoon excursion will depart at 4:00 pm. At the end of the day, sip a glass of wine and enjoy a magical sunset over the Lake. Dinner is at 7:00 pm. After dinner you may do a night excursion

Day 3 LA SELVA

More adventures await. Options include the observation tower and Tucaneta Trail. After a 20 minute walk the observation tower comes into sight. This amazing construction will allow you to climb 120 ft above the forest. Your Naturalist and Native guides will help you spot the colorful birds of the Amazon, maybe even certain primates. On the way back from the tower there is the option of taking the Tucaneta Trail where your Native Guide can show you some of the medicinal plants still in use today and your Naturalist Guide will provide you with interesting info on the ecology and natural history of the Amazon. After lunch, try the Charapa trail, where you can see monkeys and birds coming to the lagoon for food. In the evening try a ride in a canoe, where guides will help you spot nighttime wildlife and point out constellations.

Day 4 LA SELVA

Another early morning, with more choices to explore. Visit the Parrot Clay Lick and Mandi Wasi. Today you will make your way back to the Napo River and take a motorized canoe ride to the clay licks, one of the most fascinating displays of the wild world. Hundreds of parrots and parakeets gather here to eat the mineral rich soil, an important part of their diet. Binoculars are essential to really capture the moment. After the clay licks we will take you to experience our Cultural Activity. An Amazonian Kichua woman will welcome you at their community center to share their life of the Kichua's in the Amazon. This is special because it is part of the Amazon you do not find on the maps and provides the special and unique opportunity to really get to learn more about the people of the Amazon. After lunch, take a walk on the Coto Trail, visit the Garzacocha lagoon, or take a nocturnal walk. Your guides will help you choose the best activities for your interest.

Day 5 LA SELVA

After breakfast return by motorized canoe to Coca, to connect to your flight back to Quito and on to your next Avanti destination!