LA SELVA

Leaving Quilotoa, you'll prepare for the experience of a lifetime. From Quito you'll fly to Coca where you'll meet your personal Jungle Guide who will take you 60 miles down the Napo River on a fast canoe ride toward the La Selva Jungle Lodge. You will be treated with first class hospitality and service - but don't forget we're here to also work. Your work, however, will feel like play set against a backdrop of the Napo River in the middle of the Amazon.

This is adventurous travel.

This trip into the heart of the jungle includes more excursions than any other we offer, there are so many that you'll need to put your book aside for the week. You're guide will escort you through the list of possible activities, but here are just a few: pirana fishing, jungle hikes, canoe rides, kayaking, butterfly farm viewings, bird watching in a tower over the trees, lake swimming, viewing wildlife everywhere, eating gourmet food at every meal, nocturnal animals night excursions, insect excursions, or you can simply find a good hammock (there's one attached to every hut), relax and reflect on your experience thus far.

TAKING ACTION:

1. Work with the students from the El Pilche Community School. Learn about the cultural differences between the Quechuans in the Andes and the Quechans here in the Amazon.

2. Help the WMN Foundation. A volunteer project might include painting and working on the school grounds or helping a volunteer doctor give check-ups to the students.

3. Learn about the unique nature that exists in the Amazon. Compare it to what you've already experienced in Ecuador so far. How are these places alike? How are they different?

WEEK TWO - ITINERARY:

LA SELVA
Day 11: Travel to La Selva
Day 12-15: Teach 2 mornings with students at El Pilche community school, work 1 morning helping with other things at the school (painting, organizing supplies, anything the WMN Foundation needs), spend afternoons and 1 full day going on jungle adventures, eat amazing gourmet foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (The exact dates of these activities will depend on your group - to see GROUP SCHEDULES, click here.)
Day 16: Return to Quito for another overnight, reflect more on your experiences. E-mail home.
Day 17: Travel to Mindo

For a full ITINERARY, click here.

PROGRAM COST

The price of your entire three week trip depends on your choice for the Second Week destination. Here is the price for La Selva, and what this trip uniquely includes:

LA SELVA : $3600
A trip to the jungle includes:
Travel to and from (domestic airfare, fast canoe, slow canoe, etc.)
Lodging
Gourmet Food (Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner)
All You Can Drink Water (Bring your own water bottle for easy filling)
Guided tours through the jungle (and a number of other excursions and activities) with English-speaking guides
A small tip for your guides (so you won't even have to worry about that)

All prices include the following in Quilotoa, Mindo, and Quito:

Roundtrip Flight to Quito
Food (Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner)
All You Can Drink Water (Bring your own water bottle for easy filling)
Lodging
Travel to and from each destination
Cast t-shirt and bandana
Small project donation (for Quilotoa building and medical supplies)
Internet Access Fees (once a week)
Travelers Insurance (to learn about WORLD NOMADS, our insurance provider, click here)
Inner City transport fees (taxis, trolleys, etc.)
Quilotoa Visitor Tax
One Theatre or Art Performance in Quito
FUN DAY in Mindo (we have some fun excursions planned in Mindo)
Exit Tax (You have to pay to leave Ecuador. Don't worry, we'll take care of that too.)

To COMPARE PRICES of this trip with the others, click here.

PACKING SUGGESTIONS FOR LA SELVA:

"This lodge is absolutely luxurious..."- excerpt from Flight 360

After experiencing the chill of Quilotoa, you'll be hit with a little shock of heat when you get off the plane in Coca, so it's important to drink lots of water and bring the right clothes.

If you've packed well, the bottom layers from Quilotoa will serve very nicely as normal shirts for La Selva, and the long sleeved t-shirts, which were layered on top of each other, will serve nicely as a light over-shirt when it gets cold in the evenings.

Here's what we recommend:
- 7 light t-shirts or tank tops (your DAT shirt is INCLUDED in this number)
- 1 pair of "hardcore sandals"
- Swim suit - in case you want to jump into the lake water or ride out in one of the kayaks.
- Sunscreen! (30-50 or more. Don't forget that you are on the equator!)
- Bug spray
- Headlamp or Flashlight - you'll need it for the walk from your cabin to the main area.

For the complete packing list, click here.

LINKS

La Selva Jungle Lodge: http://laselvajunglelodge.com/
You Tube - Anaconda: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsrNnFDdtE0
Wikipedia - The Oriente: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastaza_Province

THE NEXT STEP

Return to the main menu and take a look at other WEEK TWO ADVENTURES or go ahead and move on to WEEK THREE, MINDO . To go there now, click here.