La Selva Amazon Ecolodge & Spa

Located just outside the Yasuní National Park and within the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, La Selva Lodge is perfect for travellers seeking their ideal Amazon experience — whether they are six or sixty. A luxury resort in the heart of the rainforest, everyone will find something to love.

La Selva Lodge is located on the north bank of the Napo River, which eventually flows eastward and joins the mighty Amazon on its way to the Atlantic Ocean. It takes about five hours to travel from your hotel in Quito to your jungle suite, by plane, motorized canoe, by foot, and arriving in a silent paddle canoe.

At La Selva we take great pride in the quality of the meals and beverages we serve. Our talented chefs use fresh ingredients and local produce for daily meal preparation, promising a genuine experience of Ecuadorian and international gastronomy.

Fresh juices, local produce and fruit are part of our ongoing commitment to support local communities. We are happy to accommodate any special diet whether you are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and kosher. Please let us know in advance of your preferences.

La Selva Lodge features a unique spa, where specialized treatments create a heightened sense of relaxation and connection with the amazing wonders of the forest. We also offer intimate yoga sessions and classes on the jetty overlooking the waters of the lake… Ready to find peace amid the breathing heart of the forest..?

From dawn to dusk, you can always count on a member of staff to help you with whatever you need in terms of food and beverages. Our bar is fully-stocked with local and international beers, liquors, and gins. Feel free to start a tab and pay the night before you leave.

We are fully committed to minimizing the ecological impact during our activities and operations in the Amazon. At the same time we hope to create positive bonds with surrounding native communities, as well as local businesses in the area that share our vision. While staying at La Selva, you are creating a positive impact in the Ecuadorian Amazon and its native communities.

ROOMS & SUITES
La Selva Amazon Ecolodge has 19 spacious suites, including three Scenic Suites with views of Lake Garzacocha and four roomy Family Suites. The design of the rooms at La Selva is inspired by the architecture of the native people’s homes. The airy, shady layout keeps things cool even in the hottest hours of the day.

The Scenic and Superior Suites include exclusive rainforest showers, private balconies, and panoramic views, while the Family Suites include extra-spacious bathrooms, hammocks and a hot tub on a private porch.

12 SUPERIOR SUITES
Designed for today’s adventurer-traveler, our Superior Suites bring together traditional architecture with modern conveniences. Tastefully decorated, you’ll find a large bed draped with a mosquito net, a living area for kicking back, a private balcony perfect for taking in the beauty of the rainforest, and an ample bathroom fitted with a refreshing rainforest shower.

4 FAMILY SUITES
Our Family Suites provide the space and comfort that families traveling together will cherish. With a king bed for parents and two double beds for children, plus sofas and coffee tables, a private porch from which to admire the greens of the forest, plus a hammock for a relaxing siesta and hot tub for all to enjoy.

3 SCENIC SUITES
Located high up on the banks of our lake, our Scenic Suites define the rainforest experience. At dawn or at dusk, you can enjoy the incredible colors of the skies and surrounding jungle world from your own private balcony, drink in hand. The suite is completed by comfortable sleeping arrangements, sofas, and a spacious bathroom fitted with a tantalizing rainforest shower.

RAINFOREST WELLNESS
La Selva Lodge invites you to experience our spa treatments in the middle of our protected rainforest reserve as well as our soulful yoga sessions: we have created a truly unique space in which to relax and connect with the natural world like few others on the planet.

Inspired by the natural beauty and essence of the Amazon, our highly-qualified massage therapists provide innovative and traditionally crafted treatments sure to delight.

YOGA SESSIONS
with our on-site yoga instructor
Available upon request (no extra cost)
The yoga retreats offered at La Selva are one of a kind and range from beginners to experts regardless of age, stamina or fitness level. Our experienced yoga instructor will lead the sessions, either in the morning or in the evening, before or after your excursions with your guide, or replacing an activity for longer sessions.

SPA TREATMENTS
Just like the Amazon, we know each of our guests is unique. Our therapies are tailored to your desires and designed to restore vitality, health and wellness. These treatments help improve circulation and infuse well-being. Finish one of our treatments feeling re-energized and refreshed!

ENERGIZING BATH WITH COPAL TREE LEAVES
This bath is a great way to restore energy and bring an overall feeling of relaxation. The Copal leaves provide the body with the powerful energy of the sun, transmitting properties of the earth. It is a gentle healer that removes negative energies and is tied to physical, energetic, and mental health.

AMAZONIAN BATH
For a complete 60 minutes, relax and enjoy a massage with almond oil and a bath infused with Amazonian herbs. Our therapist will use herbs such as the energizing guayusa leaves native to the Amazon Rainforest, found nowhere else. The leaves are known to offer stimulating properties.

NATURAL YUCCA MASK (CASSAVA)
This is a mask made of yucca, also known as cassava. It is easily absorbed and improves the texture and condition of your skin, while softening and brightening your complexion. One of the major benefits of the yucca is how it acts as a moisturizer and energizer, providing more elasticity.

YOGA SESSIONS
The yoga retreats offered at La Selva are one of a kind and range from beginners to experts regardless of age, stamina or fitness level. Our experienced yoga instructor will lead the sessions, either in the morning or in the evening, before or after your excursions with your guide, or replacing an activity for longer sessions.

WHAT BENEFITS DOES BEING IN NATURE BRING?
Research carried out over the past decade has revealed that modern humanity’s separation from nature is depriving us of many benefits.

Countless studies show that nature strengthens our ties to spirituality, improves our cognitive abilities, helps us de-stress in measurable ways, improves our mood, battles depression and anxiety, and is an important part of preventing diseases caused by a sedentary lifestyle.

While sailing across the serpentine Amazon, listening to the songs of birds, and smelling the fresh green scents, it is also much easier to tune into our spiritual side.

One fascinating study showed that people who are spiritual, are also happier; somehow, it seems that connecting with a force that runs through all living things, has positive effects for our psyche and our general wellbeing.

ACTIVITIES & WILDLIFE EXPLORATION
Our experienced guides will accompany you on the following activities, depending on the time of day, season, weather, physical abilities of the group and where they believe wildlife is more likely to be found. Each activity was designed to showcase the best of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

CANOE RIDES
Enjoy a canoe ride on our lagoon, Garzacocha, and discover a great diversity of plants and animals in two different landscapes and ecosystems.

TRAILS
Heading out from the lodge, your guides can lead you on half-a-dozen trails that wind their way through the surrounding rainforest and connect with the lake. You never know what you might find along the way… A giant ceiba tree, strangler figs, walking palms, Azteca ants, heliconias, bromeliads, and maybe even some forest fauna — if you’re lucky.

KICHWA COMMUNITY VISIT
Several indigenous communities live near La Selva and guests are able to visit to learn about their way of life. We like this quote that perfectly sums up why our guests enjoy the community visit so much; “People travel because it teaches them things they could learn no other way.” – Lance Morrow

AMAZON OBSERVATION TOWER
Our tower offers amazing views from its platform 35 meters (115 ft) up from the forest floor. It’s nestled into the branches of a giant kapok tree, allowing us to observe life in the surrounding forest canopy.

From here, we can spot many different species of birds, insects, and monkeys, as well as different types of flowers. The tower offers great opportunities for photography, filming and bird watching. The tower is located a 15-minute walk from the lodge. Guides will accompany you to the observation tower either in the morning or the afternoon.

PARROT CLAY LICKS
One of the most amazing sights in the Amazon that is relatively easy to enjoy is observing parrots coming to feed on clay, on the banks of rivers or streams. There are two places on the south bank of the Napo River (inside Yasuni National Park) where parrots, parakeets and even macaws gather.

They come to obtain the minerals in the clay that help them to digest the fruits and seeds better. For this excursion, we take motorized canoes along the Napo and enjoy a box lunch in the forest.

NIGHT-TIME CANOE EXCURSION
You’ll go out with the guides in canoe with a spotlight onto Garzacocha Lagoon to spot caimans, bats, owls and more.

FAMILY ACTIVITIES
At La Selva, we are proud to have created unforgettable moments for families to share together for more than a quarter of a century. We regard ourselves as the most child-friendly lodge (ages 5 and up) in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Our youngest guests can participate in our junior naturalist program, while older children will find dozens of activities to keep them busy, from hiking, kayaking, canoeing, fishing and exploring the tree tops from our observation tower.

KAYAKING
This is a great way to do some exploring on your own time. The kayaks are kept by the dock. Ask reception for the paddles and life jackets to go out on your own. You’ll have the opportunity to see monkeys, Hoatzins and many other tropical rainforest birds.

Swimming: Please inform reception you will be going for a swim. You can ask them for a towel instead of using one from your suite. The water is very refreshing after a jungle hike and feels silky smooth due to the blackwater.

STAR GAZING
The night sky at La Selva is perfect for viewing constellations in the Southern Hemisphere. Ask your guide to help point them out! We are currently working on new star gazing kits for the Junior Naturlist Children’s Program.

NIGHT EXCURSIONS
Hikes and canoe rides allow guests to enjoy the nocturnal choruses and sounds of the forest as well as trying to spot bats, nightjars, some insects and possibly to get a glimpse of the caimans that lurk at the lake’s banks. Walking excursions give us the chance to encounter nocturnal creatures such as tarantulas, whip-scorpions, toads and frogs, and possibly snakes.

CHARAPA TURTLE ADOPTION PROGRAM
“The adventure begins with an early morning departure from the lodge, followed by a 15 – 20 minute motor canoe ride on the Napo River. Upon arrival, you will be welcomed by the local community. They will take you to where the small Charapa Turtle pools are located.

Here is where the community collects the eggs from the turtles and where they will be protected until they hatch. Once hatched, tourists have the rare opportunity to choose a turtle, give it a name, and then liberate it into the Napo River.

A conservation certificate in the name of the Charapa Program will be given to stating the name of your freed turtle and a small gift from the community. This activity has a cost of only $5 USD per turtle and this input is given directly to the community, it does not pass through any other entity so you can feel good about where you are putting your donations.

The community also offers various products produced and crafted within such as coffee, chocolate, and handicrafts that visitors can purchase. Afterwards, the guide will transport you back to the lodge the same way you came.

You will have time to enjoy the many free activities we offer such as kayaking, fishing, and yoga or depending on how much time you spent at the community, you will be back in time for lunch”.

PRIVATE VISIT TO PAÑACOCHA
Established in 1994, Pañacocha is located between the two largest protected areas in the Amazon, Yasuni National Park and Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve and consists of 56,000 hectares of pristine lagoons and rivers.

The protection of Pañacocha offers rare exceptional views of 9 different species of primates, 500 species of birds, and 100 different species of fish in the protected waterways. Highlights include spotting Aracaris, a small specie of toucan, sloths, and possibly pink river dolphins. Pañacocha also boasts tropical butterflies with endless varieties of colors and patterns.

On the excursion to Pañacocha expect to leave La Selva by 7am to reach the Napo River. There, a motor canoe will be waiting, and together you and your guide will travel 2 hours down river to the mouth of the Pañacocha River.

One stop will be made to pay the local community before entering the lagoon. Afterwards, we will navigate the black river of Pañacocha for approximately one hour until finally arriving to the lagoon. In the lagoon pink river dolphins may sometimes be spotted and depending on a number of factors there may also be a chance to swim.

Food will be supplied in a boxed lunch at the lagoon and afterwards we will return to the lodge somewhere around 4pm in the afternoon. Since almost the entire trip is done on the Napo River and in the Pañacocha lagoon, it is an extraordinary chance to experience the waterways of the Amazon and see many interesting things deep in the jungle that not many people have the opportunity to encounter.

Website: www.laselvajunglelodge.com

Rooms: 18

Price: from 670 EUR per night