Sani Amazon Lodge

Be our guests! We are the Kichwa, and we welcome you to our rainforest home. When you stay with us, you become part of our extended community where we will share and teach you about our environment and culture.

At Sani Lodge, you are not only choosing an amazing adventure, but also the opportunity to immerse yourself in our Kichwa lifestyle. Come join us and support our indigenous community while simultaneously protecting the rainforest that you will love to call home.

Sani Isla is included in the list of the 100 best sustainable destinations in 2019, granted by the Green Destination committee, becoming the only destination within this list for the entire Ecuadorian Amazon.

Being included in this list is high prestige as these destinations are actively portraying world leadership in the protection of its panoramic views, natural habitats, and wildlife, as well as respect for animals and indigenous communities, becoming a standard for sustainable tourism development for other countries. Sani Isla has shown this potential for which it has concurrently won the Best of Nature award as well!

THE COMMUNITY
In 1922, our first ancestors of Sani Isla arrived from the Napo province. Domingo Cecilio Licuy Vargas and his wife, Xaviar Pascual Licuy and his wife, Siku and his family, Sani and her family, and Aurelio Andi and his family were joined in the years to follow by others from the Napo and Pastaza provinces.

Yet, it was not until December 1976, when Father Jose Miguel and Mr. Humberto Andi organized the community and raised awareness of their rights, that the Commune Kichwa Sani Isla was officially established.

The Sani Isla Kichwa community was founded with the purpose of defending our culture, customs, and language. Our home comprises 42,000 hectares north and south of the Napo river and crossing through two provinces, Sucumbios and Orellana.

Currently, our community includes 600 adults and children, working together for mutual support and continuing our traditions for generations to come. We open up our community to you, so you can experience our way of life, build lifelong personal connections, and become an extended family member of our extraordinary community.

THE VISION
To provide the world with a deeper understanding of what it means to live in harmony with the forest and allow others to experience our way of life. By promoting sustainable practices here in Ecuador, we can demonstrate to the world how impactful sustainable ecotourism can be. Becoming a tourist destination of excellence with international recognition allows us to grow and protect our community, culture, and traditions for generations to come.

GUIDED EXPERIENCE 
Our guides are with you every step of the way, serving as the bridge between you and the rainforest, making your experience safe, memorable and unique. Each guide focuses on the individual needs of each visitor, ensuring that you have every interest and desire satisfied throughout your stay at your rainforest home. We will customize your individual experience to accommodate age, interests, physical abilities, and any other factors.

SUPPORT A COMMUNITY 
All profits benefit our community members, so staying at Sani Lodge means you are contributing to our social and community development by helping us send our kids to school, improving our healthcare, and conserving our traditions and culture.

NATURAL BEAUTY
Sani Lodge delivers the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself in our primary rainforest. This lush landscape is home to vast varieties of wildlife including birds, mammals, and reptiles. Encounter this breathtaking biodiversity and incomparable scenery through our low-impact trails built with environmental safety in mind.

PROTECT THE RAINFOREST
By visiting Sani Lodge, you are participating in sustainable tourism that preserves an unspoiled part of the earth and reduces the pressure to allow development that would infringe on our natural rainforest environment.

COMFORT TIED WITH IMMERSION
Staying at Sani Lodge means relaxing in our comfortable cabins, enjoying our native Ecuadorian food, and having all the amenities needed to feel at home with the Kichwa. Our goal is to ensure that you have a local integrative experience so that you can feel completely immersed in the magic of the rainforest.

EMPOWER WOMEN
Traditionally, in many local communities, jobs and economic freedom for women are limited, but at Sani Lodge we ensure that all members of the community are included. In fact, Sani Lodge proudly partners with the Sani Warmi project, empowering Sani women to run their own business making and selling artisan crafts.

You have the exceptional opportunity to experience and learn from these amazing women who strengthen the Sani Isla community with their creativity and entrepreneurial spirit.

CABINS
At Sani Lodge, our cabins are designed to provide you with comfort and safety while still fitting into the environment that surrounds the lodge. Sani Lodge has 13 first class cabins of which 10 are double/single cabins, 1 is a mini suite cabin, 1 is a family cabin, and 1 is a multi-cabin with 4 rooms and 5 beds.

All cabins are built with local wood, have window openings covered with mosquito nets and roofs made of toquilla straw leaves, and are equipped with fans and running water. These facilities are truly in harmony with the jungle and will allow you to live an unforgettable dream.

FAMILY CABIN
Enjoy with your family while you relax in one of the most exotic places on the planet. The natural and healthy environment of the Amazon is conceived in harmony with the interior and exterior of our cabin and is an example of responsible consumption framed within sustainable development. Our family cabin has a large balcony from where you can enjoy the incredible scenery, the lagoon and direct contact with nature.

DOUBLE OR SINGLE CABIN
You can stay alone or accompanied and connect completely with all the activities we offer in one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Relax at the same time that our team provides a large number of amenities for you to enjoy an exceptional experience during your vacation.

MINI SUITE CABIN
Disconnect in the middle of the rainforest in our comfortable mini suite cabin where you will have more privacy while you feel immersed and comfortable in one of the most pristine places on the planet. Our cabin offers a spectacular view of the lagoon. Ideal for quiet evenings contemplating a sunset in the Amazon forest.

MULTI CABIN
Our multicabaña is ideal to share with your group of friends or family while enjoying all the activities offered in our lodge. Do not miss out on the most beautiful sunsets of the Amazon from one of the best views.

THE SANI LODGE RESTAURANT
Offers a rustic and relaxed atmosphere for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The open windows let you enjoy the song of the frogs and cicadas as you savor your meal. Our chefs prepare a mixture of international and local Ecuadorian cuisine to delight the palates of travelers from around the world.

Serving times are accommodated to your itinerary and food is served either buffet style or restaurant style depending on the number of visitors. All ingredients used in the kitchen are grown and sold locally in order to further support both the community and neighboring farmers.

Bottled water is provided free of charge, and we encourage guests to bringing a reusable water bottle to help minimize environmental impacts. Snacks are provided for excursions, and are also prepared in the kitchen each day and packaged in reusable containers to minimize waste and further preserve our rainforest.

The Sani Lodge bar is equipped with wooden chairs and tables that overlook the lagoon providing the perfect end to your day. Sip a cold beer, wine or a classic cocktail made by our barman while enjoying the view of the glistening lagoon waters. Chat with fellow visitors, tour guides, and lodge staff as you forge the personal connections that make a visit to Sani Isla the experience of a lifetime.

SANI WARMI
Today, the Sani Warmi women now serve as some of the strongest defenders of the rainforest. Traditionally, in many local communities, jobs and economic freedom for women are limited. While many lodges in the Amazon do not hire women as an employment policy, in our Kichwa community and at Sani Lodge, all members of the community are included.

In fact, Sani Lodge proudly partners with the SANI WARMI project, which empowers the women of Sani Isla to run their own business making and selling artisan crafts constructed from local seeds, vines, and fibers. This business provides a sustainable source of income for the women while encouraging the protection of over 42,000 hectares of pristine rainforest from outside intrusions.

The Sani Warmi project was started in 2008 in partnership with the nonprofit Rainforest Partnership, based in the United States, and Conservación y Desarrollo, based in Ecuador. The project was started to combat the increasing pressures the community faced from companies wanting to use our lands for oil prospecting.

Sani Warmi combines small business development and environmental education in order to make this project successful in helping to protect over 42,000 hectares of pristine rainforest.

Today, the Sani Warmi women now serve as some of the strongest defenders of the rainforest. The project continues running successfully without any outside funding, and only advising support from Rainforest Partnership.

During your visit to Sani Lodge, you will have the opportunity to visit the Sani Warmi House, meet the women artisans, taste the flavor of typical Kichwa food, and see how a traditional Kichwa family lives. By visiting, you are supporting the community, empowering the Kichwa women, contributing to their continued success and becoming part of our family.

OBSERVATION TOWER
No visit to Sani Lodge is complete without a visit to our 100ft (37m) Observation Tower. To reach the Tower, your guide will take you on a 30 minute row boat ride across Lake Challuacocha followed by a short 10-minute walk.

nce atop the Tower, you can truly experience the visual magic of the Amazon. As you gaze out over the top of the lush green jungle canopy, look for the elusive White-throated Toucan and Red Howler Monkeys asleep in the treetops.

More than 565 species of birds have been recorded from the Tower, including colorful macaws, toucans, honeycreepers, tanagers, flycatchers, and hummingbirds. The Tower will be highlight of your trip!

PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT
We built Sani Lodge to create a revenue stream that will continuously support and strengthen our Kichwa community. Sani Isla spans across our pristine rainforest and is home to some of the most abundant biodiversity planet Earth has to offer.

We built Sani Lodge to create a revenue stream that will continuously support and strengthen our Kichwa community, rather than watch the beauty of our local environment spoiled by oil drilling.

The continuous success of Sani Lodge allows us to thrive within our community and be stewards of the Earth, keeping our ancestral lands safe from any intrusions on our natural rainforest.

We are strong believers that sustainable tourism is achievable while limiting negative impact both in our community and the lodge itself. To achieve this goal, we have created several programs to promote conservation that benefit us and nearby communities.

These conservation policies are not limited to the Lodge, but are practiced throughout the entire community. We are continuously striving to improve ourselves so that we can live sustainably and be one with the forest.

AMAZON WILDLIFE
When you visit Sani Lodge, you will hike through our forest that encompasses 2,274 species of trees and bushes.  This vast refuge is home to incredible animals such as jaguars, pumas, giant otters, and the humble squirrel monkey as well as 550 species of birds, 80 species of bats, 105 species of amphibians, 83 species of reptiles, 64 species of stingless bees, and 100,000 insects per hectare!

With our extensive knowledge of Amazonian wildlife, we can provide you with a real and unique experience of the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest.

INDIGENOUS CULTURE
Sani Lodge is owned and operated by our Kichwa community, and we welcome you to immerse yourself in our way of life. At our restaurant, you’ll enjoy authentic Ecuadorian food made with local ingredients. Our community guides can’t wait to share a meal and their stories with you.

In the center of the Sani Isla community, you can visit the Sani Warmi Project, independently run by the Kichwa women who will open up their home to you. See, hear, taste and savor the true culture of the Sani Isla community while learning how we live in unity with the forest.

GUIDED IMMERSION
Are experts in sharing their extensive knowledge about the local flora and fauna. Our guides are also members of the Sani community who have grown up in the rainforest and raised in the Kichwa culture and way of life.

By having these truly local inhabitants guide you through your journey, you will begin to see the rainforest through their eyes and feel the forest in a way you never imagined possible.

These dedicated professionals will be with you every step of the way, ensuring not only your safety, but also crafting your individual experience to guarantee that this is a trip you will never forget.

Rooms: 10

Price: from 500 EUR per night

Source: www.sanilodge.com