Otobo's Amazon Safari
Otobo’s Amazon Safari offers several activities catering to all interests and physical abilities. Different from the majority of the Amazon’s ecolodges, we don’t propose a day by day tour with a strict schedule: flexibility is our unique characteristic, and we prefer to build the tour according to your interests. Are you passionate about wildlife? Thanks to the exceptionally keen eye of a Huaorani guide you’ll have the opportunity to spot magnificent animals that live deep in the forest and along the sides of the river. Do you want to focus on cultural aspects? We offer an unique anthropological experience... you will talk with the last generation of Huaorani warriors who lived in the forest before the contact with no need for the the modern society and experience the subsistence lifestyle of an authentic Amazonian indigenous community.
Please don’t hesitate to ask, and we can plan together your dream journey.
CANOE TRIP and CAMPING ON A BEACH
One option to reach or leave the campsite of Boanamo is the navigation of Shiripuno-Cononaco rivers for about 180km/111mi by motorized canoe. The travel is absolutely part of the adventure and the adventure starts at exactly the time you put your feet in the canoe. Along the way there are great chances to spot riparian wildlife such as Spectacled and Dwarf Caimans, Yellow Spotted Turtles, Anacondas and Capybaras. Since rivers are open spaces, you have the opportunity to see different species of monkeys hanging in trees located far away and colorful birds crossing over your head, like big macaws, parrots and White-throated Toucans.
We often spend the first night camping on a beach, where you can swim in the river, become familiar with our staff and get used to the amazing nocturnal sounds of the forest. The level of the river will determine whether we camp on the beach or at a Huaorani community.
HIKING
In the forest around Boanamo there are several trails normally used by the Huaorani in their hunting trips. One of our most spectacular activities is a hike from the Boanamo community to a bird and mammal clay lick that passes through pristine forest. Going downstream for about 15 min by motorized canoe along the Cononaco river, we arrive at the entry point of the path and after 30-45 min walk we reach the salt lick, where we will have a rest and look for animals. From this point, it takes about 3 hours to Boanamo hiking slowly, but it depends on your abilities and will to stop for wildlife observation. If you don’t feel like completing the whole path there’s the possibility to visit just the clay lick and go back by canoe.
A Huaorani guide, usually Otobo or his father Omayihue, will show you how to survive in the forest by hunting monkeys, peccaries and birds, gathering fruits and vegetables... but don’t worry, no animals will be killed! With the help of a naturalist bilingual guide, they will teach you how to identify animals, their footprints and calls, and the uses of plants.
Other trails pass through the woods and what we always want to show are the different habitats that you can find in a rainforest: primary forest, secondary forest, flooded forest and gallery forest... all these ecological patterns host different species, and we try to involve tourists in recognizing the markers that characterize a particular forest type.
CLAY LICKS
Clay licks are important areas for many bird and mammal communities, where animals supplement their diets or facilitate their digestive processes eating soil, a practice called geophagy. In these high concentration deposits of minerals, macaws and parrots eat the clay to neutralise the toxicity of some fruits and seeds that they eat but licks are also fundamental areas where to socialize, mate and exchange informations. As they congregate in the crowns of trees, they can spend hours screeching and squabbling before they decide to descend to eat the clay.
Mammals congregate in these special terrains too for the same reason and to take a bath in the muddy water to refresh and reduce skin parasites. Peccaries, Tapirs, Brocket Deers and primates such as Red Howler Monkeys and White-bellied Spider Monkeys are not uncommon in the proximity of clay licks. For wildlife lovers, these sites represent a great opportunity to view the visiting fauna and almost everyday from surise to sunset there’s the chance to spot wonderful Ara macaws, parrots and parakeets.
NIGHT WALKS
In the rainforest real action takes place at night. Once sun sets biological activity changes greatly and everything takes a very different character. Croaks and clicks of insects and frogs, calls of nocturnal birds and night monkeys create a loud and suggestive background of sound while you explore the understory and the canopy with the light of a torch or flashlight. This is the best time to spot the most bizzare creatures of the forest... tarantulas, huge whip spiders, leaf-like crickets, big toads, semitransparent glass frogs, lancehead pit vipers and other well camouflaged snakes... a hike at night is a great opportunity to discover the mysteries of what happens in the dark, when the rainforest comes alive with fascinating animals that look like they come from another planet or another time...
CAIMAN WATCHING
This is another exciting night activity that we offer at Otobo’s Amazon Safari. Floating in the motorized or wooden canoe, both guides and guests search for caimans with headlamps or flashlights... red eye shines reveal the presence of these shy reptiles that after the sun sets become more active along the water’s edge...
DUGOUT CANOE PADDLING
Although traditionally Huaorani people avoided larger rivers, in the last decades they learned from Kichwa groups that live along the Napo how to build one-piece wooden canoes. There’s nothing better for spotting riverine wildlife than to paddle silently downstream along the Cononaco river or its tributaries. A full day navigating slowly in the small Boanamo river is an unforgettable experience and an excellent way to observe wildlife since there’s no motor noise. Along the way you can freshen up by jumping in the water and there will also be opportunites for fishing.
FISHING
Fishing is a really popular activity that you can practice in the breaks when we travel along rivers or simply off of the dock next to the campsite. You’ll be surprised to see how many different species of fishes you can catch using only a line, hook and bait... piranhas, catfishes and freshwater stingrays are just few of the extremely rich and interesting inhabitants that swarm in the murky waters of the Cononaco and Boanamo rivers. We usually catch and release fish back into the water if they’re too small or not tasty.
COMMUNITY VISIT
A visit to the Boanamo community is a unique opportunity to come face to face with the Huaorani culture. Otobo and his family will show their traditional way of life and let you learn how to use their legendary weapons. Boanamo is a small authentic community and its inhabitants are effectively indigenous people that still now live in balance with nature hunting with blowguns and spears, fishing, growing yuca and a few fruit trees. Their knowledge about nature and survival techniques in tropical rainforest is stunning... they’ll teach you how to prepare poisoned darts, how they traditionally cook animals, create hammocks and other handcrafts... will sing Huaorani songs, tell stories and invite you in their huts making you feel the real atmosphere of a genuine Amazonian community... an unforgettable, very real experience!
OTHER ACTIVITIES...
Depending on your requests and how many days you’re going to stay with us, we offer other activities such as the visit to other Huaorani communities, clay licks, caves, palm swamps, small overlook hills and wonderful blackwater oxbow lagoons great for fishing, spotting Anacondas and bizzarre birds like the Hoatzin.
