Escape the modern world and venture into the heart of the Amazon jungle, evolution's most spectacular theater!

Witness thousands of species tangled in the struggle for existence, some working in cooperation to survive, others locked in battle. See wild blue and yellow macaws flying wing to wing with their mates, pods of river dolphins, troops of howler monkeys, and insects so bizarre you'd think they were dreamt into existence by Dr. Seuss.

Witness it all in the safety of a tour run by expert native guides, your own tour doctor, and your biology nerd friends. You can't get this experience from a textbook, a nature documentary, or a trip to the zoo. This is the real deal! A once in a lifetime event.

Join Nancy Miorelli (SciBugs) & Jon Perry (Stated Clearly) on this 8 day all inclusive tour that covers three of Ecuador's unique ecosystems.

The Sword Billed Hummingbird coevolved with trumpet shaped flowers.

It’s no coincidence that Charles Darwin, Alexander Humboldt & Alfred Russel Wallace first began to understand evolution while exploring the rich tangle of life found in the tropics.

We'll get in the thick of it; surrounded by incredible wildlife, expansive ecosystems, and enthusiastic locals.

You will meet hundreds of species including birds, mammals, insects and fish. You will witness as they play out their lives the spectacular drama that Darwin called "The Struggle for Existence."

From camouflage to parasites. From hunting strategies to interspecies cooperation ... anything that gives an organism a slight edge is game for our exploration both on and off the trails as we dive into this evolutionary theory and evolution in practice.

"There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved." ~Charles Darwin

A bullet ant queen that has been infected with cordyceps fungus

We’ll start with a couple days in Ecuador’s capital city Quito riding gondolas up the neighboring mountains and taking a quick jaunt to the cloud forest.

Then we’re off to the Amazon! As we cruise up the Aguarico river and into the Cuyabeno River we’ll be greeted by pink river dolphins, toucans, monkeys, and shimmering butterflies. After our time acquainting ourselves with the winding forest trails, medicinal plants, and evolutionary theory, it’s back up to the hills for our final day resting in the botanical gardens and learning about some of Ecuador's conservation efforts.

🌴AMAZON RAINFOREST: Waita Lodge / Cuyabeno Reserve

The Cuyabeno reserve, the part of the Amazon Rainforest located near the Colombian border, is home to playful dolphins, chattering macaws, pocket sized monkeys and floating forests! It’s the second largest reserve of the national parks in Ecuador, protecting ~6,000 kilometers of pristine Amazon tributaries. 

We'll be visiting Waita Lodge and it is truly in the heart of the Amazon. Located three hours upriver by boat, you’ll be greeted by dolphins, toucans, turtles, and dragonflies as you make your way up the narrowing Amazon rivers. The tranquil lodge has a balanced mix of water activities including paddle boating and canoe rides, and land based activities. Learn about medicinal plants, follow leaf cutter ant trails, and learn about the people and cultures that live in one of the most beautiful places on earth. 

☁️CLOUD FOREST: Guango Lodge 

The Cloud Forest sits between 4,000 & 8,000ft above sea level and is one of the most biodiverse areas in the world! Hummingbirds that can only be found here flit through the trees and glittering insects wander around the elephant-sized leaves. Oh - and don't forget to look for the orchids. The cloud forest is protected thanks to a patchwork of community efforts. 

🌋VOLCANIC PARAMO: Quito

Quito, Ecuador's capital, is surrounded by nature and shrouded in history. The high altitude Paramo ecosystem is where you land when first arriving in Ecuador. Several towering volcanos rise from the outskirts of the city, deserts cover the expansive wastes of the north, while cobblestone roads and golden churches litter the central streets. Above the city skyline is the volcano Pichincha - a beautiful natural refuge housing dozens of unique plant and bird species. And that's just in Quito! Ecuador is covered in volcanoes which you'll see almost at every vantage point we'll be visiting in Ecuador.  

☀️Most of all - you can expect we'll have fun!!!☀️

👥 We will be a small group of travelers. The group will be capped at 12 people to ensure an intimate experience with the instructors, local guides, and nature. Learning will happen on and off the trails, both formally and informally from your instructors, guides, and most likely each other! 

🌄 Think of this trip like summer camp but with way better food! The cabins are simple but comfortable and the hot water for the shower is solar heated.

☔ You'll probably get wet! It is the *RAIN*forest after all. You can decide your preferred method of staying dry ... or accepting your fate. By that token, it can also be sunny and hot, so make sure to bring a lot of water and comfortable clothes. 

🚶‍♀️‍➡️ Trail conditions can be muddy and slippery depending on the amount of rain we get during our stay. We'll also be in the hills and at altitude. We recommend you being physically fit enough to do short walks over difficult terrain and up to 2 mile (3 km) walks on flat terrain.

🛶 We will have two long travel days. The first will be entering the Amazon where we'll leave Quito in the early morning and fly to Coca. We'll then have a 2 hour bus ride to to the pickup point and then a 3 hour canoe ride to the lodge. We'll leave Quito around 7:30am and get to the lodge around 5pm. When we leave the lodge, we'll overnight in Coca. After lunch we'll have our 3hr canoe ride to the pickup point and the 2 hour bus ride to Coca. If you get carsick please anticipate these long bus rides and take the necessary precautions to ensure you have a pleasant voyage. I know it's a trek - but if you want to see amazing animals, you have to go to where they live!

Jon Perry from STATED CLEARLY:

Jon Perry is a science educator and founder of the YouTube channel “Stated Clearly”. There, he works with biologists and biochemists from around to world to produce animations that teach genetics, evolution, and chemistry to the public.

His passion for biology started with a love for wildlife. As a kid, he spent much of his summers camping and exploring the forests of the Great Northwest. For the past 11 years, much of his free time has been spent volunteering, first at the Portland zoo, OR and then at Chintimini Wildlife Center, educating the public about native animals, as well as working directly with the rehabilitation of sick and injured animals.

“It’s no accident that both Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace independently discovered the process of Natural Selection after visiting our world’s tropical forests. Museums, classroom lectures, and YouTube videos are all great ways to learn about evolution, but nothing beats a walk in the jungle!”

Nancy Miorelli from SCIBUGS:

Nancy is a passionate, self proclaimed, PR representative for insects. While earning her Master's degree at the University of Georgia in Entomology, it became crystal clear that most people did not see insects the way she did.

In attempts to combat this "kill it with fire" mentality, Nancy started several science communication projects including a YouTube channel, and a tarot deck project - Metamorphosis Tarot - seeking to blend bug science and art!.

Following her Master's, Nancy flew to the heart of the Ecuadorian cloud forest where she worked in an ecolodge showing tourists the beautiful and hidden world of the smaller majority; leading environmental education programs, guiding tours, and giving  natural history presentations featuring insects.

After two years, Nancy traded her leafy green jungle for the concrete jungle of Quito where she designs her own tours under the brand SciBugs which focuses on the interconnectedness of ecology (especially insects), geology, conservation, local culture, and ecotourism. She has been working in Ecuadorian Tourism since 2015

BIODIVERSITY PHOTO GALLERY

FUNSIES HAD ALL AROUND

General Overview:

• Day 0 || Arrival into Quito / Dry Forest Addon

• Day 1 || Misty Mountains - Cloud Forest Day

• Day 2 || New Perspectives - Quito

• Day 3 || Travel into the Amazon - Our Adventure Begins!

• Day 4-6 || Amazon Adventure - Waita Lodge

• Day 7 || Emergence from the Jungle - Coca

• Day 8 || Restful Recap - Quito

If you did NOT book the Jerusalem dry forest addon day, you'll come in and be whisked away to our partner hotel in Quito.

~~🌵~~

Jerusalem Dry Forest Addon Tour

This morning we'll be picked up and whisked away to one of my favourite places in Quito. It looks like a movie director looked at a subordinate and said "we need a desert" and this subordinate had no idea what deserts look like. So there's a strange mix of cactus, air plants, flowering trees, and succulents. Oh and there's some cool birds and bugs to be had as well.

We're off down the mountain to the cloud forest! About an hour outside of Quito you'll be met by some of the cheeky forest inhabitants.

We'll spend the day here before going back to Quito.

🌋 We're headed up to the clouds where the TeleferiQo cable car drops us off at 13,000 ft. From here, we'll get an amazing view of the city and also learn about some of the crazy adaptations this high altitude plants (and Hummingbirds!) have to live at this elevation.

🏺Then we're back down the mountain to learn about some of Quito's indigenous groups living here before the Incans ever arrived! Rumipamba is an archeological AND ecological park where you'll experience a unique blend of cultures past and present ecology.

 It's a plane, to a bus, to a canoe.

Leaving Quito, we'll fly to the small town of Coca where we'll try some palm weevil larvae as a snack at the local market! Then it's a boxed lunch and we make our way up the Aguarico and Cuyabeno rivers to our home away from home deep in the heart of the Amazon. 

The Cuyabeno Reserve is bursting with flora and bustling with fauna. Dolphins dance around the canoe, monkeys howl from their perches, parrots lick clay from the river, frogs call the rains, caimans watch the lagoons, and insects rule the night. 

Activities will be conducted depending on the current day's weather. As it tends to rain in the Amazon at least once a day we will schedule the outdoor activities around the rain and around the times the animals tend to be most active. 

Scheduled Activities

• Evolution Classes

• Nature hikes

• Night hikes

• Canoe safaris

• Paddle canoe safaris

• Observation tower

• Traditional New Year’s Celebrations

Free Time Activities

• Paddle board

• Paddle canoe

• Swimming

• Piranha fishing

• Cooking class

• Handicraft Class

• Popup Market

General Schedule

• 6:00 am: Optional Birding canoe safari

• 8:00 am: Breakfast

• 10:00 am: Waita's scheduled activities

• 1:30 pm: Lunch

• 2:30 pm: Free time

• 6:00 pm:  Evolution Classes

• 7:00 pm: Scheduled Waita's activities

• 8:00 pm: Dinner

• 9:00 pm: Optional Night walk
  

Our last day in the Amazon before we have to say goodbye! We'll start off with one final morning activity before making our way to Coca where we'll spend the night at Auca hotel.

Auca has a beautiful garden and frequently rescues wildlife. Look out for the tortoises and agutis hanging out on the grounds.  

Today we'll recap of where we visited on our whirlwind adventure.

🌸After landing in Quito, we'll have some free time at the botanical gardens where you can walk the winding pathways and see some of the plants that we encountered, dive into the orchid gardens, or just sip some coffee in the shade.

🐸We'll finish the day off visiting Wikiri - the frog breeding center to learn about one of Ecuador's conservation projects. 

 Please note this a generalized itinerary and it is subject to change due to availability or weather. In case of changes, similar accommodations and activities will be substituted. 

Add-on tours will be made available.