A Pachamama Journey offers a unique opportunity to experience a profound immersion with Indigenous people from the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador.
You will be invited into the Achuar indigenous culture and traditions. You will be welcomed at Indigenous-owned lodges and communities that offer an authentic opportunity to spend time in nature, engage in real conversations and activities with the indigenous hosts. Rainforest hikes, river excursions in canoes and kayaks, cultural practices and traditions, and medicinal plant and healing ceremonies.
Each Journey is skillfully curated by trained leaders and expert guides on the ground.
Starting with dinner on the first day of your journey and ending with breakfast on the last day of your journey.
In-country transportation including charted buses and planes.
Mostly communal lodging while in the rainforest.
You will be provided a pair of rubber boots, bedding, mosquito netting and other equipment in the rainforest.
Experienced Ecuadorian & Indigenous Guides for translation,
International flights to and from Quito
Taxi ride to and from Quito airport
Early or Late arrival lodging
Gratuity for your local indigenous and Ecuadorian guides, bus driver, shamanic experiences, souvenirs and other personal purchases.
Additional arrangements required due to any emergency or other situation
On this first day, the group meets starting at 4 pm at Sierra Alisos, a country lodge 45 minutes from Quito airport, for a welcome and orientation briefing, followed by a group dinner. Accommodations at Sierra Alisos.
After breakfast we will have our daily group briefing at Sierra Alisos, before heading south along the Avenue of the Volcanoes, stopping in the town of Salasaca for a traditional Andean meal with our indigenous hosts and a purification ritual with native plants. We will
continue with a quick stop in the town of Baños, as we descend to the Amazon basin driving through the waterfall-laden Pastaza River canyon to the gateway to the Amazon rainforest. Dinner and evening conversation about the visit to the Sapara and Achuar.
Dinner and overnight at El Jardin Hotel, a cozy boutique hotel at the edge of rainforest
https://www.eljardinpuyo.com
Early breakfast at the hotel. Drive for 15 minutes to the local airport located in the town of Shell. Take the 1-hour flight deep into the Amazon Basin and the Achuar Territory. Arrival to the community of Sharamentsa in Achuar territory. Visit one of the chief houses for welcoming and talking. Sharamentsa is a very well-organized community with an ecotourism project, solar electricity in each house and amazing hosts! Depending on the time of arrival to the community, we can have an extra activity in the afternoon such us exploring the Jaguar river bank and swimming in the Pastaza River. Dinner and overnight.
Early morning (4h30 am), Wayusa Tea Ceremony. This is the moment of the day where families share their dreams, worries and plan about the future. Bath in the river with sunrise. Breakfast. Morning hike to the sacred Kapok tree. Afternoon visit to the Chacra (garden) and try all the amazing food they grow there.
Breakfast. Hike to the sacred waterfall and Tabaco Ceremony. In the afternoon, learn about the Cosmovision of the Achuar culture and learn about their handicrafts. Visit the Shaman and have a cleansing with him.
After breakfast, debrief sharing with the shaman before saying our farewells then start our journey via canoe down the Pastaza River, up the Capyhaur River to the acclaimed, Achuar-owned and operated Kapawi Ecolodge. After settling into the Lodge, we will enjoy some free time for journaling, swimming, and exploring the area around Kapawi. After dinner, we'll meet to discuss preparation for the next day's ceremony and take an evening canoe ride to look for nocturnal life.
Early morning Guayusa dream-sharing ritual with the Achuar hosts followed by a boat ride along the Capahuari River before breakfast. After breakfast, we will visit a local family and village for a cultural exchange. We will enjoy a traditional Achuar meal before returning to
the lodge in the afternoon. After a restful siesta and some free time, we'll meet to prepare for the next day's ceremony. After dinner, we will have the option to do a night hike in one of the trails around the ecolodge.
Early morning bird and wildlife watching before breakfast. After breakfast, we’ll take a 1-hour boat ride upstream the Capahuari River to the community of Wayusentsa. Upon arrival, we will hike in the forest with Taish, the local shaman, to learn more about medicinal
plants and Achuar spirituality, including a solo meditation in the forest. The shaman will take us to a sacred waterfall for a purification ceremony before inviting us to participate in an ancient tradition al medicine ritual that evening in the community camp.
After breakfast, we’ll leave Kapawi around 10 am to canoe up the Capahuari river to the Achuar community of Kusutkau, where we will take a 50-minute flight back to the town of Shell. We will have a quick lunch in Puyo before taking a 3-4 hour bus ride to the mountain
thermal spring Spa, Termas de Papallacta,
https://www.termaspapallacta.com.
Free time to enjoy the thermal water pools, rest, reflect, or enjoy one of the Spa treatments available.
Later in the evening, we’ll take time to enjoy a group discussion that will deepen the context and meaning of our journey, having just been with the indigenous people who inspired the work of Fundación Pachamama and the Pachamama Alliance.
Dinner and accommodation at Termas de Papallacta.
After breakfast, we will leave Papallacta at 11 am and drive back to Quito. We will check-in at the hotel in Quito.
Free time for exploring Quito. We will gather for a farewell celebratory dinner at 7 pm.
After breakfast and our final goodbyes, the group departs.
End of Journey.
