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delicious meals in a tranquil environment with a nice riverfront view.
Electricity comes on in the evening. Climb the canopy tower for the
best views and opportunities to witness monkeys and rare birds. In-
quire about their new addition,
Yarina Lodge
, located much closer
to Coca and reportedly a top-quality ecolodge at a very affordable
price.
In Quito, Av. Amazonas 1324 and Colón,
2-2503-225,
/fax 2-2504-
037; or, in Coca,
6-880-172; www.yuturilodge.com, yuturilodge@
yahoo.com. $$$
Yasuní Area
Tiputini Biodiversity Station
Carol Walton and Kathy Swing helped create the Tiputini
Biodiversity Station in an effort to preserve Yasuní National Park,
support scientific research and educate the people that visit it. In
fact, the only real way to visit Tiputini is through an educational or
scientific program. The project is the result of the combined efforts of
the Universidad de San Francisco in Quito and Boston University in
Massachusetts. Years of work have resulted in one of the best re-
search and ecotourism projects around.
The station is located along the Río Tiputini on1,482 acres of land ad-
jacent to the park boundary. The sleeping facilities include eight
rooms with screened interiors, bunk beds, and clean private bath-
rooms. Larger rooms have single beds and private baths. All told, the
station can handle more than 40 guests. Tranquil views of the river
and forest abound from the vista porches, dining, lounge and bar ar-
eas, as well as other buildings. Additional facilities include a library
and laboratory, which provide opportunities to learn about the re-
gion's biology and ongoing research. Rainwater showers flow at na-
ture's temperature, electricity is turned on for a bit in the evening,
and the floor fans provide a refreshing breeze in the sleeping quar-
ters. And you won't be disappointed with the quality of the meals.
Scientists here have now documented the presence of 12 species of
primates, several of which are common around the facilities, and
more than 520 species of birds. The area has more than 1,500 species
of trees, and animals such as jaguars, tapirs, capybaras, caimans, ot-
ters, and dolphins have been observed along the river. Well-
developed trails cover 19 miles of primary forest in the area immedi-
ately surrounding the station. A 124-foot tower in the canopy permits
fantastic opportunities for viewing wildlife. The only downside to the
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