The Pastaza: A Rafting Adventure from The Andes to The Amazon

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If you think of a volcano that roars endlessly, it would be difficult to imagine that at its feet lays a peaceful place surrounded by rivers and numerous waterfalls, whose geography makes it the perfect spot for adventure tourism lovers. This place is called Baños de Agua Santa, and it is home of the region’s most fast flowing rivers. Baños has been favored with very nice weather due to its proximity to the Amazonian region, and its rivers are the scenery for several ecological adventure sports, such as rafting.

One of the most interesting fast flowing rivers of the region is called the Pastaza River. There, you can get on a rubber dinghy with other adventurous partners and go through some of the most fun routes as you slide fast down these waters, getting filled with adrenaline. Several pauses are done throughout the route, as a nature’s way to compensate your weariness. At these sections, water flows more slowly and you can hear the sounds of the adventurers’ faithful companions: the birds. You will have the chance to observe the exuberant vegetation at both sides of the river as you dip your hands into the calm, crystalline water. Once this section is left behind, the adventure continues. As you move forward, you will notice the water’s temperature rises, as another sign of the contrasts of this place.

When the aquatic adventure is over and you step once again on firm ground, you can keep on exploring by foot on a trip through the exuberant vegetation that you admired from the rubber dinghy at the river, vegetation so beautiful it invites you to discover it and unveil its mystery.

Photo: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores del Ecuador

The Fernandina Island: A Unique Island in an Enchanted Place

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Fernandina (Narborough) is a million years old, and yet it is the youngest of islands. It is considered the Galapagos’s most exotic island. It measures only 642m² (0.4 square miles), it is the farthest west of the archipelago’s islands, and the only one that is not inhabited by humans. This island is home of the biggest colony of marine iguanas and flightless cormorants, and its incomparable beauty makes it one of the world’s most exclusive and unique destinations. 

In Fernandina, the rule is not to alter the ecosystem. This extreme place is definitely a monument to survival. If you watch it from above, you can see that the island is in fact the tip of a volcano partially submerged in the water, a volcano that remains active and is frequently erupting. Fernandina is a place where creatures have managed to survive in such harsh conditions and have made this land of fire their home.

One of the most amazing of these endemic creatures is the marine iguana, who has unexplainably learnt to swim in view of the lack of food in the surface. With an incredible agility, it dives to the bottom of the sea to eat the algae attached to the rocks. As a curious fact, Charles Darwin considered these animals repulsive due to their prehistoric appearance.

Another wonderful creature of the island is the flightless cormorant, the only one of its species who has lost its ability to fly. Nonetheless, this bird has managed to survive by diving to incredible depths to get its food. Having tiny wings useless for flying, the flightless cormorant has developed strong legs that allow him to easily do these dives at high speeds. The island’s conditions in the past may have caused the fish to go deeper into the water, forcing the cormorant to develop that hunting technique.

Fernandina is a highly protected place that people can only get to know in momentary visits to an area called Punta Espinoza. It is a place full of magic and ruled by wildlife. Swimming birds and iguanas are a good sign of adaptation to harsh conditions. If you get lucky, you may see other extreme creatures, like the only cactus in the world that emerges from dry lava, and you can even snorkel with the only penguin species that can survive in tropical temperatures.

Photo: lightmatter

Swim and Slide Through the Cracks of the Millenary Jumandy Caves

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It is hard to believe that inside a touristic resort with pools, sport fields and lodges you would find a naturally formed mysterious place which you can only discover if you venture inside it in the Indiana Jones style, entering an underground world full of adventure and history, swimming in lakes and sliding through cracks, in an absolute darkness.

This place can be found in Ecuador, and it is known as the Jumandy Caves. The caves are located in the province of Napo, 5km (3mi) away from the village of Archidona. They are hidden among an exuberant nature resulting almost imperceptible, something which has made them preserve their mystery the way they have done it for many years throughout history. They were once used by the indigenous chief called Jumandy (which means wise man in Quechua), who protected his tribe from the Spanish invaders by hiding inside them, where they could not be found. Besides being a protection and a refuge for our people, these caves have also been a witness of our Earth’s natural evolution.

The inside of the caves is completely dark, so using a waterproof flashlight is absolutely necessary. If you look at the cave’s ceiling, you can observe the millenary stalactite formations, which are pointy mineral cones produced by the constant dropping of water from the surface; consequently, you can also observe the stalagmites on the ground, resulting from the accumulation of the fallen minerals of the ceiling. Together, stalactites and stalagmites can form big columns of unique and impressive shapes.

The adventure intensifies when you find the underground lakes. The only way to go across them is by swimming with the flashlight held high. Further on, you also get to know some natives that represent the past societies that lived inside the caves for protection. From time to time, you slide through water currents to descend, getting muddy at some places and washed up in others, so this scientifically amazing tour is also lots of fun. The tour’s length varies depending on your choice, the shortest being 45 minutes and the longest being from 7 to 8 hours, depending on the group’s pace and the challenges found on the way. The tours are always guided by a local.

At the end of the tour, perhaps the first thing you will remark is the beautiful sky full of stars. You may decide to camp there and stay over for one night to continue this adventure full of respect for the Amazonian nature, so you come out having known it from the subsoil to the sky.

Photo: catavergara

Mandango: Find out about the Treasure that no one Dares to Search For

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The legend says that in ancient times, when the Incan Empire was destroyed, the emperor held hostage in prison told the Spanish Francisco Pizarro that he would be given a room filled with gold in exchange of his life. Without any doubts and giving into his greed, Pizzarro accepted, and the Emperor kept his words.

Pizarro, looking at the astonishing room that had more gold, silver and precious stones that he would ever imagine, was so amazed and fulfilled with greed that he decided to take over the whole empire. The emperor Atahualpa became aware of Pizarro’s plan, and gave orders to his second in charge to have the treasure translated to Vilcabamba.

The land of Vilcabamba, which means “Sacred Valley” in Quechua, is a synonym for mystery. It is a place where people do not grow old; home of stone gods in charge of protecting the sacred and destroying anyone who tries to desecrate it.

If you travel to this land located in the South of Ecuador, at the province of Loja, you will see one of these gods that inhabitants call by the name of “El Mandango” (Lying God): a great hill that looks like a giant cathedral considered a sacred place. It is said that this protecting god was chosen by Atahualpa to guard the Incan treasure for the eternity. The treasure is known to be existent, but no one has found it.  There is a legend with unknown origins that tells the exact place where it is located, but it also courses whoever dares to look for it.

Knowing this story, it is impossible not to think that maybe their proximity to the gods has made these people of the valley have the world’s longest life expectancy. They live an average of 100 years doing nothing but living their lives normally and drinking from the water that comes down from the stone gods. Looking at these people, a question arises in the mind: are all the stories about the stone gods only a legend or is it really a true story that continues to be reflected into the Vilcabamba landscape and its centenary inhabitants?

Visitors can enjoy these beautiful sacred lands with landscapes that make you fall in love and climb to the Mandango’s peak. At the end of the day, you will have found an exceptional treasure: the Incan god’s wisdom to appreciate and respect the earth in which we live.


Photo: slipszenko

A Bird Paradise that Attracts Photographers from All Over the World

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Imagine a place where all the bird species from the world are gathered together and have made it their home, becoming the world’s region where more bird species live: a place where you can literally have breakfast surrounded by hummingbirds. Every year, photographers and observers from all around the world come to discover this place in the Tandayapa Valley, located in Ecuador’s Occidental Mountain Range, only 30km (18mi) to the west of Quito, at approximately 2000m (6561ft) above the sea level.

Saying that the Tandayapa Valley is only a bird observation site would be an incomplete description of the experience of visiting this place. Think of paradise full of birds, of which a great amount is exotic and even nonexistent anywhere else in the world, that can only be seen if you go further into harsh paths, through an astonishing bright green nature, among the trees and the wind’s whispering, accompanied all along the way by the songs of thousands of birds. Perhaps now you get closer to the feeling of being in Tandayapa.

Before arriving to your destiny, at the Nono-Tandayapa route, you can observe from your car’s windows the beauty of these wonderful creatures. Due to its subtropical climate, the valley has plenty of trees, which has made it a perfect place for the birds to choose to live there. Once you arrive, the hummingbird will become your route’s partner, introducing you to numerous bird species: some of them believed to be nonexistent, some other well known through TV programs; some of them mingling among the trees, others with bright, striking colors; some of them quiet and thoughtful, and others loud and festive. It is a life and survival celebration where some of the world’s most particular birds can be seen all together.

Tandayapa is a place full of life, as many others in Ecuador. It is a piece of earth where our little friends have decided to settle; a place full of peace and tranquility where we, the guests, are invited to witness a song for nature. It is a place that makes us feel attached to nature; that reminds us the urge to meet up again with our origins and go back to the beginning. Certainly, Tandayapa is a valley to enjoy will all your senses.

Photo: Michael Woodruff