It's hard to know what to add about the Napo Wildlife Center that hasn't already been said. The cabinas are private, clean, well-stocked, with great beds (and even hot water in the shower!), and I don't know how you can beat relaxing in the hammock on the porch in the afternoon after an early start and a long, rewarding hike. Our guides, Delfin and Mariano, were terrific -- very knowledgeable and enthusiastic and a delight to get to know throughout the days and evenings. The transportation arrangements were all smooth, the food is good and plentiful. We saw six different species of monkeys, many frogs and birds, several caimans, and numerous scarlet macaws and parrots (especially at the clay lick). Bring all the items on the suggested packing list, especially the mosquito repellent and binoculars, but be sure to pack dark/earth tones instead of bright colors. Also you will need your jacket primarily for the boat ride from Coca to the welcome center so make sure you have it handy and do not put it in your suitcase that rides separately. You need to have adequate cash with you for the staff tips. We were there at Christmas and they had a lovely celebration on Christmas Eve with the staff all joining in, and it made the holiday a really special and memorable one. Truly outstanding and highly recommended!

Similar to the other reviewers, our family and friends (total of 6, including two teenagers) had an incredible experience. The travel arrangements were excellent (although we had some delay in connecting with the Napo agent at the airport but called her on her cell phone), transfers well planned, accommodations (lodges) incredible, daily tours perfect, food diverse and plentyful (buffet), staff excellent. All was perfect.... Tips: Remember to bring cash to tip your guides (and if you want to purchase local-made Kichwa goods in the community); use the rain ponchos provided; bring backpack for day essentials; they provide water bottle so no need to bring one; bring wash cloths if you use since none provided; if possible, bring binoculars; do not BRING WHITE OR BRIGHT clothing (although the webpage does not indicate this, your clothes should be earth tones, if possible) Great experience and one we will always remember. GO!

The morning I was heading downstream on the Napo River it was swollen and extraordinarily foamy due to heavy rain in the Andes. The river is wide and fast flowing, but the driver time and time again hit debris and hat to stop the 200 horsepower outboards to check for damage and take out stuff that had clogged the propellars.

If that wasn't enough, huge underwater sandbanks were everywhere, and the only sign they were there was huge fallen trees that did not move like the rest of the debris. So the idea of getting to Napo Wildlife Center in an blink of an eye due to 2x200 hp outboards was quickly dropped.

After a couple of hours the boat seems to head straight to shore, but only a few metres away I notice what seems like creek and black water mixing with the muddy Napo. This is the entrance to the domain of the Anangu Quichua people who changed so dramatically from ancient traditions to modern eco tourism. From now on the only power was manpower! We were paddled for 1.2 hrs up the small river to the center! The only means of transportation to and from the center is the canoe! And donæt think the river will be flowing the same direction! If it hasn't rained locally, the river will flow towards the Napo river! If the Napo River is swollen like, it's power will inundate the lsmall river, and force itself upstream and thus - change the direction of the flow! I experienced this many times during my 3 night stay, and pondered how they cope with this da in and out. But thy are of the forest, and the flow of the forest is the flow of the lives of the Anangu Quichua people.

The first thing that hit me when I arrived at the pier was that the cabanas were so much larger than what I got through the photos of the place. Inside they were spacious and very modern, and yet again I pondered - how did they manage to transport all the material just by canoes? They did and still do as they continue to expand. Several times I watched canoes so laden with stuff that they were floating only a few centimetres above the water - filled with building materials, food and what not.

Being a single traveler and a photographer I was assigned an Anangu Quichua guide, as I was not interested in missing any opportunities. He did of course only speak Spanish. I had many a canoe trip with him, as they all know their territory inside out, and also the English names of almost all that is inside the park. Thus the language barrier was somewhat frustrating during meals, as we could only suggest and point or ask for translation for the most mundane of things, but out in the field it was nothing less than an existentional dance of life!

The food was exceptionally good, and as said before I had to wonder how they managed the logistics! Strawberries and apples in the Amazon? Well - the Andes is not far away, but what a difficult journey!

The operations and everything about this place radiates professionalism on the highest level, I was immensely impressed! It stands as a beacon for all others to follow.

As for the wildlife...... I don't know where to begin! It's so rich in species that it's hard to comprehend that so much life can be supported.

Just as an example: during a night canoe trip, I noticed the incredible amount of bioluminescence. Most know of the fireflies, beetles and glow worms, but the amount of each species was simply staggering. In Norway I was happy one summer to count more than 20 individuals in an area perhaps 400 metres square. On the floating vegetation on the edge of the lagoon and the streams flowing into and out from it, I'm certain there was more than 1000 in the same sized area! On one leaf there could easaily be 10 worms! I so much wanted to photograph it, but being in the middle of the Caiman domain - the water - I dropped the idead.

Another example is that fish just jumped into the boat - time and time again, as the canoe perhaps resembled a big Caiman, and thus they jumped out of the water to escape and ended in the canoe instead. In fact the sheer amount of fish and fish species support a rather large population of Caiman. Some are really huge (4 metres), and at night you can hear some really powerful splashing sounds from them, as well as seeing them if you use a flashlight.

There are also quite a few anacondas, and I watched one small one (2.5 metres) kill and consume a turtle (!). Despite this - I really enjoyed to swim in the lagoon :-)

I cannot go on as nobody would want to read it all, but this topped Costa Rica's Casa Corcovado for me, and I never thought that possible!

The final "gift" was a completely clear sky the last night, with a full moon and light so bright that the frogs were hestitant to vocalize in their normal volume, and everything cast a silvery shadow.

My photos from the Ecuador and Napo Wildlife Center trips: http://www.ross.no/communicate
Napo Wildlife Center webpage: http://www.napowildlifecenter.com

It's hard to know where to start with this place! We had between here and the Sacha Lodge and we're so glad we chose the Napo Wildlife Centre. I've never bothered to write a review before, but I felt that I had to for here!

The cabins were fantastic-clean and beautiful. The food was amazing too, there was plenty of it and the quality was great considering it comes in once a week by 2h paddle canoe ride!!!

For me, the thing that sets the Napo Wildlife Centre apart from other lodges is the guides. You get a naturalist guide (we had Lena) who can speak your language and has a wealth of knowledge on the wildlife and has eagle eyes. You also get a 'community guide' (ours was Mariano), who comes from the local Anangu community, so they have grown up in the area and has the most amazing knowledge of all of the flora and fauna as well as being incredible spotters. Mariano would spot stuff that it took us ages to see even when we knew it was there! I think we were probably very lucky to have Mariano and Lena, but I also suspect everyone thinks that regardless of who the guides were!

The other thing that amazed me was that they were always so excited to see things. I'm sure they must have seen a million squirrel monkeys and hummingbirds, but it didn't seem to matter what it was they were always excited to see it. We realised the following week (when our guide in the galapagos said things like, 'oh yea, that's just an iguana') that this can make a big difference!

We saw something new every 10mins including monkeys, bats, caimen, frogs and toads, a 3-toed sloth, snakes, a whole host of amazing birds and we even saw the elusive tapir!

Ok, so there were down-sides, it was hot and humid, there were mosquitos and really early mornings but all of that was totally worth it!

This is a really special place and now taken a special place in our hearts. It even made the Galapagos islands (where we went the following week) seem positively dull!!!

We were on our honeymoon and I can't imagine anywhere better in the world!