Adventure Travel to Yasuni National Park in Ecuador

Yasuni National Park in Ecuador

Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park is one of the Amazon’s last wild frontiers, boasting incredible biodiversity that includes many species of treetop orchids, prowling jaguars, hundreds of different reptiles and amphibians, and nearly 600 species of birds. Yasuni National Park is also home to several indigenous tribes, some of whom still live as their ancestries did thousands of years ago.

Travel first to Quito, Ecuador’s capital city in the Andes. Spend a day or two and enjoy the sights of Quito before traveling to the wilds of Yasuni National Park just 250 kilometers from Quito. From Quito you can drive or take a bus to either Shell, a small oil company town, or to the little town of Coca. The drive from Quito is about four to five hours. Your journey to the Amazon begins in bustling metropolis of Quito, you will be treated to the beautiful sceneries of the Ecuadorian countryside as transportation heads south, transitioning from the Andes to the Amazon (locally known as the Oriente). The excursion winds along the impressive Avenue of Volcanoes—a strip of 14 active, semi-active and dormant volcanic mountains—passing traditional haciendas, indigenous villages and protected natural areas, giving you a taste for the local culture. With luck and clear weather, you’ll be able to see the remarkably steep peaks in all their glory, including the cone-shaped Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, and Tungurahua, which has ongoing eruptions.

From either Shell or Coca you can take a small plane to Quehueri’ono, about a hours flight away. Shell, hosts the third busiest airport in Ecuador. The Huaorani community of Quehueri’ono (keh-weri-oh-noh), is your next stop. There are several lodges in the area and from Quehueri’ono, you can travel by traditional dugout canoe or boat to your lodge.

During your visit you can arrange to meet with the local Huaorani community, hike with Huaorani guides who can show you how they hunt with spears and blowguns, how they build fires without matches, and teach you other basic skills that they use to live in harmony with the jungle.

You can explore the Shiripuno river by dugout canoe or boat. You can fish for piranha and other exotic species of fish found in the river. You can enjoy watching the nearly 600 species of birds found in the Yasuni National Park. You can also hike with a local guide and view the many species of animals found in this beautiful national park. Here you can fully experience the Amazon tropical rainforest to its fullest extent.

You will enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the Amazon. As you paddle downstream you will found amazing birding, and you’ll likely catch a glimpse of the many riverside birds, possible the Greater and Lesser Kiskadees, the Yellow-rumped Cacique, and the four Amazonian kingfishers. As you continue down the river you will see thick tangles of rainforest vegetation on either side of the river.

The coffee-colored water of the river prevents you from seeing the rich aquatic life that lies within it; however, if you care to try some fishing on the river you will be surprised with the many species of exotic fish that you will catch, including the notorious Piranha.

Take a night hike to see many of the animals that are only out and about during this period. You will be surprised at just how dark nighttime is on the Amazon. Most of the rainforest animals are actually nocturnal, so this is your best opportunity to see some of these elusive creatures, or at least hear them climbing through the trees or digging for food. Tapirs, a smaller relative of the elephant are often seen at this time as they come out to feed in the safety of the night’s darkness. The night comes alive with gigantic buzzing insects, shimmery-skinned snakes and beady-eyed caimans. If you gaze into the sky you will be able to see the stars like you have never seen them before. Watch carefully and you will surely see several falling stars as they shoot across the sky.

During the day you can hike the trail to the impressive waterfall, and your guide will be sure to point out any special plants or animals you may come across along the way. Once at the waterfall, you can take a dip in its cool waters before continuing your hike viewing the many plants, birds, monkeys and other tropical rainforest wildlife found in the park. Enjoying the lush vegetation, hear the beautiful bird calls of the rainforest and see the beautiful butterflies as they fly through the jungle.

If you have a Huaorani guide they will be able to show you the secrets of rainforest survival. The local Huaorani guides are experienced hunters and have an understanding of the jungle and how to live in it. You can learn how to set traps, make fire without matches, build a shelter in minutes, use a blowgun, practice the perfect swing of the machete and catch fish in small creeks. Also learned which leaves make good baskets. Your guide may also point out and let you taste edible insects, identify and explain the uses of medicinal plants, and show you which clay is used by the Huaorani to made pottery.

You can also visit the community’s handicraft market and purchase some of the products. The beautiful handmade artifacts, including woven hammocks and bags, blowguns, traps and necklaces. The production of crafts is one of the ways the Huaorani maintain their culture, and buying crafts is way to provide direct support the Huaorani families. Ecotourism provides employment the local Huaorani and is another reason for them to protect the natural areas around the community.

A visit to the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador will be one of the most exciting and wonderful experiences of your life. You will never forget the beauty and mystery of the Yasuni National Park.

The 37th International Wildlife Film Festival

The 37th International Wildlife Film Festival will occur April 12-19, 2014 in Missoula, MT, at the newly restored Roxy Theater. This week-long film festival will feature new and exciting wildlife films, guests speakers, wildlife filming workshops and seminars, field trips, technology sessions, product demos, great parties and networking events.

A Filmmakers’ Festival, IWFF focuses on film and filmmakers, and celebrates emerging wildlife filmmakers and the future of wildlife & environmental media. New this year: our expanded programming welcomes all films about the natural world, from environmental and conservation films, to issue driven explorations of earth and it’s inhabitants.

Belize the Little Jewel of the Americas

The little jewel of the Americas, Belize offers much to the adventure traveler. Belize has excellent sport fishing; safe waters for boating; unparalleled scuba diving and snorkeling; beautiful rivers for rafting and kayaking; numerous jungle and wildlife reserves for observing the many species of animal and plant life that live in Belize; trails for trekking and hiking; Maya archaeological sites for the history buff; and the largest cave system in Central America for spelunkers. All of which support the thriving tourism of Belize. Nearly a million tourist visited this small country during 2012, contributing over a billion dollars to the Belizean economy.

Belize has become a popular adventure travel destination due to its beautiful scenery and abundance of wildlife. Belize is a country with a rich diversity of wildlife and flora. Positioned between North America (Nearctic ecozone) and South America (Neotropic ecozone), many species from the Nearctic and the Neotropic ecozones are found in Belize. In addition, Belize has a variety of climates and ecosystems that further contribute to the country’s tremendous biodiversity.

While more than 50 percent of Belize is covered by rainforests, Belize also has mangrove swaps, coastal plains, savannahs, scrublands and wetlands. Belize also contains the Maya Mountains in the south. Belize has the largest cave system in Central America. In addition, Belize has the second longest barrier reef in the world. This incredible tropical reef is over 170 miles long and offers some of the best scuba diving and snorkeling in the world. In addition, Belize has over 450 offshore Cayes (small islands) and its ocean waters support large populations of marine fish.

Belize is located on the Caribbean coast of Central America, just south of Mexico, in relatively close proximity to the United States. It is the only country in Central America where English is the official language. The entire country of Belize is less than 9,000 square miles (approximately the size of the state of New Jersey). With a population under 400,000 (by comparison, New Jersey’s population is nearly nine million), Belize has the lowest population density of any Central American country.

Belizeans take pride in their native wildlife and beautiful rainforests; and Belize has one of the most extensive systems of protected lands in the Americas. Belize has created many wildlife corridors, allowing for the free movement of wildlife between habitats. These wildlife corridors offer habitat protection necessary for sustaining wildlife populations and promote genetic diversity within these wildlife populations. Nearly 40 percent of Belize is under some form of official protected status. One example of Belize’s conservation effort is the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. A nature reserve on the eastern slopes of the Maya Mountains in south-central Belize and established in 1980s, Cockscomb was the first wildlife sanctuary, and possible the most important, for jaguar preservation in the world. Belize has 17 national parks.

Belize is home to an more than 4,000 species of flowering plants, including nearly 300 orchid species. There are more than 100 species of mammals in Belize, including ocelot, margay, jaguarundi, cougar, jaguar, Baird’s tapir, Geoffroy’s Spider Monkey, Black Howler Monkey, various bats, foxes, Tamandua, nine-banded armadillo, West Indian manatee, skunk, coyote, and kinkajou. More than 100 species of reptiles and amphibians live in Belize.

Belize is home to an impressive number of bird species. Among the bird of Belize are waterfowl and wading birds (e.g.Fulvous Whistling-Duck), song birds (e.g. Golden-cheeked Warbler) , woodpeckers (e.g. Yucatan Woodpecker), raptors (e.g. Harpy Eagle) , parrots and parakeets (e.g. Yellow-headed Amazon), game birds (e.g. Ocellated Turkey) , swifts (e.g.Vaux’s Swift), toucans (e.g. Keel-Billed Toucan – the National Bird of Belize) and nighthawks (e.g.Yucatan Nightjar) , and more, nearly 600 species in total. Belize is one of the world’s birding paradises.

Belize has a number of well-known and historically important pre-Columbian Maya archaeological sites. Those interested in Maya ruins can visit Caracol, Cerros, Lamanai, and more than 20 other archaeological sites. Belize is a must see for any amateur archaeologist.

Belize has thousands of caves, if you like spelunking. Some of the caves have easy access and others require challenging hikes and/or climbs. In most of the caves, you can find extensive stalactite and stalagmite formations. In some you can even find underground waterfalls. The Belizean caves were used extensively by the ancient Maya so in some caves you can find pottery shards, intact ancient pottery; and even human skeletons. For the adventure traveler that wants to explore caves, Belize is an outstanding travel destination.

There is excellent sport fishing year round in Belize as a result of the abundance of game fish. Belize offers fishing for bonefish, tarpon, permit, jacks, cobia, shark, snapper, snook, yellowtail, barracuda, wahoo, dorado, blackfin tuna, yellowfin tuna, king mackerel, roosterfish, sailfish, blue marlin, and grouper. Fishing Belize would be any sports fisherman’s dream come true.

Adventure Travel

We feature adventure travel ranging from trekking trips, family adventures, cycling adventures, cultural discoveries, exotic wildlife encounters, desert explorations, polar expeditions, Africa safaris, and Amazon expeditions. We also look at culinary, archaeological, photographic, festival-oriented, rail, sailing, paddling trips, just to name few.

Adventure travel, as it becomes more and more widely accepted as a specialized niche of the entire travel industry, will also broaden to include types of travel experiences that are yet undefined or do not exist at the current time. We will try to feature these new frontiers of the adventure travel industry as they develop.