Photography Tour

Tour starts with morning pick-up in Coca, either from the airport or a hotel if you arrived the day before. Then, we will drive for about an hour and a half to the Tiputini Riverport. Here is where one can start to appreciate the spectacular beauty of the rainforest.

We will board a large covered motorized canoe for a 70-minute journey. We will see the beautiful surroundings we will be shooting; animal and landscape photography from the canoe from the port until arrival at the lodge.

Along the way, we will pass a few houses from the kichwa and Huaorani communities. We will see the Spectacled Owl, the Anhinga, and some Blue Morpho butterflies if we are lucky while zig-zagging along the river.

All this area is primary and secondary forest. After we arrive at the camp, we will have lunch. Then, we will have a short canoe ride for sighting and animal photography; the scenery itself may be our biggest photo asset.

Just before sunset is a great time to see animal activity. At candlelight, we will enjoy our dinner. A night walk will follow (optional), 1-3 hours taking pictures of night animals on one of the various trails near the camp.

Each day’s activities will be planned the night before, based on weather conditions, animal activity, sightings, and current hotspots known by the local guides. This area has different environments: terra firme and igapo forest, black water lagoons, and white water rivers.

Parrot clay-lick.

• Birds are usually more active early in the morning; we will leave the camp around 5 am to visit this site. A short canoe ride on the Rumiyacu river and a walk will lead us to the clay lick. There are various types of parrots, like the Orange-cheeked Parrot. We will return slowly, photographing the fauna we can find like toucans, trogons, or amazing insects. We will pack some fruits and drinks to eat along the way.

El Moretal.

• This site is just crossing a small river from the camp. Morete is a type of palm tree, and local refers to Moretal to a lowland flooded forest composed by this palm. This hike is near or in swamp areas. This ecosystem is a perfect area to photograph amphibians at night as well as some rare species of birds during the day, like the Long-tailed potoo.

Tiputini river.

• This river flows west to east and passes all the Yasuni National Park, and in some areas, it is the natural limit between the Kichwa and Huaorani communities. This river carries a lot of nutrients in its water. We will leave early in the morning for a canoe ride; we will turn the motor off and go with the flow.

• Photography is mainly done from the canoe with a couple of stops at river beaches. This is an excellent opportunity to see swallows, kiskadees, kingfishers, woodpeckers, potoos, and others. If we are lucky, we might see river dolphins. We will return to the camp for breakfast.

Blackwater lagoon.

• There are a few of these in this area. We can find hoatzins, herons, pigeons, tanagers, swallows, and others. And with some luck, the giant otter. This is a mixed activity, hiking and canoeing.

Casa de la Abuela.

• We will visit the «grandmother»; this is an excellent opportunity to photograph the daily life of a kichwa family, their customs, and activities. Many birds can be observed and photographed from here as oropendolas, tanagers, trogons, and a tin of different invertebrates as insects in the area. Possibility of going out for a walk from the grandma’s house to the camp doing some photography, on the way we will be able to see more wildlife.

Trails by the camp.

• One trail (Peccary trail) starts just back of the restaurant, and another two trails are crossing the Tiputini River and the Yutzuyacu River from the camp. Most are loop trails with three options of length. Most of the time it is not necessary to walk long distances to get good photographs. Lots of birds and insects as grasshoppers, katydids, spiders, and some frogs are close.