Help Preserve the Amazon At A Biological Research Station

  Ecuador

• All Other Regions of Ecuador: 
Tena

Dates: Open all year round

Description: Don't wonder what the Amazon Jungle is like, experience it! Come to the Amazon and learn about what exists in this wild domain. But don't just marvel in it's diversity help preserve it for future generations. Be part of the solution!

The Napo Biological Station is located at a thin stretch of the Tropical Wet Forest connecting the Andes Mountain Range and the Amazon River Basin labeled as one of the most biological diverse areas, and an Alpha Biodiversity Hot Spot.

The work involves: compost maintenance, botanical gardens maintenance, seed collection, soil preparation, tree nursery maintenance, vegetable gardening, trails maintenance and construction, reforestation projects, agro forestry data collection and more.

Highlights:
Day 1: Your plane arrives in Quito (Ecuador's capital city). You will be met by one of our staff members and are transferred to your hostel. At the hostel, we will have a brief orientation followed by a question and answer session, so you will be ready for next day.

Day 2: Breakfast, followed by travel to the Napo Biological Station. During the trip we'll stop in páramo to appreciate its ecological characteristics. We'll also stop at Papallacta's hot springs. Lunch in Baeza. In Tena, we'll visit a local pottery workshop where we'll learn traditional techniques. An hour later we'll arrive at the Station, a 2,500-hectare reserve for research and education in the rainforest. It is Tropical Wet Forest connecting the Andes Mountains and the Amazon River Basin, and one of the most biologically diverse areas on Earth. The station is on the south bank of the Upper Napo River at an altitude of 450 meters. Average temperature is 25ºC, rainfall close to 5,000mm per year, with an average of 200 rainy days. Lowest rainfall is during November through January and the highest occurs between April and July. After settling in to our cabins, we'll receive an orientation to the station. Later, we'll visit the Center for Conservation of Amazonian Plants, a botanical garden and center for experimental silviculture and agro forestry extension. After dinner there will be discussion of the origins and significance of biodiversity.

Day 3: Morning Work at Station: & CCPA focusing on compost maintenance, botanical garden maintenance, seed collection and soil preparation and more. Afternoon Activity: guided hike on the trails within the station. Studies in the Station have demonstrated that there are at least 280 different species of trees in one hectare, and close to 1,500 species of plants in the same area. Out of more than 1,000 species of trees catalogued by Neill & Palacios in the Ecuadorian Amazon Basin, 17 new species were found within the reserve. Besides these, the Reserve has yielded many new species to science, for example in 1997, Michael Schwerdtfeger described a new species of Passiflora, naming it P. Jatunsachensis; Gregory O. Vigle lists more than 112 species of reptiles and amphibians. So far various people have collected 222 species of orchids. Brief night hike to see nocturnal rainforest species.

Day 4: Breakfast. Early morning visit to nearby oxbow lake to see hoatzins, then travel via motorized canoe from Ahuano Point. First stop: Quichua museum. The Quichuas are an indigenous group that lives in this region. Next stop: the Amazoonico Animal Rescue Center, a rehabilitation center for species that were removed from their natural habitat for diverse reasons. The objective of the center is to release the animals in the wild once more after their recovery. Lunch in Ahuano. Return to the Station in local bus. Evening discussion of local cultures and the impacts of modernization.

Day 5: Morning Work at Station: trail maintenance, maintenance and improvement of station facilities, or as needed. Lunch and in the afternoon take a swim in the Napo River. The Napo is a major tributary to the Amazon River that rises in Ecuador on the flanks of the volcanoes of Antisana, Sincholagua and Cotopaxi. Before it reaches the plains it receives a great number of small streams from impenetrable, saturated and rugged mountain areas where the dense and varied vegetation seems to fight for every piece of ground. Downstream it is joined from the north by the Coca River, which originates in the gorges of the Cayambe volcano on the equator, and also the powerful Aguarico River, whose headwaters lie between Cayambe and the Colombian frontier. Evening discussion of the impacts of rivers on biodiversity and conservation.

Day 6: Morning Work at Station on the work left from the day before. Lunch. Afternoon Activity: Insect diversity observation and discussion about the tropical rainforest diversity.

Day 7: Whitewater rafting day-tour. In Ecuador the massive Andean range gives birth to scores of rivers east and west that carve their way through spectacular gorges, canyons, valleys and jungles leaving behind hundreds of miles of breathtaking world-class whitewater. Ecuador has one of the highest concentrations of rivers per square mile in the world. Add to this (relatively) warm tropical waters, year-round flows, excellent accessibility, and an opportunity to paddle in the Amazon jungle and you have perhaps the world's best whitewater playground.

Day 8: Breakfast. Departure for Quito, with an early lunch in Baeza. Check in the hostel. Dinner at the Old town in Quito and night tour. Quito's greatest treasures are its temples and convents, real samples of the mixture of Spanish and Indian culture. Some examples of the things you will see are:

Basilica. It is considered one of the most important pieces of the New-gothic architecture in Ecuador. It is located in the downtown, in the streets Carchi and Venezuela, next to the Convent of the Oblate's order. It was built to recall the consecration of the Ecuadorian state to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, during the presidency of Gabriel Garcia Moreno in 1873. It has 115 meters of height and it is conformed by 24 internal chapels that represent the provinces of the country. This sanctuary was inaugurated and blessed by the Pope Juan Pablo II in its visit to Ecuador the 18 of January of 1985.

La Compañía Church. It is located between the streets García Moreno and Antonio Jose de Sucre. The construction of this church began in 1605, and it took 160 years. The work was made by natives who carefully shaped the baroque style in one of the most complete examples of the art in America. The church was closed for 40 years in 1767 because of the expulsion of the Jesuits of the country. Its design was inspired in the Gesu's Church, of Rome, and their columns are a copy of the ones created by Bernini in the Vatican. In its interior, we found beautiful altarpieces, and pulpits covered with gold. Its facade is a real jewel, with symbols and figures in its entire frontal wall. You will be enchanted to discover "La Compania´s" mystery.
San Francisco Church & Convent(San Francisco is the greatest architectonic jewel of all the cities of Latin America. It is located in the intersection of the Benalcazar, Bolívar, Sucre and Cuenca streets right in Quito's downtown. The construction of this church is marked with a frightening legend, if it you want to discover it, visit the following link: The Vestibule of San Francisco. Its construction began in 1536, in lands bordering the place where the native Indians used to barter their products. The work was in charge of the Franciscan Priest Jodoco Rique. The church's construction was finished in 1580; it is the harmonious result of several artistic influences as the baroque. The Franciscan Order was the first to settle in Quito. Some of the major attractions of San Francisco are: its main altar, the lateral chapels and the pulpit, they are outstanding beauties. In the main altar there is the image of the Virgin of Quito, carved by Bernardo de Legarda, main emblem of the Quito's art in la Escuela Quiteña. At around 6pm you will return to your home stay and have dinner at home.

Day 9: The bus will pick you up from the hostel. Depart to Middle of the world. A monument in the Middle of the planet, a sign that announces the latitude 0°. A yellow line that separates two hemispheres: the north and the south; then you just need to take a step to enter in one leaving the other one, in an unique experience that can only happen in the middle of the World, picturesque "city" of colonial reminiscences, located in the outskirts of Quito, capital of Ecuador. We will observe this monument very close and visit the Intiñan Museum, called "The Real Middle of the World" as in this place, you can observe various experiments that show you're in the Middle of the World! Eat lunch at a local restaurant and visit the Artesanal market for last minute shopping. Farewell dinner.

Day 10: Transfer to airport and departure.
Itineraries can be customized upon request to fit the needs of the group.

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Ecuador in Groups

Typically Participants Work in Groups of Individual Groups

Post-Program Services Include:

• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Alumni Network
• Job and Internship Network

LEAD Adventures Ecuador's Mission Statement: Since its creation in 2004 LEAD Adventures has been extremely successful launching programs in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands and establishing mutually beneficial partnerships abroad. Up to date we have efficiently managed over 2,000 inbound participants individually and in-group programs. Our programs are targeted to young minded people from all over the world that want to experience the great destinations Ecuador and South America have to offer.

Year Founded: 2004