Travelbound

One of the more extensive and spectacular rainforest trails is the Bushmaster Trail. Botanically speaking, this area has been designated the richest place on Earth by researchers from the Missouri Botanical Garden. They have identified more than 300 species of trees in a single hectare (2.5 acres). During your walk, you will see many interesting species of plants, including many medicinal herbs, as well as leaf-cutter ants and dart-poison frogs. The electric-blue flash of the incredible morpho butterfly seems to illuminate the shade of the forest, which is intensified by the luxuriant tangle of lianas. 

As students make their way along the rainforest trail they will pass through primary forest and rolling terrain. Away from the main river, this forest is never flooded and contains wildlife not found close to the riverbanks. The rare black-necked red cotinga, giant jacamar and Cuvier's toucan are sometimes seen here. The understory swarms with butterflies typical of undisturbed forest, such as satyrs and morphos. Colourful poison-dart frogs hide in the leaf-litter of the forest floor, and the air vibrates with the sound of the jungle's teeming wildlife. Suddenly, the dense trees give way to a boardwalk that leads to the research facility, which lies along the Quebrada Grande and the boundary of the Amazon Biosphere Reserve.

A short walk through the giant trees brings you to the initial stage of your climb. Wooden steps take you from the forest floor to the beginning of the multilevel system of aerial pathways and platforms that are securely suspended by ropes and cables. As students ascend the walkway, to a height of over ten stories, they will eventually emerge above the top of the seemingly endless canopy and experience a sight few people have ever witnessed. Here is an unexplored world where over 2,000 plants cling to the branches of a single tree. In the forest canopy it is estimated that 20 million insect species may exist, 80 percent as yet unknown to science!

A day excursion designed for the students to learn more about the local "Ribereño" and "Yagua" people. You will travel on the Amazon by boat to the Ribereño village and pass Yanamono Island where you can see freshwater dolphins, the pink dolphin as well as the grey dolphin.  Eventually you will reach one of the nearby villages where you will be met on the river bank by the local school children.  There will then be an opportunity to talk with the teachers and students and learn more about how the school is supplied and how the children are taught. Later that day you will visit the ACTS research facility, which serves as a base for scientific study and a place where interested visitors may learn about rainforests.

Your group will explore one of the most unusual habitats in the Amazon Basin, a black water lake. Here the still, mirror-like waters are often crowned with giant Victoria regia water lilies, the leaves of which can exceed seven feet in diameter and support the weight of a small child. Your students will be able to search the vegetation surrounding the lake for, among other things, primitive-looking birds called hoatzins that build their nests there.

On the way back from the lake we stop at the Orejone Village which will give students a chance to see a community that has little contact with the outside world. This will provide a great opportunity to compare this village with others who have taken a more opportunistic approach to tourism. There are various levels of agriculture practiced and some even have ethno botanical gardens of their own. Bananas and manioc are staples as well as fish.  There should just be time to fish for piranhas before heading back to camp where the cooks will grill our catch for dinner.

On the banks of the Napo River your group will spend a morning visiting the Re Nu Pe Ru Ethno botanical Gardens where they will meet a shaman and his family. There will be a chance to get your hands dirty and help the family tend the garden while learning about the plants and their uses in Indian medicine.