You will be collected from Quito airport, or anywhere else you need within the city. You will then be transferred to a lovely boutique hotel in a premium part of the city where the group will meet, take a gourmet three course dinner and receive an introduction about the journey ahead from trip host, Ralph Pannell. Ralph is a director of Aqua-Firma and worked 5 years at partner charity, Rainforest Concern.

We will have some time this morning for exploring, before setting off to the airport for our flight to the Amazon.

As we fly from Ecuador's Andean capital, watch out of the windows for volcanic peaks. On days when cloud does not obscure, we might be able to see the snow-capped peaks of Antisana, Cayambe and Cotopaxi - Ecuador's highest active volcano.

We will fly over the edge of the Andes, over Andean foothills and eventually see the Rio Napo beneath you as you come into Coca. At Coca, you will pick up your baggage and we will then take you to the river where we will transfer to a covered long motor canoe.

From Coca, we will follow the flow of the river about 2 ½ - 3 hours downstream. The forest steadily improves and we will eventually step off the canoe and onto the banks of the Rio Napo. We will walk for about 10 minutes through swamp forest, before transferring into a paddle-powered canoe which will take us down a stream which opens out onto a large oxbow lake. We will take it slow, watching for herons, caiman and monkeys as we go.

You will be able to you settle into your en suite cabana, possibly to the tune of Red Howler Monkeys, before we set out on a night walk after dinner. Night walks are a great way for us to see some of the smaller life in the forest, as well potentially Night Monkeys which exist in this part of the Amazon.

We will have an early breakfast today before taking a slow paddle across oxbow lakes, through swamp forest and along narrow tributaries in search of wildlife and birdlife. Dusky Titis, White-fronted Capuchins and Squirrel Monkeys are the primates we are most likely to spot, before we trek to a a canopy tower, built around a giant Kapok tree. The buttress roots of this tree are simply enormous.

We will spend at least an hour in the canopy, enjoying commanding views over canopy and swamp forest. We will be equipped with a scope to spot birds and wildlife for you, both near and far.

From this canopy tower, we will take you to a bird hide within the forest; and then on a forest trail seeking wildlife and birds, whilst learning a few things about local plants and their traditional uses.

After lunch, we will head out in canoes through flooded forest and narrow tributaries in search of wildlife, birdlife, reptiles and amphibians such as Spectacled Caiman or Amazon Dwarf-Iguana.

As darkness falls, we will make a lakeside paddle by canoe. Canoeing at night is incredibly atmospheric and provides easy opportunities to spot caiman, whose eyes light up with the reflection of your torch light.

Another early breakfast, so that we can go in search of wildlife and birdlife again on an oxbow lake and narrow river. We will then take to a motor canoe and head to a salt lick where hundreds of parrots and parakeets come to top up on salt and minerals.

We will then head into the Yasuni National Park in search of wildlife.

We will take lunch at a Kichwa village where we will be able to show you some of the crops local people grow and natural materials they use to make the things they need. This will also provide us with an opportunity to discuss how life in the Amazon is evolving. Blow darting is a bit of a sport here, so if you would like the opportunity to dart a papaya or two, that can be arranged! Trip leader, Ralph Pannell, will certainly be aiming to hone his skills.

Further search for wildlife and birdlife in the late afternoon before dinner.

Today you will head back to Quito, first by paddle canoe … then on foot … then motor canoe … and eventually by plane, arriving in the afternoon.

From the airport, we will head west towards the Pacific Ocean. As we descend, the scenery becomes dramatic, which Andean mountainsides plunging steeply into deep valleys below. Forest cover is complete in some places as we drive into the Choco-Andean Rainforest Corridor.

When we set off, the climate will be cool and distinctly high Andean; but as we reach our lowest altitude on the journey, it will feel comfortably warm and humid. At a small town, we will leave tarmac and make our way along a river valley which ends where the rainforest corridor beings. We will be at about 1,200 metres, at the edge of a rainforest reserve run by a local foundation, whose initial funding was assisted greatly by Rainforest Concern.

At a river, we will transfer your baggage to mules, whilst we take our time to walk up a trail and into a community-owned reserve which was one of the prime beneficiaries of Rainforest Concern work in the late nineties. The views become ever more impressive as we approach 1,800m, whilst the forest changes very noticeably in sound and what grows around is.

At the top of our walk, we can settle into our very comfortable community-owned cabanas, before having dinner.

Very early morning, we will trek to a 'lek' where we will try to watch bright orange / red male Cock of the Rock birds perform to females. We can enjoy lots more birdlife, scenery and potentially mammals, this morning and throughout the rest of the day.

Depending upon cloud cover (which changes quickly through the day), you may be able to enjoy far reaching views of the Choco-Andean Rainforest Corridor. Ralph will take you to a reforestation sites and explain the status of different parts of Corridor. 

We will have time to explore the cloud forest further this morning, before walking down from our idyllic viewpoint to meet our vehicle for the drive back to Quito.