The rainforest does not go quiet after dark. It changes shift. The birds that filled the afternoon hand over to frogs, insects and the animals that spend the daylight hidden. So the simplest way to meet them is from a canoe, with a torch beam on the bank. Every one of our Cuyabeno programmes includes at least one night canoe expedition from Cuyabeno Dolphin Lodge. That is the lodge we own inside the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve. Here is what the outing involves, which evening it falls on in each itinerary, and what to pack.
What a night canoe expedition involves
It runs after dinner, so the whole thing happens in the dark. You put on a life jacket; the lodge lends life jackets, rubber boots and a rain poncho for every excursion. Then you head out with your bilingual naturalist guide, in English or Spanish. There is nothing to keep up with. You sit still, and the guide works the bank with the torch beam. Meanwhile, the canoe moves at the pace of whatever he finds.
The torch does the work. Caiman eyes throw the light straight back, as two small points at the level of the water. Because of that, a guide who grew up here finds an animal you would never have picked out yourself. The rest of the trip is sound: frogs in layers, insects, something shifting in the branches. On a night without moon, switch every torch off for a minute. Then you get the other half of the reserve, which is the sky.
Which evening you go out, tour by tour
The night canoe is not a daily fixture. It falls on specific evenings, and how often you go out is one of the real differences between the four programmes:
- Cuyabeno 3-Day Rainforest Escape: one night canoe expedition, after dinner on day 2, in search of caimans and boas.
- Cuyabeno 4-Day Jungle and Community Tour: one, after dinner on day 3. That is the same evening you come back from the Siona community of Tarabeaya.
- Cuyabeno 5-Day Amazon Expedition: two, after dinner on day 3 and again on day 4.
- Cuyabeno 6-Day Paddling Expedition: two, after dinner on day 4 and again on day 5.
If the night canoe is what you came for, the 5-day and the 6-day give you two attempts. Wildlife does not perform on demand, and a second night on the water is the best insurance there is.
The night walk is a different outing
Do not confuse the two. All four itineraries open with a night walk after dinner, on the evening you reach the lodge. It goes on foot, on land, looking for the creatures that only come out after dark. The night canoe comes later, and works from the water. Same darkness, a different cast. On the 3-day tour you get one of each; on the 6-day, the walk and two canoe nights.
What you can expect to see
Caimans are the headline. They are the animal your guide goes out looking for by name on every one of these nights. Beyond that, the reserve decides. Boas rest on branches above the water, and the 3-day itinerary names them alongside the caimans. Night birds call out of the forest. Also, frogs are everywhere once you learn to look where the sound comes from.
What we will not do is promise you a list. Sightings depend on the water level, the season and plain luck. We give the same answer about the pink dolphins. They live in these waters, and looking for them is part of the days here. But no honest operator guarantees a wild animal. The one guarantee is the guide.
What to bring for a night on the water
Almost everything you need is on the packing list we send you. For the night outings in particular:
- A torch with spare batteries: your own, not a borrowed one. The spare batteries are what people underestimate.
- Long sleeves and long trousers: comfortable trousers rather than jeans, which take days to dry out here.
- Mosquito repellent: put it on before you leave the dinner table, not once you are on the water.
- A warm jacket or sweater: sitting still on a river after dark is cooler than the daytime jungle ever suggests.
- Dry bags and a small waterproof backpack: for the camera, the documents and anything else that dislikes rain.
The lodge lends rubber boots in EU sizes 34 to 45, plus a rain poncho and a life jacket. All four tours include them, so leave those at home. If your boot size falls outside that range, bring your own.
How you get to the lodge
All four Cuyabeno tours start at the same place and time: Puente Cuyabeno, the Cuyabeno River bridge, at 11:00 a.m. You reach it on the overnight bus from Quito, or by flying in the day before. On the 3-day, 4-day and 5-day, a motorised canoe then carries you down the Cuyabeno River to the lodge. Lunch comes on arrival. The 6-day is different, because the motor canoe only reaches Paso del Tigre. A traditional paddle canoe takes over for roughly six hours of near-silent paddling, with a box lunch on the route. After that, you reach the lodge at sunset.
Rooms are double or triple, with mosquito nets and a private bathroom. Also, every tour includes all meals, purified water, coffee and tea. Departure days differ by programme. The 3-day runs on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and the 4-day on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. Meanwhile, the 5-day goes on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays, and the 6-day every day, confirmed from two passengers. The difficulty rating: easy for the 3-day and 4-day, moderate for the 5-day and 6-day. The lodge has no Wi-Fi, by design. However, the 3-day, 4-day and 5-day itineraries list an optional internet plan, sold per device, if you must stay online.
Ready to go out after dark?
We own Cuyabeno Dolphin Lodge and run these tours ourselves. So the canoe, the guide, the kitchen and the room belong to the same team, with no agency in between. We quote Cuyabeno rates on request rather than publishing them, so tell us your dates. Start with the 4-day Cuyabeno tour, our best seller. Then compare the 5-day Cuyabeno expedition and its two night canoe outings. After that, browse the rest of our tours, or send us a WhatsApp at +593 98 094 2338. We will tell you straight which itinerary fits your week.
