The Amazon Rainforest, the world’s largest tropical rainforest, is home to over 3 million species and covers much of Brazil and Peru, as well as Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and Ecuador. During this experience, travelers will have the unique opportunity to live with the Quechua people, the Indigenous people of South America who speak the Quechua language, and learn more about both the rainforest and the people themselves. Beginning their journey in Quito, Ecuador, travelers will go by bus and truck into the Amazon Rainforest where they will spend the next four nights with a local Quechua family in the small town of Tena. In the town, travelers will be able to learn about medicinal plants as they explore the rainforest, go on a canoe ride to the amaZOOnico Animal Rescue Center, experience a shamanic healing ceremony and participate in a blowgun contest. Other activities include a natural mud face mask treatment and a cacao culinary experience and tasting. At the village, travelers will get to know the Quechua people on a personal level, sharing meals with them and learning about the secrets of the rainforest with local community members as their guides.
This is a seven day trip and costs $712. This trip is led by G Adventures, a sustainable, small-group tour company that has been leading travelers for 35+ years. They have been pioneers in community tourism, and their trips directly benefit the local communities they visit. They have a responsible travel effort called G For Good and partner with the nonprofit Planeterra, dedicated to ensuring communities touched by tourism benefit from it. They were rated one of CATALYST PLANET’s 8 Best Sustainable Travel Companies.