Yachana Lodge

Established in 1992 under a Ministry of Education contract funded by UNICEF, Yachana Foundation began by building schools and training teachers in 27 communities along the upper Napo River. A medical clinic followed in 1997, reachable only by canoe and, for a time, the sole health facility serving over 8,000 people. Yachana Lodge came about in 1995 as a way to fund this work directly, its profits channelled back into education, health, and land conservation. The foundation now holds 1,000 hectares of rainforest under permanent protection, with an ecological corridor planned to link the reserve to a national park at higher elevation. It is a lot of ground to answer for. Guests reach the lodge by road from Quito, a five-and-a-half-hour drive crossing the Papallacta Pass before dropping into the Oriente, or by a shorter transfer from Coca. Ten rooms sleep up to four each, with private bathrooms, filtered water, and a wraparound porch facing the jungle. Guides lead birdwatching, night hikes, and canoe trips along the Napo River, and a share of every stay's cost still goes to the foundation's education and conservation programmes. You can hear the forest close in after dark, right up to the porch rail.