Remote Amazon Rainforest Expedition to Lagarto Cocha, Ecuador
Discover Lagarto Cocha (Crocodile Lake), a hidden blackwater paradise along Ecuador’s border. Experience direct-access tours to 2 million hectares of pristine Amazon wilderness.
So the first texts are the general description followed by 5 days (not 6)
4 DAYS/3 NIGHTS
- *Prices per person with a minimum of 2
- $ 799
Payment methods
All payments must be made via bank transfer, credit card, (we use the platform WETRAVEL (2.9% fee) or deposit. All payments are required 30 days BEFORE the program begins.
Read the itinerary
Discover Lagarto Cocha: The Untamed "Crocodile Lake" of the Amazon
Far beyond the well-traveled headwaters of the Amazon lies a hidden sanctuary in the extreme eastern part of the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, where few visitors ever venture: Lagarto Cocha – the legendary “Crocodile Lake” which is officially called Lagartocoche. Tucked away in Ecuador’s far northeastern frontier along the Peruvian and Colombian borders. This wild region forms a vital part of one of the world’s largest trinational protected areas, preserving untouched Amazon rainforest in which the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve with 590,112ha in Ecuador was the first in 1979. It was followed by the gazetting of La Playa National Park with 422,000ha in Colombia in 1984. 3 reserves in Peru were declared in 2012, the Community Reserve Airo Pai with 247,628 ha, Community Reserve Huimeki with 141,234ha and Parque Nacional Güeppi Sekime, 626,000ha, totaling about 2 million hectares. These connected tri-national nature reserve all were inspired by the visionary work of Dr. Daan Vreugdenhil who proposed the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve in 1976 and proposed its extension to the border with Peru in 1983.
This is the Amazon basin exactly as it has existed for thousands of years: wild, rough, and untamed. An endless maze of winding blackwater rivers, pristine lakes, and dynamic swamps stretches in every direction, offering the ultimate off-the-beaten-path jungle adventure.
Direct Access into the Remote Amazon: Get There Fast & Efficiently
Most other expeditions to this remote corner require 2 days of exhausting canoe travel to reach the outer edges of the Amazon of Ecuador. Our itinerary however, provides fast, direct access to this remote frontier.
Your journey begins with a flight from Quito to Coca. From there, you will board a high-speed speedboat ferry traveling down the Napo River at speeds of 60+ km/h. By late afternoon, you will arrive Nueva Rocafuerte at the Peruvian border, your point of departure for your Amazon adventure. This mean less time commuting and more time spending where it matters most – vast marshes of Lagarto Cocha.
Exploring a Living Waterworld: A True Amazon Adventure
Lagarto Cocha is not a forest you walk through – it is an vast waterworld you navigate. By the way, it is the border river between Ecuador and Peru that bears the name, not a specific lake. With no traditional hiking trails or dry pathways connecting these isolated lakes and wetlands, you can only explore it by canoe.
Each day, your expert local guide and native boatman will read the shifting water levels, scout moving mats of aquatic vegetation, and chart a water corridor through the marshes. This is not a scripted, predictable tour; it is a journey of true exploration without comfortable beds and 3-star meals.
Indigenous Secoya Community
For decades, the indigenous Secoya – or Siekopai – community has lived in a small village on the Peruvian shore of the Lagartocoche River. Today, this traditional lifestyle is preserved by just seven families who still reside along the remote Peruvian banks of the Lagarto Cocha River.
As you can imagine, we are not talking about daily excursions from a comfortable lodge or hotel. You will be sleeping inside the community’s traditional wooden homes, in tents set up indoors to provide protection against mosquitos and still you will endure musquito bites. Because bringing refrigerated goods into this remote area is logistically impossible, your meals will consist of simple, partially canned food, and with some luck a freshly caught fish.
By choosing to travel with us, you are doing far more than just discovering a hidden corner of the Amazon basin. You are actively supporting the Secoya people, providing sustainable eco-tourism income that ensures the survival of their community.
Amazon Wildlife Encounters: The Ultimate Canoe Safari
In this unique ecosystem, nature writes its own rules. Directed entirely by the wind and currents, enormous floating islands of dense vegetation drift silently across blackwater lakes, constantly opening new channels and sealing others shut.
Each day of your journey is a thrilling safari by canoe, offering unparalleled Amazon wildlife viewing that rival any other destination in the Amazon basin. During your stay, you may encounter many of these incredible species:
- Pink and Grey River Dolphins: Watch these fabulous cetaceans break the surface to breath and play at river junctions;
- Amazonian Manatees: these gentle giants scout the still blackwaters in search of floating moving mats of aquatic plants which are their favorite grazing grounds;
- Giant River Otters: Observe noisy family groups hunting for fish and anything that moves, including baby caimens;
- Paiche (Arapaima): Marvel at these enormous, surface-hunting fish search for pray beneath them;
- Hoatzin Birds: Encounter these unique, leaf-eating "prehistoric" birds nesting clumsily in the bonsai-like macrolobium trees;
- Unrivaled Avian Biodiversity: Aim your binoculars at macaws, toucans, herons, egrets, hawks, and countless others of the 600+ bird species that call the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve home;
- 10 Species of Monkeys: Watch up to 10 species of monkeys swinging through the trees at higher grounds;
- 3 Species of Caiman: While the largest, the black caiman, can grow up to 4m, the smallest, the dwarf caiman never reaches more than 1.5m.
The descriptive itinerary is an example of what a typical Lagartocoche expedition may look like, but every expedition will be different as conditions continuously vary
Itinerary
Time Activity
- 11:00 Transfer from Coca airport to the main river transport pier.
- 13:00 Travel from Coca to Nuevo Rocafuerte at the Peruvian border (300 km) on a public speedboat flying over the water at 60+ km/h.
- 17:30 Arrive in Nuevo Rocafuerte and check into Hotel Chimborazo (equipped with air conditioning).
- 18:00 Enjoy a simple meal (there are no traditional restaurants in this frontier border town).
Time Activity
- 07:00 From this point on, all your water transport will be aboard a motorized 20hp canoe. You will depart from Nuevo Rocafuerte heading toward Yasuní National Park, cruising along the winding twists of the Yasuní River while spotting the morning's early wildlife.
- 08:00 Arrive at Lake Jatuncocha, a highly scenic, winding blackwater lake surrounded by hidden bays and pristine swamps. Explore this beautiful and only large lake within Yasuní National Park. During the excursion across Lake Jatuncocha, enjoy the colorful tropical birds, monkeys frolicking in the canopy, and pink river dolphins breaking surface in the water.
- 13:00 Picnic lunch on the riverbank.
- 13:30 Depart Jatuncocha toward the Yacu Warmi Cocaya community.
- 15:30 Set up camp at the Yacu Warmi Cocaya community.
- 17:00 Take a short hike to spot wildlife along the Tapir Trail.
- 18:00 Dinner.
- 19:00 Overnight in tents.
Time Activity
- 05:00 Dawn visit to the claylick to observe red and green macaws. Because the parrots only come down briefly, you must head out before breakfast.
- 07:30 Breakfast.
- 08:30 Departure for the Lagartocoche area in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, navigating for 2 hours upstream on the beautiful, untouched waters of the Aguarico River. Stop at the checkpoint of Peru’s Protected Areas Agency (SERNANP) near the river mouth. Spend the day going through a labyrinth of lakes, marshes, and creeks. Depending on the wind and currents, your guide will open pathways through floating vegetation islands to access hidden lakes. Look for dolphins, otters, and manatees, and marvel at the incredible birdlife.
- 13:00 Arrival and lunch at Lake Imuya in the Lagartocoche area. This region features numerous lakes and, depending on conditions, this lake may be exchanged for another. In this part of the area, vast expanses of water are covered by massive carpets of floating vegetation. Navigation requires searching for passageways through the plants. Please note that getting to certain locations or arrive at planned times may work out differently from what was planned.
- 15:00 Excursion on the lake to spot paiches (the world's largest freshwater predatory fish, which hunts with its back showing above the water line) and lake birds along the creeks and wetlands.
- 17:00 Time for a swim and to witness the spectacular, vibrant sunset from the water, a natural show for which Cuyabeno is world-famous.
- 19:00 Dinner.
- 20:30 Spend the night in tents pitched safely under shelter beneath the roof of a home in the community.
Time Activity
- 07:30 Breakfast.
- 08:30 Morning exploration of the area without a plan. The guide will just start exploring as you go. After all this is an exploration adventure without a standard route.
- 13:00 Lunch.
- 14:00 Afternoon: Continue the exploration.
- 17:00 Swim and enjoy the beautiful sunset views in one of the lakes after which you return to the village.
- 19:00 Dinner.
- 20:30 Spend the night in tents pitched safely under shelter beneath the roof of a home in the community.
Time Activity
- 05:00 Early morning dawn birdwatching.
- 07:00 Breakfast.
- 08:00 Departure back toward Nuevo Rocafuerte, navigating along the Aguarico River.
- 11:30 Arrive in Nuevo Rocafuerte.
- 12:00 Depart Nuevo Rocafuerte back toward Coca aboard the high-speed speedboat ferry (deslizador).
- 17:00 Arrive in Coca. Transfer to your choice of hotel in the city.
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