Our mission is to make the jungle more accessible for more people. If we would find a way to make our prices more accommodating, we would. One of the reasons why the Cuyabeno lakes were still natural when they were selected for their conservation was their isolation from the outside world. It takes a flight, about 130 km  travelling over land and about 60 km over water to get to the lodge. 

As a result, the costs of the logistics for getting to the very best location of the entire country are just extremely high, far more costly than for most of the other lodges in the country.

Furthermore our lodge has been built within the reserve, and as we have been very ecologically aware, none of the wood has come from ecologically sensitive areas. Every piece of building material came from a great distance from the reserve and had to be trucked  in to the border of the reserve and transported by canoe to the building site. Particularly the last part was a logistical nightmare and involved the skilled operations of our Siona friends. All construction was done with maximum involvement of the Sionas. Our skilled master carpenter and other skilled workers trained them in carpentry and construction as we built. That way our construction cost twice as much, but we assured that our lodge generated maximum economic benefits for the Sionas.

How difficult is it to move about?

Occasionally we get requests from visitors in a wheelchair. The Cuyabeno Lodge is not accessible for fully walking disabled visitors. The Lodge is located on a small insular hill and under those isolated conditions, it is impossible for us to make it accessible for wheelchairs . 

Having said that, we have made a great effort to make the lodge accessible for most visitors by building a network of stairs and trails between all the buildings.  As the Cuyabeno lakes are located in an extremely flat region (the site of our lodge is the only exception, which prevents it from ever being flooded), none of the trails involve strenuous climbing. 

We can arrange all our excursions from the motorized canoes only, for those who prefer so, thus limiting walking to no more than less than 100 meters per day for visitors with limited walking abilities.

Our guides are trained to be helpful whenever a visitor has some walking difficulties and on a few occasions we have sent a nurse along on request of a visitor.

Our Cabins have been designed to provide functional comfort and working space to our guests, providing comfortable wide beds, mosquito netting, showers with hot water and a small desk to work out notes after an excursion. 

How bad are the bugs?

In general, the Cuyabeno Lakes are much better off than some of the areas more towards the East. (For instance, near the border with Peru, a lake is  called Zancudo Cocha, which means Mosquito Lake).

Over the many years of our work in the reserve, we have found that every night is different. Of course the jungle is home to a fabulous variety of the most wonderful insects, big and small: colorful moths, odd shaped beetles, dragonflies, etc. etc. Some nights our lights attract great numbers of very different insects, while other nights insects abound, but most of them only belonging to one or a few species. 

One night in 1975, when our partner Daan Vreugdenhil was inventorying the wealth of the reserve, thousands of moths, some of them up to 10 cm body length and dozens of different species were swarming the black lights, as well as many species of giant beetles and probably millions of small insects. Never again during his 35 years as a conservation scientist has he ever seen such an abundance of insects, size wise, in species numbers and in sheer numbers of individual! That night, there were hardly any mosquitoes however. 

During our night excursions, we go looking for nocturnal insects on the ground. Cuyabeno has some really strange looking critters that you only can see at night with flashlights.

There are also good many nights however, when only few insects fly around.  So, at night, usually insects are part of the divergence as their movements, shapes colors and noises draw the attention, but rarely do our visitors withdraw to their quarters for avoiding the bugs.  

Mosquitoes are always present, but strangely enough rarely in big numbers. Now, that does not mean they are harmless. They do carry malaria and you should consult your medical provider about the best prophylactics for you, and you are also advised to take  insect repellent. 

We on our part provide all beds with mosquito netting. So we do have insects and mosquitoes, but as the lodge area is elevated, mosquitoes are not a serious nuisance and the other insects are beautiful and exiting!. All the beds have mosquito netting, but still, you are advised to bring mosquito repellent. 

Simply because we don't need it. The Cuyabeno lakes are still so close to the foothills of the Andes, that the nights cool off considerably and in fact, usually they are quite comfortable. Most of the time, our visitors prefer to sleep under a light blanket.