ABOUT FERNANDO

Jarol Fernando Vaca was born and raised in the Ecuadorian Amazon in a village named Misahualli, where he spend most of his childhood. His lifelong interest in ecology began at the age of fourteen when he participated in a local bird survey carried out by the students of the Jatun Sacha Biological Station. He subsequently studied natural history and ecology at the station with the intention of using this knowledge to provide guided tours in Ecuador's rich wild terrain. He began guiding at the age of sixteen.

After many years of working for nearly all of the eco-lodges in the Ecuadorian Amazon, he completed his training as naturalist at the Tiputini Biological Station. He has decided to establish his legacy in the Anthropological Huaorani Reserve, on the Shiripuno River. Email for  Fernando Vaca for more information.

Phone: (593) 2 2271 094  | Cell Phone: (593) 8 3573 878

LOCATION

Shiripuno Amazon Lodge is located in the Pastaza and Orellana provinces, 75 km south from Coca on the Auca Road to the Shiripuno River.

Shiripuno Amazon Lodge waypoints:
S: 01˚ 06' 282"
W: 076˚ 43' 896"

The Shiripuno River is located in the area just south of Yasuni National Park. The river formerly belonged to the national park, but later became part of the Huaorani Reserve. This protected territory, where human impact remains minimal, enjoys the same biodiversity as the national park. Visitors can observe firsthand an abundance of spectacular flora and fauna. Yasuni National Park is a territory of the Huaorani people, and lies on 9,820 square kilometres between the Napo and Curaray rivers in Napo and Pastaza provinces in Amazonian Ecuador, around 250 km from Quito. The park was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1989. .

THE FOREST

The lowland rainforest is the most sophisticated and complex ecosystem on Earth. Nowhere else is the wildlife so magnificent, abundant and mysterious as it is in the rainforest of the Shiripuno River. It requires time, patience and knowledge to appreciate this multifaceted world, and the Lodge is the ideal home base for in-depth explorations.

This is a perfect place to observe nature, replete with huge trees covered with epiphytes and hanging vines, creating such dense foliage that sunlight barely breaks through to the ground.

The immense canopy is home to the rare Harpy Eagle and the magnificent Scarlet Macaw. Dispersed across the area are mammal and parrot salt licks, oxbow lakes and meandering streams full of life.

Muddy trails made by tapirs and peccaries are marked by fresh jaguar tracks. Noisy neotropical otters can be spotted swimming along the rivers searching for fish, while anacondas and caimans bask by the river shore.

Close to the Lodge you can find seven species of monkey, including the Woolly Monkey, which is only found in high quality primary rainforests.

Blue metallic butterflies flit swiftly through the deep green understory with flashes of spectacular color. A Great Tinamou whistles in the background, accompanied by a chorus of tree frogs inviting the night to come. Many snakes begin their nocturnal hunt in amazing camouflage, while myriad katydids munch fresh leaves.