ECUADORIAN RAINFOREST Kapawi Skal Int'l Eco Award About Kapawi About the Lodge About the Achuar Indians Trip Tips Location Map Trail Map

January 7, 2003:

SECOND MAJOR HONOR IN RECENT MONTHS

SKAL INTERNATIONAL NAMES KAPAWI ECOLODGE & RESERVE RECIPIENT OF FIRST ECO TOURISM AWARD

Skål International, the worldwide tourism fellowship association, has selected Kapawi EcoLodge & Reserve in the Ecuadorian Amazon as the Category 1 winner of its first annual Eco Tourism Awards from a field of 42 entries from all over the world. Submissions for the awards were judged separately and individually by global environmentalists.

Category 1 relates to ecotourism efforts and practices in the countryside, mountains, rivers and lakes. The recognition was announced at the Skål 63rd World Congress held in North Queensland, Australia. Other categories included underwater; natural parks and protected areas; village and rural tourism; beaches, coasts and islands. Winners received a specially crafted Waterford crystal trophy donated by Waterford Crystal Ireland.

Skål International has a worldwide membership of 22,500 travel professionals and is represented by over 500 clubs in 86 countries. The clubs strive to develop friendship and common purpose between professionals in the travel and tourism industry by fostering goodwill and mutual understanding. Information about the awards and availability of digital photos is available at the Skål International Website www.skal.org

A few months earlier, Kapawi was named the winner of the Merito Jose Tobar Tobar award, presented by Ecuador's Ministry of Tourism which said the Canodros-operated reserve represented "Ecuador's closest approach to the perfect ecolodge". With the assistance and backing of Canodros, S.A., Kapawi began operations in 1996. In 2011 Kapawi will be fully managed by the Achuar people.

Canodros also owns and operates the modern, 100-passenger, all-suite, cruise ship Galapagos Explorer II, which visits up to ten ports during 3; 4; and 7; night cruises within Darwin's fabled Galapagos islands.

Kapawi is on the Pastaza River in the most remote area of the Ecuadorian Amazon basin accessible only after visitors are exposed to miles of breathtaking views as they fly above the Andes, gliding through the "Avenue of The Volcanoes" and snapping photos of the scenery as it changes from snow capped mountains to the deep green sea embracing the horizon and the rain forest canopy, the natural home of a majority of the living species on Earth.

Built in partnership with the indigenous Achuar Indians and the privately owned enterprise, Canodros S.A., Kapawi is a state-of-the-art project. The lodge was created in the Achuar concept of architecture without the use of a single metal nail. environmentally friendly amenities and necessities such as solar energy, biodegradable soaps, and trash recycling systems are among the most who had remained isolated for centuries. With age-old traditions still intact, their land has remained untouched by logging or oil companies.

Isolation doesn't mean a lack of comfort. Kapawi offers 20 double rooms with wide terraces to observe the myriad daily animal visitors; private bathrooms; sun heated showers; and electricity provided by a photovoltaic system. It is located on the shore of Kapawi Lake.

Cuisine-wise, the lodge serves international and Ecuadorian specialties. A library remains open throughout the day. A small boutique stocks essential items as well as handicrafts and souvenirs. Kapawi programs are offered in three levels easy; moderate; and difficult. Journeys to virgin areas are occasionally offered, excellent physical condition is required for the difficult program.

Kapawi, and the rain forest in general, is like no place else on Earth, for instance

** The area of Kapawi EcoLodge is home to 528 known species of birds (and continues to grow). That's four times the species in all the broad-leaf forests of North America and more than in all of Europe….in an area no larger than Manhattan;

** Ecuador's tropical rain forests contain more than 20,000 plant species, some 7,000 more than throughout all of Europe;

** More than 2,000 plants in tropical rain forests have been identified as having anti-cancer properties. At the current rate of destruction the remaining rain forests of the world will be consumed in 40 years;

** The Amazon River discharges 28 billion gallons of water to the sea each minute, more than 10 times the flow of the Mississippi;

** One tree in the Amazon may contain more species of ants than in the entire United Kingdom.