Akangau Jungle Expeditions

Sapo Rumi Tour will be Akangau Jungle Expeditions

I chose Sapo Rumi Tour partly because of the positive reviews on this site, and because I liked the idea that it is indigenous owned. My friends and I had a very positive experience.  The guide was so friendly, and really the warm Kichwa community draws you in. During the tour, the guide told  us they will be switching to a different business model and name soon(Akangau Jungle Expeditions), with more of a focus on community based ecotourism, and I offered to help spread the word. A new web site is already up - www.akangau.com 

Our jungle experience

We hadn’t planned on travelling through Tena, but friends in Banos told us it was worth a visit.  We travelled by bus to Tena, the journey takes about 3.5 hours because of the new road.   It was amazing how the fauna changed from rainforest to jungle before our eyes, as we descended into the jungle.

The town of Tena is very different to Banos.  It is a small sleepy town on the edge of the jungle.  It has all the basics, shops, a selection of restaurants, bars and hostels.   The locals are very friendly and it has a laid back atmosphere.

One of the reasons coming this way was to do a jungle tour.  There are numerous tour operators in Tena.  Our main criteria, was to use an indigenous tour company so that our money would go back into the community.  The tour company we chose after checking out most of the others was Sapo Rumi Tour.  Our main reasons for choosing this operator was there itinerary, the price and their guide spoke English, because unfortunately our Spanish was not great.

We started the tour at 8.30am and travelled by taxi for about 30 minutes and then by foot to the Kichwa community of Serena approximately 1 hour in total from Tena.

We settled into our accommodation which was rustic but charming, including a typical Kichwa fire like a bonfire in a sandpit in the middle of our room.   (Mosquito nets are provided).

The cabanas are situated in an idyllic location between 2 rivers the Napo and I can't remember the name of the other.  There was small beach area from where you can swim.

After settling in our guide took us on a walk into the jungle, and we began our lessons in medicinal plants, clothes making, food and water sources, how tree bark can produce an everyday items such as a hairbrush.   We soon realised that jungle was a like a supermarket to the Kichwa people. 

After a lovely lunch we want to a museum in Serena to learn more about the Kichwa culture. After which we got the opportunity to learn and make local handy crafts such as bracelets and necklaces. Later that evening we stopped at the home of a local family to see how "Chicha" is made, this is a fermented yuca drink that is a staple of the Kichwa  people before heading back to our cabanas for dinner. 

The next morning we started out early after a lovely breakfast, we hiked into the jungle and crossed a river and climbed up amazing waterfalls.  We had a lovely typical lunch of yuca and tilapia.  That evening after dinner we participated in the spiritual cleansing ceremony with the local shaman.

We spent a further two days in this area, one night of which we camped about 3 hours up river.

Overall my boyfriend and I had amazing time and what we felt was authentic experience into the lives of the people of the Napo Amazon.  We would highly recommend this tour with Sapo Rumi to other travellers.  They are a small indigenous operator but you can tell they have a lot of experience in running tours because they are well organised and our guide Misael was very professional and attentive to our needs.  A very memorable experience.

great tour

informative guides
adventurous
learning about kichwa culture

highly recommend

The guides were so friendly and helpful, and it was a very enjoyable, educational tour that really gives you a sense of connection with the Kichwa community.