La Selva Eco-lodge & Retreat — Hotel in Parroquia Limoncocha

We spent three wonderful nights at La Selva Eco Lodge in February, and Christine my wife and I agree that our visit was one of the best travel experiences that we have ever had. We booked our trip directly with La Selva, and their representative could not have been more helpful. Communication was clear, timely, and detailed – including a list of what to pack so we would be comfortable and prepared during our stay in the rainforest. We were met by a representative of La Selva when we arrived at the airport in Coca, Ecuador and from that point on, all we had to do was relax and enjoy our trip. And what an amazing trip it was. On our first day, after a two-hour motorized canoe ride down the Napo River and short paddled canoe trip through the forest, we arrived in the early afternoon to the lodge, which is situated on the shore of a large lagoon. The staff greeted us with a cool glass of tropical fruit juice, and then we were shown to our room overlooking the lagoon. After a brief rest, we began our exploration of the rain forest. La Selva has an extensive list of activities, from watching birds from a platform in the canopy to visiting a local indigenous community, so we were able to select tours that fit our interests. Our days were full, tours start early in the morning and end after dark, with several hours of free time in the early afternoon for yoga, massage, or just relaxing in our room. All of the tours were wonderful, but for us, walking through the forest and canoeing on the lagoon at night were especially magical. We saw an incredible array of animals and plants, including birds, monkeys, bats, frogs, insects, old growth trees, and orchids. Our guides, Pablo and Sergio, were outstanding. Pablo is a bilingual naturalist with extensive knowledge of the flora, fauna, natural history and ecology of Amazonia, and Sergio is a member of the local indigenous community with a deep personal knowledge of the forest surrounding the lodge. We believe that it was this combination of expertise that made our experience so rich. On many occasions, Sergio would draw our attention to something – a bird, monkey, insect, plant, etc. - in the forest and Pablo would explain its biology and ecology. They are a perfect team. Pablo told us that Sergio’s people have been living in the forest surrounding the lodge for the past 10,000 years, and sometimes, watching Sergio walking along a forest trail in front of us, looking up into the canopy, we felt like we had been transported back in time. Our room was very comfortable, and we enjoyed sitting on our balcony overlooking the lagoon in the evening. The lodge and surroundings are beautiful and peaceful. The dining room is spacious, and the food is excellent. The Chef created delicious meals using local ingredients, we are still in awe of the Guanabana Panna Cotta desert he served on our first night. All of the staff are very attentive, helpful and friendly. We felt right at home and very well cared for. We highly recommend La Selva Ecolodge, and we hope to...

I've stayed at La Selva Amazon Ecolodge & Spa for 4 nights and I can only recommend it.

It's isolated location (2 hours motorised cannoe from Coca + 30 min paddle cannoe ) is part of the experience and would allow you to disconnect surrounded by nature and see more wildlife.

The experience at La Selva would definetly not be the same without their super experienced guides. Every group (around 4-5 people, which is an ideal size for animal spotting!)  is leaded by a naturist bilingual guide and a local guide. The combination of knowledge and skills between both guides works perfectly. It's amazing how the guides can spot any kind of animals in the very busy landscape!! I would like to thank Oscar & Medardo for sharing their knowledge with me and their help to make sure I would have a fantastic experience.

During my stay, we spotted different types of monkeys, alligators, hundreds of birds including toucans, macaws and owls, frogs...etc. In addition , we visited El Pilche Community. It was also a great experience to learn how the community lives, try some of their delicatessen and support them by buying some of their artesanies. Needless to mention that by staying in La Selva, you are supporting the communities around. Besides the local guides, la Selva employs people from the communities around, which makes a big difference with other providers.

The bedrooms at the lodge are super luxurious considering the location in the middle the jungle. Bedrooms are super big, with a balcony, a fan, spatious bathroom and hot water! They also have WiFi strong enough to be able to send messages or pics to your family and friends. Bedrooms are clean and safe. La Selva is also an Ecolodge and as such there're also some measures in place to minimise the impact to the planet: e.g. no hot water during night, hair dryer only available upon request...etc.

The food at the restaurant was always delicious and diverse. They adapt the meals for those with special dietary requirements. Kudos to the chef!!!

I took the opportunity of spoiling myself with a massage to relax and help me overcoming the jetlag. What an idea! I had an amazonian bath with Gabriella, which consists in a full body massage plus jacuzzi with local herbs. Amazing!

The yoga classes with Majo at the deck are definetly a plus! It's amazing to follow a yoga class surrounded by the sounds of nature. If you do the night one, as I did, you may hear some alligators around which makes the experience even more special. Majo is a fantastic teacher! Thank you!

I've named a few staff in my review, but all personnel working in la Selva is nice and attentive to make sure you will have the most enjoyable of your stays. Many thanks...

I could not speak more highly of our experience at La Selva. I had done a lot of research into the options of high quality eco lodges in the Ecuadorian Amazon and eventually selected La Selva and am so glad I did. The photos and earlier reviews do not do justice to the incredible “once in a lifetime” experience we had from start to finish.|| ||Why we loved it so much:||- From the moment we were greeted at the airport with our boarding passes and baggage tags printed, to the smooth transfer, the beautiful modern but authentically designed and luxurious lodge and rooms with beautiful views, the thoughtfully planned experiences and activities, the world class cuisine and meals at the lodge, the friendly staff - absolutely everything was perfect!||- Our incredible guides - our naturalist guide Paul and native guide Dario - made our entire trip so special and memorable, being extremely knowledgeable, respectful to both nature and the environment and the Kichwa people and culture and who were so flexible, warm and accommodating for our family to ensure every family member had the “best day ever” as my kids proclaimed every day. We all agreed they were the best guides we have ever had!||- We travelled with young kids which some of the other lodges I had enquired with were very hesitant to accept, yet Paul, Dario and the team at La Selva made us feel so welcome - the kids received special “Explorer” packs upon our arrival with binoculars, a torch, magnifying glass and activity book with coloring. The chefs were able to accommodate and customize special kid-friendly meals upon request, and they received a special certificate and badges at the end of our stay which they were so thrilled with.||- The activities and itinerary were perfect and we were so lucky to see so much incredible nature and wildlife on the walks and canoe rides, visit the local Kichwa school and be able to gift them supplies for their school, catch (and release!) piranhas fishing in the lake, amongst many more things…|| ||I would highly recommend La Selva to anyone looking for a personalized, quality and authentic experience that everyone of all...