Piranha Ecolodge — Hotel in Parroquia Palma Roja

This place was truly a dream come true! Ever since I was a child I dreamed of visiting the Amazon and I am so thankful that I chose the Pirahna lodge. Our guide Jairo was amazing! He was so patient with all of our questions and unbelievably knowledgeable about the rainforest. He went out of his way to find different plants and animals to show us. We learned so much from him. When I booked this trip the part of the itinerary i was least excited about was the day when we met with the indigenous tribe. I assumed it would be super commercialized and not authentic but I was so wrong. This is legit! 1st we met with an indigenous family and she prepared delicious snacks then showed us how to harvest yucca and make yucca bread. Next we traveled down stream to the Shaman and wow this guy is the real deal. We participated in a ritual which was one of the best experiences of my life. Another thing that exceeded my expectations was the food. I was thinking the food would be mediocre at best but wow was I wrong. Mario and Carlos (the cooks) prepared amazing meals everyday. We were also impressed with how organized this team is. They were right on schedule with every meal and every activity. The lodge itself is very nice and has a great vibe. Everything was clean but you do need to remember you are in the Amazon so don't expect a Hilton. A bug or two may wander into your bedroom but it is all part of the experience. I know the thought being so far from civilization can be scary to many people so I wanted to share a personal experience that may help those concerned about this. My mother who is 72 years old accompanied us on the trip fell and broke her rib. This occurred about 9pm. At 12:30 am she woke me up because she was having trouble breathing. Not knowing what to do i woke Jairo up and he immediately sprang into action. He woke up the owner who happened to be at the lodge that night and within minutes they contacted the boat driver, fired up the generators to call the hospital in preparation to evacuate her. Lucky they got her calmed down and she was able to wait until morning which was our last day anyway. It was very obvious that Jairo has had extensive 1st aid / 1st responder training. The fact that this team was mobalized and prepared to get her to help so quickly was unbelievable and let us know we were in good hands. These guys are top notch. It is obvious the rainforest and the guests are their top priority . One last thing I wanted to mention is the bad press Ecuador is getting right now. Yes Ecuador is having some issues right now however in the 11 days we were in this country we never once felt threatened. We are a white family that speaks no spanish so needless to say we definitely stood out and still had no issues. If you read the embassies advisories it says to avoid Lago Agrio which is the town you go to, to catch the bus/ boat to the lodge. We had no issues even walking around the downtown area. We rented a car and drove all over the country. The roads are pretty rough in some areas i would suggest renting an SUV and driving during the day but other than that we felt very safe in Ecuador and I will encourage everyone I know to go there. Do your research and exercise common sense same as you would in any other country including America but don't pass this experience up because of the BS in the news.

Thank you Pirahna lodge for making my life long...

Kind staff but a lot of problems. Just to name a few: No English speaking guide, no reliable boat driver, a lot of cockroaches and no mosquito net, no hot water

Long Story: The Cuyabeno national park is a very diverse and beautiful place to stay. The booking via WhatsApp 4D3N (w Kaimand Lodge - they are partners with piranha though and recommended this place) was super easy and we arrived at the lodge as planned.

On the first day we had a very good English speaking guide and saw a lot of different animals. We got plenty of information and were really hyped.

Our room „Jaguar“ was on the first floor of the bird watching tower and was alright. It was decent clean but missed a shower curtain & a mosquito net above the bed. No big problem, but the bath was constantly wet and since we had cockroaches in our room every night, we would have appreciated a net above our heads. Also the very limited water in the shower was supposed to be warm but never had more than 20 degrees. Since you stay in the jungle, you cannot expect too much but it didn’t exceed our expectations too.

From the second day on we had a new guide „Luis“. He’s a very knowledgeable and kind man but unfortunately his English skills are really weak. If you speak Spanish you might have a good time but for us it was a real bummer. We got very little + incomprehensible information throughout the whole next days. Although he found a lot of animals and tried his best to make us happy, we leave Cuyabeno with an unsatisfying feeling. We don’t really know anything about the indigenous people and the visit to the shaman was like having no translator at all. Mostly we got to know was what the animals eat and how big the groups are they stay with. Don’t expect a good answer to questions though.

Food overall was alright and being vegetarian I don’t want to complain about limited options in the jungle. If you are picky, you’ll might eat rice most of the time.

Last but actually the worst experience I want to share is about the transportation. Our boat driver was „Viktor“. Also very kind when he’s awake and a good driver. Nevertheless he slept on multiple occasions during our trip. This lead to our group being stranded in the jungle after the night hike for almost an hour. Since he didn’t appear at the place where Luis told him, we had to wait in the darkness for a very long time (22.01.2023) People in our group were scared and shouted for him and luckily another boat noticed our flashlights/screams/whistles. He got found and came ä to us - no excuse though.

Next day we were told to meet at 5pm to go out on the Laguna. It was raining a lot and Viktor seemed to prefer staying dry at the lodge and not go out. Luis tried to get him several times but in the end we waited more than an hour till he arrived - again no excuse.

I strongly suggest to book another company. Even though the people are nice and the place is alright, you’ll have much more fun with better English speaking guides and more reliable drivers.

If you want to book piranha you should speak a decent amount of Spanish and expect long waiting times (we are just on our way back to Quito and we waited for almost 1,5hours again until...

We’ve had the best experience on our 4 days/3 nights Amazon tour in Piranha Ecolodge. We contacted the Ecolodge directly through their website and communicated with the representative over WhatsApp. The booking was done swiftly, which included a roundtrip private bus transportation from Quito to Lago Agrio and boat transfer to the lodge, payment by cash on arrival at Lago Agrio. ||||The Ecolodge has huts and a tower with ensuite apartments, there is also a dining and relaxation area with hammocks. All very well looked after by its team. We were very lucky to stay on the 3rd floor, which gave us fantastic views of the lodge and forest around. Bird spotting was so much fun as lots of them have their nests in nearby trees. The apartment was very clean, although since you are in the jungle expect some small insects on the walls. The good thing is that they are not really interested in humans, since we are not as attractive as the light in the rooms 😊 After the first night you just learn to ignore them. There is no air conditioning and it gets very humid and hot, but that’s to be expected too and the body gets used to it pretty fast. The lights are switched off at 10pm, so remember to charge your batteries before. ||||The Ecolodge team is simply fantastic, they could not do better looking after us. The food was super tasty made by Mario, 3 varied meals a day which keeps you full. Our guide Jose Miguel (Condor) was amazing, very informative and detailed. Lots of knowledge about the area and nature. It was incredible to see how much respect and passion he has for all animals and trees/plants. Thank you for teaching us to see the nature from a different angle and reminding us to have respect and compassion for every living organism, no matter how small or big it is. ||||We did a lot of activities including hiking in the flooded jungle, visits to Laguna Grande, jungle night walk, canoe excursions, swimming in the lagoon, sunrise and sunset watching, visit the Indigenous community. Listening to the jungle at night in complete darkness was a special experience. We saw a lot of animals (monkeys, caymans), birds, insects, spiders, tarantulas, boa during our excursions too. The lodge provides rubber boots and rain ponchos. Make sure you read ‘What to take with you’ recommendations on the lodge’s website. ||||We absolutely enjoyed the experience and we cannot recommend it enough. It was definitely one of the best tours we have done. Being in a jungle without technology (no internet signal available😊) was a humbling experience. Living our busy lives, we don't even realise how much nature is giving us and how thankful...