Tour Preparation
We are not a luxury lodge. We are an Indigenous community deep in the Amazon, opening our doors to visitors who want to embrace our culture and immerse themselves in the real Yasuní rainforest. Sound like something for you? Read on to find out how to prepare for a tour with us!
1. Traveling to Bameno
Bameno is a Baihuaeri Waorani community located deep in the Yasuni rainforest, some 10-14 hours by canoe from the nearest road. You can travel to Bameno either by motor canoe or charter plane.
If you travel by canoe, we recommend a tour of at least 6 days because the river journey to Bameno will take about two days. Bameno Community Tours can also arrange shorter tours by canoe to destinations that are closer to the road.
River journeys leave early from Francisco de Orellana (Coca). You can get to Coca by bus or plane. Commercial flights leave daily from Ecuador’s capital, Quito, and take less than an hour. Direct buses leave from Quito, Puyo, Tena and many other locations in Ecuador. Your Waorani guide will meet you in Coca. From Coca, you will travel by road for about 3 hours, to the Shiripuno River. The river journey to Bameno takes about 10-14 hours.
Charter planes to Bameno leave from Shell Mera (Shell), and take about one hour and ten minutes. They are faster and more comfortable than travelling by canoe, but cost more, and are not included in the price of your tour. Bameno Community Tours can help you reserve a charter flight, but you will need to pay the air charter company directly. Shell is a five- hour bus ride from Ecuador’s capital city, Quito, or about a two-hour ride from Baños, a popular tourist destination.
2. What to bring
Essential
- Long sleeve shirt and fast drying trousers (jeans don’t dry)
- Sunhat
- Wellingtons / cheap rubber boots sold in Coca (walking boots do not dry)
- Swim suit or shorts
- Sandals
- Day pack
- Dry packs or ziplock bags
- Rain poncho or jacket
- Towel
- Water bottle
- Flashlight or headlight
- Essential toiletries
- Repellent
- Sun cream
- Medicines and basic first aid
Recommended
- Camera
- Pocketknife
- Sleeping bag (for large groups or to camp in the forest)
- Extra batteries
- Journal
- Pens and pencils
- Books
- Insect bite cream
- Extra snacks
- Spanish / English dictionary
- Gifts for the community
- Binoculars
3. Important Information
Hunting Tourism:
If you are exceptionally fit and would like to follow the Waorani on a hunt to observe their subsistence hunting practices, let your guide know and we will try to accommodate you. You must be prepared to use great care and run long distances in the rainforest. Under no circumstances will visitors be allowed to kill animals when accompanying the Waorani on traditional hunts. The Waorani have sustainably hunted a wide variety of animals since before written history, and hunting continues to be important to Waorani culture and diet in Bameno.
Drug Tourism:
Under no circumstances will the Waorani of Bameno prepare or administer hallucinogenic drugs for visitors; this includes but is not limited to Ayahuasca. Please don’t ask.
Media & Research Projects:
If you are interested in using your visit to Bameno for research purposes or for any commercial, media, or public project, you will need to get written permission from Penti Baihua before confirming your visit. Please send a brief description of your proposed project to Penti via our “Contact Us” page. This includes YouTubers and other online personalities.
Vaccine Requirements:
The Ecuadorian government requires that all travellers visiting the Intangible Zone provide proof of vaccination for COVID and Yellow Fever. You might be asked to present proof of vaccination to government officials before travelling to Bameno.
Bameno Community Tours 