Kapawi Lodge, in the middle of the mosi extensive virgin rainforest in Amazonian Ecuador, is located far from any other ecotourism projects. There also are no cattle, no oil exploration, no colonists — nothing but lush forest that extends toward the hoi lion in all directions.
If Kapawi's natural beauty and extreme isolation weren't enough, the company that built the lodge. Canodros. practices a level of cultural and environ mental sensitivity that sets the standard for all of Ecuador.
The land in this area of Ecuador belongs to the Achuar Indian Federation, which has learned from the mistakes made by indigenous groups north of the Rio Napo. The Achuar want 10 conserve their culture and their environment by learning to use them in a way that will be sustainable long-term. Ecotourism is a major part of this plan, and the development of Kapawi is a high priority.
Access to Kapawi is via a small plane over uncut Amazonian forest to a dirt airstrip, where you step into a time long-past. Achuar Indians help unload your baggage and supplies as men, returning from the forest with blowguns or muzzle-loading chiminea, stroll past with forest game over their shoulders.
The canoe trip from the airstrip down the Rio Pastaza to Kapawi takes about an hour and a half in a motorized canoe. Kapawi Lodge can accommodate forty tourists in fourteen single and double cabins. All the buildings were built following the Achuar architectural style; not a single metal nail was used, and fast-growing forest products make up the roof, floors and walls.
Which is not to say these are shanties. The construction, although rustic, is elegant and luxurious. Each cabin has lights, hot-water showers, a view of the lake through screened windows, and an immense bathroom. Flush toilets drain into an elaborate digester septic system. Dispensers in each bathroom provide biodegradable soap.
Virtually no plastic is used at Kapawi. During a recent visit, even our ''box" lunches were elegant, with glassware, plates and silverware. Food is prepared by European-trained chefs and is the best in any lodge in the Oriente of Ecuador.
Using Kapawi Lodge as your base, the number of day-lrip options is overwhelming: canoe trips to a blackwater river Rio Ispingo; day hiking down any number of trails; explorations of diverse habitat ranging from marsh and flooded forest to tierra firme forest. Because of Kapawi's isolation, it has large populations of some species, like Pink River Dolphins, that are very difficult or impossible to see now in other parts of Ecuador.

Excerpted from The Nesi Key to Ecuador and the (Jaleipagos, by David Pearson and David Middle (or.. Berkeley: Ulysses Press, 1997.