A World first for Westerners !
Highlights
- Accomplish an expedition, with no external assistance, of a “world first” type in the Amazon
- You will be accompanied by Jean-Patrick Costa, one of the world’s leading experts on Amazon Indians in Peru and Ecuador
- An immersion in a wild and untamed natural environment
The Wisui cordillera stretching over a distance of some 40 km in a North-South line is the last Pre-Andean mountain range bounded by the Macuma and Pastaza rivers, culminating at an altitude of 1,400 meters before falling away into the Amazonian plain. This is the domain of the sacred waterfalls of which the Shuars (or Ashuars or Jivaros) claim to be the guardians. You will stay in the Shuar village of Wisui, before setting out on a seven-day trek in the midst of the jungle with the Indians, with no external assistance. Your destination is the village of San Luis de Pastaza, in an uninhabited area with little hunting activity, thus offering abundant wildlife.
Overview
The Shuar Indians, more often known as the Jivaros, are the famous headshrinkers of former times. Contacted and then pacified at the start of the last century, they live in the upper Amazon to the South-East of the Ecuador in a triangle of 150 km, delimited by the foot of the Andes, the Rio Pastaza and the border with Peru to the south. Their total population is estimated at 60,000, spread out over more than 300 villages in the immense Cutucu forest measuring nearly 2 million hectares.
Itinerary
DAY 1: FLIGHT FOR QUITO
Day 1
Flight for Quito, normally via Madrid. Arrival the same day or the day after, welcome and transfer to your hotel. Evening in Quito with Jean-Patrick.
DAY 2: FROM QUITO TO MACAS
Day 2
Transport for Macas by vehicle, passing from the Andes to the Amazon. Night in a hotel.
DAYS 3 & 4: STAY IN THE SHUAR (JIVARO) VILLAGE OF WISUI
Day 3
You continue your journey first by 4WD and then on foot to the Shuar village of Wisui, where you will be welcomed by the Indians, your future guides during the crossing. You will also spend the second day with them. Two nights in a homestay.
DAYS 5 TO 11: TREKKING IN THE HEART OF THE WISUI CORDILLERA AND A “WORLD FIRST”
Day 5
You leave for a seven-day trek in the midst of the jungle with your Indian guides, with no external assistance, in the heart of an uninhabited area with little hunting activity, thus offering a particularly abundant wildlife. You follow the ridge of the Wisui cordillera up to an altitude of 1,400 meters, discovering on the way a number of sacred waterfalls worshipped by the Shuar Indians. Your progression is adapted to the local Indian style: walking in the morning (an average of 6 hours, climbs and descents may be steep), hunting and setting up camp in the afternoon. To the best of our knowledge, this crossing has not been accomplished by many Westerners.
DAY 12: DAY IN A SHUAR VILLAGE ON THE BANKS OF THE RIO PASTAZA
Day 12
You will share this day with your indigenous hosts in this village close to the Rio Pastaza. This is an ideal opportunity to observe their everyday life and help them in whatever they need to do at this time.
DAYS 13 & 14: RETURN TO QUITO WITH A STOPOVER AT BANOS
Day 13
Return journey to Quito by bus for a moment of local immersion, with a stopover at Baños.
Transfer by bus and nights in a hotel in Baños and Quito. Enjoy a free evening in Quito.
DAYS 15 & 16: RETURN TO EUROPE
Day 15
Enjoy a free morning in Quito. Transfer to the airport to take your international flight to Europe in the late afternoon (arrival the next day).
END OF EXPEDITION
For reasons that cannot be foreseen at this stage, such as unpredictable weather, the physical fitness or lack of fitness of participants or other circumstancess (customs formalities, road conditions, traffic, landslides, force majeure, etc.), your expedition leader may have to adapt the program, if necessary, to ensure the smooth running of your trip. He remains the sole judge and the one who guarantees your safety. Activity times are given as an indication and may vary from one participant to another.
The itinerary for all our expedition programs, or the ascent program for our high-mountain expeditions, are given here as a guide only. They are flexible enough to adapt to weather conditions with a few contingency days. In any case, you should follow the recommendations of your guide, who may suggest that you cancel your expedition due to weather, safety or physical conditions.
It is important to remember that this is a truly unsupported expedition, and that anything can happen. Expeditions Unlimited, your expedition leader, your guide or our local teams can in no way be held responsible.
Any costs incurred as a result of a change in the expedition schedule (extra nights' accommodation, extra flights) will be borne by the participants and not by the organizers. "Contingency days" refer to the expedition in the strict sense of the term (base camp/base camp in the mountains, departure point/exit point on a traverse, etc.).
Any early return of the expedition or of certain members only (early success, abandonment, etc.), generating costs for accommodation, meals, changes to air tickets or other activities not provided for in this program, will be charged in full to the participants.
Trip notes
Difficulty level
Level rated: challenging
This expedition calls for regular practice of trekking the rest of the year or of another endurance sporting activity. It is accessible to anyone with a good physical condition.
The difficulty of this expedition lies in the climatic conditions (heat and humidity), the extremely rudimentary “comfort” in the forest, and the uncertainties of a terrain that we have never explored before. Your progression will be difficult, following an itinerary where there are few real paths. A 7-day trek in the forest is planned, in a hilly environment with many watercourses to cross. Added to this is the total isolation you will experience, which requires participants to be in good overall physical and mental shape and to be used to walking regularly. However, your large backpacks will be carried by your Shuar guides. You only have to carry your small day pack.
Accommodations
As marked in the program, in a standard hotel (single rooms) in the very center of Quito; in a small hotel (single or double rooms according to availability) in Macas and Baños; in bivouacs in the forest in tents under shelter or under the stars during the expedition; in homestays in the villages.
Meals
As marked in the program, in restaurants in towns (not included in the cost to allow greater flexibility), based on what we catch and a few extras in the bivouacs during the expedition, and, finally, local food in our village homestays: dishes with bananas, imported rice, cassava, wild game and fish, fruit, etc.
Group size
The group is composed of 2 to 4 participants maximum. The number of participants is deliberately limited to allow for greater immersion, to avoid embarrassing our hosts, and to develop freedom and flexibility. However, the maximum number may be exceeded if the last person to register wishes to travel with one or more other people. The services will not be modified, and the conditions of the trip will remain the same.
Equipment
Personal equipment is not provided. However, a complete list is provided to allow you to check that you are taking what is necessary.
Our commitments to sustainable development
Our commitment to a better planet has been a reality since the beginning of our story but we always need to do more and better. Please find out more about our charter and our commitments in terms of sustainable development. We have drafted our charter and take action through six themes on which we act as concretely as possible, most often with you: social equity and cultural respect, preservation of water, waste management in expedition, protection of biodiversity, raise public awareness on these subjects and finally, the optimization and recovery of CO2 emissions.
Regarding carbon emissions, most of which are due to air travel, we calculated and communicated in 2018 on the carbon footprint of each of our programs, expressed in tonnes of CO2.
These calculations made us aware of the importance of the total carbon emissions generated by our activity. Also, we have committed in 2022 to a carbon reduction that we believe is unprecedented in the tourism industry, aiming to reduce the total emissions of our activity by 5% per year, taking 2019 as the reference year (3,430 tonnes of CO2). This commitment is in line with the trajectory of the Paris climate agreements of 2015, the current benchmark. Thus, in 2030, we will not entitle ourselves to exceed 2,160 tonnes of C02 and until then, each year, as soon as the carbon footprint budget is reached, we will stop taking any reservations for the current year. Thus, our maximum “carbon” budget for 2024 is 2,950 tonnes and for 2025, this budget will be reduced to 2,800 tonnes. And so on until 2030. To find out more about all of our calculations and our commitments in terms of reducing our carbon emissions.
In addition, since 2019, we have been encouraging you when you book for your journey to contribute with a donation to an independent NGO, among the two we have selected that share the commitments made in our charter. We matched the amount of this donation to this program's carbon footprint. Thus, the journey you are considering generates 3,9 tons of CO2, which corresponds to a 100% donation of €117 for an estimated value today of €30 per tonne of CO2. This donation remains of course optional and you can decide to give between nothing and 100% of this amount. Since 2019, including covid years of 2020 and 2021, we have been able to collect thanks to you nearly €7,000 for these associations.
Please do not hesitate to come back to us with any questions you might have regarding this carbon footprint mechanism, our other sustainable développement commitments or even to share with us your experience through a chat or a mail at contact@secret-planet.com.
Jean-Patrick Costa
Recruited by Pharmaciens Sans Frontières to open a mission in the Ecuadorian Amazon among the Shuar and Achuar Indians (Jivaros) over 20 years ago, Jean-Patrick is a great traveler at heart, and one of the best connoisseurs of Amazonian Indians, shamanism and traditional medicines.
The author of several books on the subject, he spent three years in total immersion among the Jivaros. In the early 90s, he set up the Arutam association to support indigenous peoples, enabling him to maintain close contact with the Indians, their shamans and their leaders, particularly in Peru and Ecuador. He tells us:
"The Matses, like other peoples of the Amazon rainforest, are well aware that their forest is dying, that their territory is shrinking by the day. The privilege they offer us by welcoming us is a response to the need for them to open up a little to the outside world, to make it more aware of their issues. Their survival depends on a certain knowledge of the modern world. For the past 20 years, I've been engaged in the field, trying to restore these people's confidence in their culture and traditions. This means making them aware that their identity and know-how have value in the eyes of the so-called "developed" world. The participants in our expeditions have this role of valorizing indigenous culture, this responsibility."
Jean-Patrick accompanies other journeys with Secret Planet (Tamera), immersing himself in the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Amazon Indians, as well as the Mayas of Yucatan, Mexico.
Departures and pricing
Please find below all dates and prices for this expedition. Prices are quoted "from" and may be adjusted notably according to the number of participants (see trip notes for details). Please note that dates and prices for years beyond 2024, when given, are for guidance only and are subject to change and readjustment to take account of current economic realities.
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I initiate a new datePrice includes
Transfers tel qu’indiqués dans le programme. Accommodations tel qu’indiqués dans le programme. Meals tel qu’indiqués dans le programme. Guiding tel qu’indiqués dans le programme. Equipment tel qu’indiqués dans le programme. Travel folder tel qu’indiqués dans le programme.
Price does not include
All accompaniments, accommodations or meals mentioned “not included” in the program. Drinks and personal “extras”. The “single” supplement or a different hotel category. Other supplements linked to a lower number of participants registered, your desire to customize or privatize the expedition. The mandatory expedition complementary insurance.
Your custom expedition
We put our expertise, our knowledge of the terrain, our creativity, our experience, the quality of our guides and the reliability of our partners at your service to build your custom expedition. We can also personalize an expedition to your wishes as soon as you form a "closed" group, whatever the number of participants.
This means that, unless you authorize us to do otherwise, no outside participants join you, and we can personalize your expedition by adapting it to your own pace, with the program extensions you desire, a higher level of comfort, certain activities, other encounters, etc.
Every expedition of this type is subject to a specific quotation. To get in touch with us now, please fill in the short questionnaire below. One of our experts will get back to you to refine your request and make you a proposal.
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