Akangau Jungle Expeditions
Website: www.akangau.com
E-mail: akangautour@yahoo.com
Phone: Ramiro Cerda: +593 (0) 8617 5641
Who they are
Akangau Jungle Expeditions is part of the San Bartolo of Uchuculin Association which was founded at the beginning of 2009 by the Kichwa community of Uchuculin the Napo Amazon Region.
Misael Cerda, the founder of Akangau Jungle Expeditions, has 8 years experience working as a guide and is passionate about preserving the jungle in which he has lived all his life. He is also passionate about providing authentic jungle tours encapsulating as many aspects of the Kichwa culture from the past and what is still practiced today.
“The difference from other tour operators is that Akangau Jungle Expeditions provides a rich cultural exchange and an opportunity to experience Kichwa community life. In the last few years we have had the pleasure of receiving tourists from all over the world and teaching them about our indigenous customs. It has been an enriching and wonderful experience. We continue receiving our guests in the same spirit of friendship.”
“Akangau”, according to the legends of the Kichwa ancestors, is known as the singing eagle. The symbol used by the Akangau Ecotourism Expeditions is of an Omagua man. This man symbolises the ancient Kichwa culture when men wore their hair long, as a testament to their strength.
What they do
San Bartolo of Uchuculin Association is an independent volunteer and eco-tourism project, which invites visitors to support their efforts to rescue their rainforest home and cultural values by volunteering or directly visiting their community. They offer visitors a unique experience combining both participation in kichwa family life of the community, and the opportunity to help design and participate in volunteer work that can contribute to the survival of their land and culture. The association’s projects include:
- Akangau Jungle Expeditions
- Environmental Education
- Construction of Cabins
- Organic Garden
- Development of a recreation area beside the Uchuculin River
- Construction of a Kichwa Museum
What they offer
Akangau offers tours from 1 to 7 days in Tena. They also organise tours from 2 to 7 days to the Limoncocha Reserve. Although the reserve is 7 hours from Tena it is well worth the trip due to the abundance of wildlife.
They also provide volunteers the unique opportunity to live in our Kichwa community, where they may design and work with volunteer projects, exchange ideas and cultural knowledge, and learn the Kichwa language.
Location
Please contact Akangau Tours with any questions, comments or to arrange a volunteer stay or eco-tourist excursion. All arrangements can be made through email or by phone.
Akangau Jungle Expeditions
12 De Febrero y Augusto Rueda
(Opposite Hotel Welcome Break)
Tena, Napo
What you need
- Hat
- Swimwear & Shorts
- Long breathable trousers for walking in the jungle
- Long sleeved top or light sweater
- Insect repellent
- Sun cream
- Shoes (We supply boots but we suggest bringing a pair of light shoes for walking in the cabañas)
- A small bottle for carrying water
- Torch
Accommodation & Amenities
They offer private and shared cabañas or homestays with Kichwa families. In both cases bed linen and mosquito nets are provided. There is also the option to camp.
All cabañas have outside plumbed toilets. Cabañas in Limoncocha have showers while in Tena you will use the river to bath 
There is no electricity in the cabañas, but some homestays do have electricity.
They offer international and vegetarian cuisine. They also offer travellers and volunteers the opportunity to sample local cuisine such as Yucca, Tilapia (fish) ,Chicha, cooked banana, and Guayusa (herbal tea).
Prices range from (US) $30 to $45 per person per day and is in relation to the size of your group and the duration of the trip. The price includes everything except the bus ticket from Tena/Quito to Limoncocha and drinks.
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I did a jungle tour with Akangau Expeditions (to Limoncocha) which was wonderful and I was very satisfied with the guide and all the services provided.
But I have to say that I was very dissapointed to find out that I was given misleading information before departing in order to book and get charged for an extra day. I had mentioned the activities I was keen on doing and had explained to them that I was short of time and could only do a 2 day tour because I had to move on to the coast. We were trying to figure out the tour but they told me it wasn’t possible to do all I wanted in 2 days so I decided to buy the 3-day tour and cancel my trip to the coast. In the evening of the first day on tour I found out that not only I could do all I had asked for in 2 days but it also allowed me half day to lie on a hammock. So I returned one day earlier in order to move on with my travels, the $50 for my extra day was never returned to me though… they were retained for expenses on services which were never provided
Thank you for your feedback.
We are very happy that it was a wonderful experience and you were very satisfied with the guide and all the services provided in Limoncocha.
As we explained to you at the time, and have done so since in email correspondence, we only run 3 day minimum tours to Limoncocha and we have been doing so for a number of years now.
We explained in detail the program for 3 days and that as a solo traveller it was possible to join up with two other people travelling with us. We provided you with a contract which clearly stated that no refunds are given except in extreme circumstances such as illness or injury.
You did explain to us the time constraints you were travelling under. We told you clearly that we do not run 2 day tours to Limoncocha. We did not in any way mislead you with the information that we provided. You sat with us in our office for a long time trying to decide what to do as we went over the various tour options.
Our guide informed us that when you arrived in Limoncocha you spoke with other members of the group to try to change the order of the agenda to suit your time frame.
As you know, in order to access the cabins in Limoncocha, you need to take a 20 minute canoe ride across the lagoon and you return the same way.
We had no such canoe trip available to you on day 2.
When you left the tour of your own accord you left with another tour group who had nothing to do with Akangau Jungle Expeditions. We had no idea that this group was in the cabins in Limoncocha. Had they not been there you would not have had the opportunity to leave until the third day. It was purely by chance that you could leave the evening of the second day.
Your early departure does not mitigate against our fixed costs based on the number of customers who start a trip. The $50 that you feel is owed to you has already been accounted for, including but not limited to:
Return journey by canoe, fresh food for meals, water, prepaid accommodation, guide fee.
I appreciate you will not be happy with this decision but it is important that we, once again, clearly state our position in this matter.
Despite your dissatisfaction with some aspects of your trip we thank you for your feedback.
Feedback is important to us so that we can provide the best service and the most memorable jungle experience to our customers.
Regards
Akangau Jungle Expeditions
miseal is a wonderful tour guide and a great person and now he speaks good english, too! i’m looking forward to going on another expedition with him soon…. you are in very good hands with miseal!
I’v been there two times. First time, I was travelling alone for 8 months and it was like finding a family. They help me a lot and I have a great month with them. The second time I invite my mother of 53 years old and her boyfriend. We had a very nice time with Akangau Jungle Expeditions. The guide is very respectful and always helpful. I learn a lot with him and his family. It’s easy to see that they care so much about protecting and sharing their culture and help their community. Discover Limoncha reserve is one of the best experience of my life. Walking at night in the jungle with all this animals and insects sound’s around, look at the stars, observe monkeys and the bigest tree I had never seen, fish the piranha and share a piece of life with a beautiful family will always stay on my mind and on the mind of my mother.
My two girlfriends and I went on a jungle tour with Akangau Expeditions this past November. We did a 4 day tour in a community outside of Tena. We were really surprised that a full jungle experience could be had in such a short distance from a town setting. We stayed in a simple but beautiful cabana right on the river. We enjoyed days of hiking and exploring winding jungle paths and beautiful waterfalls. Our guide Misael was very friendly and informative. One of my friends is studying botany, and she was particulary impressed by his knowledge and explanation of the plants of the jungle, and their many uses and healing qualities. Our Spanish is only mediocre, and it really helped that he spoke some English. Evenings were spent eating delicious meals, having campfires on the bank of river, and hearing stories from the Kichwa culture.
We really enjoyed meeting the people of the local community, especially the children who were shy at first, and then would come to talk and play. We spent time with the local women learning how to make traditional crafts and jewelry, and with the local shaman who talked with us about Kichwa rituals and spiritual traditions. We would highly recommend a tour with this community organization.