Amarun Pakcha · Ecuador
The Ecuadorian Amazon.
Forest. Food. Knowledge. Water.
Eight days in Kichwa territory with Kelmy Tanguila and the Amarun Pakcha community.
No lodge brochure. No staged ritual.
Where. Deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon, in Kichwa territory, where the families of Amarun Pakcha have looked after their forest for generations. Only ten people at a time.
What you'll live. Hummingbirds at the window and mist over the trees. Trails the families cut by hand, waterfalls you swim under, petroglyphs older than any map. Lunch harvested from the chakra, the Kichwa food garden, and lessons in which plants heal.
Why it's a must. Nothing here is put on for visitors. You live alongside a community that kept its forest and its knowledge alive, and is now building its own future with them. Kelmy Tanguila leads every day.
Amarun Pakcha
It starts with a sleeping boa.
Amarun Pakcha means Waterfall of the Boa. The story goes that a giant boa once ruled this forest and kept the waterfall hidden from people. Then it turned to stone, and families could finally make a home here.
They say it is still asleep behind the waterfall, so the plants and animals around it are protected, out of respect. (We would not want to be the one who wakes it either.)
And they built the rest by hand. Guest rooms made by the community, trails to twin waterfalls, and more than 300 kinds of birds, with the cock-of-the-rock showing off most days.
Discovery trip
You're there at the start.
This is the first time we go to Amarun Pakcha as a group. You join Genevieve and a small group of adults as we meet the families, see their forest and work out together what we could build.
It may grow into a regular trip, a product or a partnership. Either way, you were there when the seed was sown.
Why Amarun Pakcha
Why this journey. Why now.
Kelmy is one of the hardest-working students in our School of Elevation. That is why our next discovery trip goes to her community.
We invest in people who invest in themselves, because the goal is independence. Amarun Pakcha already runs its own business: the lodge, the trails, the kitchen. Our part is to amplify it and open new paths, like retreats hosted by conscious coaches, partners and nature lovers.
Keep the community strong, and the forest stays standing.
Kelmy TanguilaLed by Kelmy. Backed by us.
Kelmy and the families design the route, lead every day and decide what is shared.
We're there too, amplifying their work. This is a community-led travel business, so the collective builds it together, finds the partners that help it grow, and handles preparation, logistics and safety so the opportunity holds.
Kelmy is part of the School of Elevation, where every community rep is learning digital skills to grow their own business. Your trip backs that too. Meet the School of Elevation →
See it for yourself.
The journey, day by day.
Led on the ground by Kelmy. The route can shift with weather, season and what the community needs that week.
Enter.
Quito to the Amazon. The families receive you at Amarun Pakcha.
Walk.
Forest trails, waterfalls and the petroglyphs, with the people who cut the paths.
Grow.
The chakra: Kichwa food gardens, medicinal plants, cooking what you harvest.
Listen.
Legends by the fire. Craft with the makers. River days.
Return.
See the new cabin take shape. Back to Quito.
Pay it forward.
Invest in yourself. Back people who invest in themselves. Live an extraordinary life.
Your trip pays for a second guest cabin. This is a project run completely by the community, and every trip creates lasting work for the families. The community chose it. Your group sees it arrive.
A second cabin.
Built by the community, so they can host more guests and earn more.
More clients.
We connect Amarun Pakcha with more groups, retreats and partners, so the income keeps coming long after you leave.
Where your money goes.
of every place goes straight to the goal the community chose.
Every host, cook, coach and guide is paid fairly for their work as well.
We meet you before you go.
10 places. This journey isn't open for direct booking. Every family and group has a call with us first. These are homes, not products, and the wrong group can do real damage.
What's included.
Included
- Hosting and guiding by the community
- Community cabins
- All meals in the Amazon
- Ground transport from Quito
- Pre-trip call and briefing
- The community purchase your group makes
Not included
International flights, travel insurance, visas, vaccinations and personal spending.
Questions people actually ask.
What is a discovery trip?
The first time we visit a community as a group. You come with Genevieve to meet the families and see what we could build together. It's real and it's early: expect warmth and wonder, not a polished package.
How tough is it?
Properly. Heat, humidity, mud and long walks. You need reasonable fitness. Nobody is left behind, and nothing is softened for show.
Is there a ceremony?
Only if the community chooses to share one. Nothing is staged, and nothing is promised in advance.
How every journey works: who leads, where the money goes, flights and groups.
Every journey starts with a conversation.
Tell us who's coming and why, then book a call with us. No payment until we've both said yes.
Follow the thread
- Read the journey
- Give a gift
- Join the waiting list