The Calanoa Jungle Lodge, awarded as one of the 20 best hotels in the world by Condé Nast Traveller, offers a unique space for the traveler who is in search of a vital experience, who is in a journey of discovery. Our activities and workshops propose an experience of the rainforest through the senses and a creative dialogue with its inhabitants.
The Calanoa Natural Reserve, 50-hectares of jungle, is at the very heart of the Amazon forest, yet easy to access, and its surroundings are an endless source of marvel. It is a low-impact, small-scale settlement.
The architecture has been conceived for the visitor to deeply experience the jungle and the river. Elements such as ethereal walls and light spaces allow travelers to connect with the jungle through all their senses.
Cabins
The architecture has been conceived to experience the place through ethereal walls and light spaces that allow you to open your senses to the jungle without limits.This is a boutique hotel with only seven cabins designed by artist Diego Samper, each one is a piece of art, and decorated to not only be very comfortable but also very beautiful. You will have the feeling of sleeping in the jungle surrounded by trees while being completely protected from the environment.
Mirití, Caraná and Iraka
There are three river-front cabins, which feature two floors, a private bathroom, and a private deck overlooking the Amazon River.
Toé
The master cabin has three levels, an internal garden, a private bathroom and a large deck overlooking the jungle.
Arazá
The junior suite is a lovely two-person cabin (perfect for honeymooners) with stunning river views. It is not larger than the standard cabins, what sets it apart is its concept as it was designed with nautical details so you will feel as if you were sleeping in the middle of the jungle on a gorgeous boat-like structure.
Yai
The tree cabin features two separate one-level suites, each with a private bathroom and a queen size bed. The tree-top views offer the unique experience of feeling suspended on a tree in the middle of the forest and waking up surrounded by birds, butterflies, and monkeys!
Acapú
With a view of the forest, it has an ample room and balcony with easy access for elderly visitors or guests with limitations.
Mitú
Mitú is the most recent cabin. A novel architectural concept that reflects years of practice of building in the jungle. It is a cozy and fresh space open to the Amazon river, where the changing shadows of the forest are projected on a translucent roof. Ideal for two people, with the possibility of an additional bed.
We invite you to the most imposing jungle in the world, to hear its call, to experience the harmony of our deepest origin. When you arrive at the Calanoa Natural Reserve, in the heart of the Amazon Forest, you will be greeted by a garden of exotic flowers, palm trees, and fruit trees on the shores of the Amazon River, where birds, monkeys, butterflies and innumerable other species live.
The Calanoa experience
When you arrive at the Calanoa Natural Reserve, in the heart of the Amazon forest, you will be greeted by a garden of exotic flowers, palm trees, and fruit trees on the shores of the Amazon River; where birds, monkeys, butterflies and innumerable other species live. The structures are endowed with a sense of lightness, with ethereal walls where lying in a hammock will allow you to open up your senses and fully contemplate the infinity of the jungle.
This is our proposal:
With the regular rate you can choose two daily activities per reserved night.
Day 1: As an introduction to your adventure, the first night you will enjoy a night walk in our primary forest. Expert indigenous guides endowed with ancestral knowledge of the jungle will guide you and show you the nocturnal life of a world that never rests. You will be enveloped with the song of frogs, nocturnal creatures, flowers that bloom at night, and phosphorescent mushrooms. The jungle is one thing during the day and another at night. Don’t forget your flashlights!
Day 2: Morning visit to a Tikuna community where you will be able to appreciate how their life revolves around the river and the jungle. In the afternoon, after lunch, a hike crossing the Calanoa Reserve to the Matamata creek, on the limit of the Amacayacu National Park. There, a canoe is waiting for you to descend paddling to the Amazon and return to the lodge (if the water level allows it). Navigating the canopy of the forest, during high-water season is an incredible experience.
Day 3: In the morning, you will enjoy a visit to Mocagua Island where very different flora and fauna can be seen. The island also has gorgeous interior lakes, were the lotus Victoria amazonica blooms.
After lunch, in the afternoon, a boat takes you to the Peruvian margin of the Amazon River, for dolphins’ watching, and to see the sunset and its explosion of color from the river.
Foundation and Community
Over the past 14 years The Calanoa Foundation has contributed to the conservation of the Biological and Cultural diversity of indigenous territories in Colombia’s Amazonian Basin. One of Calanoa’s main focuses has been the recovery of ancestral knowledge and cultural practices. Tikuna, Cocama, Huitoto, and Yagua are amongst the communities benefiting through environmental education, sustainability, and conservation led by the efforts of The Calanoa Amazonas Foundation.
PRESERVATION OF ECOSYSTEMS
Sustainable Management.
Efforts are directed towards conserving natural habitats and biodiversity to ensure the thriving of the Amazon basin’s rich ecosystem. Focuses include:
Research: As much as we think we know, there is always something to learn or better; projects that involve flora and fauna on the reserve result in a better understanding of the Amazon, hence a greater ability to protect it.
Reforestation and Rewilding: Planting of Mother trees, resulting in seedlings to donate to multiple communities and reserves. We are located at the border of Peru and Brazil, and need fundings to expand this project with pilot programs in the three countries around.
COMMUNITY WORK
The Calanoa Foundation operates with local communities to support initiatives in sustainability. Current projects include:
Economic Sustainability: The introduction of employment has created a greater disposable income that is in turn spent within its own community. It has led to the production of local produce in what is called a Chagra, which means ‘traditional orchard.’
Hygienic Construction: A pilot project was initiated in Mocagua and was highly successful. The goal is to reach the five neighboring communities with similar guidelines and infrastructure. It is of no debate that proper hygienic practices greatly impact the health and well-being of all, and has directly shown a correlation to learning ability, and peace of mind.
Copa Calanoa: Canoeing, tree climbing, swimming, and archery to name a few of the sports listed in the region’s first Ancestral Sports Olympics in 2023.
Reduction of Single Use Items: Promotion of the use of healthy organic and reusable materials, with a focus on feminine hygiene products.
Living Expense Scholarships for University Students: Calanoa currently supports 18 students from the Tikuna, Huitoto, Yukuna, and Kamentza communities that wish to further their education and subsequently support their community.
Other programs include a Reading Glasses Program, School Supplies Program, and a Rubber Boots Donation Program.
ANCESTRAL WISDOM
Calanoa aims to recover and preserve traditional knowledge and cultural practices of the Amazon’s indigenous cultures. The discovery of this knowledge and its application has provided invaluable practices in sustainability and environmental stewardship.
The Yacaré (The Crocodile): A floating library with carefully curated books and visual material that serves local communities. Shamans are invited to share their wisdom and have their stories recorded on video and also by sound file for future reference.
Recovery of the Tikuna Language: Children in the village of El Vergel are learning and continuing the language via the practice of ritual and song. A choir was formed as a result of this program and is now proudly displayed to visitors of Calanoa.
Wild Symphony, Collective Music Creation Program
This program is geared towards the exploration of natural soundscapes, life symphonies, and the origin of music itself. Musicians from all parts of the world are invited to mix with local traditional singers and storytellers, where they listen and respond to the jungle in extensive improvisational sessions. Sessions are recorded and edited into various mediums, of which have resulted in two films.
Art for Conservation:
Human creativity in and of itself is a rich resource. One of The Calanoa Foundation’s very first projects involved the revamping of the urban community experience; shared public art in Mocagua. Houses were painted in traditional motives of respective groups, resulting in the promotion of traditional culture. Parallel to the mural project was that of a photography workshop for children aged 7-12; an exploration of village life through the eyes of kids.