Just visited NWC with my family. The place is in an outstanding location, the hotel is very nice, good food, a wonderful barman --Marcelo-- and great local guides. We enjoyed our stay tremendously and we would highly recommend it. It must be the best Amazon lodge in Ecuador. Another plus is very few mosquitoes in the area thanks to the acid waters of the Lagoon where the property is located. \

An area for improvement is the quality of the international guides. I do not think they are as good as seen in other places. The place would benefit from stronger management control on the guides and having a head guide as well.

Overall, a highly recommended experience.

Three of us went to NWC after spending 10 days diving in the Galapagos Islands. We were picked up at our hotel, flew half an hour to Coca, took a two hour boat ride down the Napo River, and finally a two hour dug-out canoe ride up a creek to Napo Wildlife Center. I didn't know what to expect, as I hadn't done much research, and initially wasn't too keen on looking at birds for 3 days, but this exceeded all expectations. Besides watching 4 kinds of parrots at two different clay licks, we saw a tapir, two kinds of monkeys, Army ants, butterflies, caymans at night, and of course lot of exotic birds. We experienced how the local people live and witnessed a cleansing by a shaman. Our English speaking guide and local guide were both very knowledgeable. Each time we did the two hour dug-out canoe trip (4 altogether), we saw something new and different--the "marching" wasps were the wierdest, though. The rooms were very large, with king size beds and private shower, screening on the windows and netting over the bed. It cooled down enough at night to sleep. Meals were served in a large open dining area. The food was pretty good, especially the soups. When we were out touring, there were always snacks available. We were rousted out of bed at 4:30am two mornings, for the parrot clay licks and the tree-top canopy platform, and 5:00am the other two mornings. By afternoon we needed that siesta! And we were usually in bed by 10:00pm. The lady with us was taking Larium, we didn't take anything. The guide said he had not heard of any malaria in the area, and he had been there for 7 years. Mosquitoes were not as bad as I expected, but you do need to put on mosquito repellent regularly, especially after it rains. Use somthing with DEET. Do not leave any food in your room--I did by accident, and a mouse chewed through my back pack! Bring decent binoculars. They set up a good viewing scope on a tripod and it was actually possible to take decent pictures with a point and shoot camera through it. They provide rain gear and boots if needed. The local people deserve a lot of credit for getting NWC up and running--it's obvious they take a lot of pride in it. It's a great jungle experience for beginners and experienced alike.

We have just returned from a 3 night/4 day stay at the NWC. It was so amazing that it inspired us to write our first review on here. Not only are the rooms lovely, the food fantastic, the staff amazingly friendly, helpful and knowledgeable - but the whole idea behind the community project is what makes the place. This is the ONLY 100% community owned lodge in Ecuador. Other lodges purport to offering 'community partnerships' or some other jargon but they are basically there to make non Amazonians and non Ecuadorians richer. The NWC is owned and operated by the local community and the profit is poured back in (it kitted the local school out with internet terminals this week). OK - so if you are used to 5 star luxury this may be a step down - but, not a big step and it is located in the middle of the Amazon Rain Forest so bear that in mind! If you go here, you WILL help the indigenous people of Amazonia - people who are currently fighting to save their home from destruction. Plus - its a great holiday too complete with lots of monkeys and parrots to keep you occupied.

I visited the Napo Wildlife Center with my wife and two sons (11 and 13) in July 2007. I highly recommend the Napo Wildlife Center as a destination in the Amazon basin. It is located in a pristine area of the rain forest and situated on a very attractive lake. The accommodations are comfortable without being too luxurious for the remote setting. As the NWC is located a couple miles south of the Napo River and is accessible from that main river only by a roughly 2 hour canoe ride or a long hike, it's quite a logistical feat to run a lodge there. (The place where one leaves the Napo River to head to the NWC is a couple hours by motorized canoe from the town of Coca.) This isolation adds to the appeal of the place, but it also makes for a logistical challenge for the staff. Everything needs to be brought in by canoe or by foot. The people who run the lodge do an excellent job of making everything work. The staff are also pleasant and helpful.

The lodge forms groups of roughly 5 or 6 guests, and each group is assigned a bilingual guide and a local guide. When we were there, each group spent the entire stay together, and ate together. The small group size means that you can always hear your guide and you can ask questions. Both our guides were excellent and made the visit interesting and fun. Each day there is an early morning activity (hike or canoe ride) and a late afternoon activity (hike or canoe ride). There could also be something in the early evening. All our hikes and canoe rides were wonderful. There is so much to see in terms of animals and plants, and the setting is magical. During the heat of mid-day, you're back at the lodge resting. You can also take a dip in the lake from the pier to cool off. The food is okay, but it's not gourmet cooking. The coffee is quite disappointing. My advice is to bring a book, a deck of cards and perhaps a board game, as you'll need something to help pass the time in the middle of the day, and the lodge is deficient in this area.

Overall, I give the NWC very high marks.