Hidden Pathways


Have you ever...

.....thought you would love to visit the Amazon but it could never happen?


Perhaps a lack of experience, knowledge or confidence made you discount the idea,

or maybe you think that only professional explorers and adventurers can go there?

 


Well it’s not true. After many years of leading expeditions around the world we firmly believe that anyone can be an explorer!


In Summer 2018 we are offering the opportunity to travel with us to the Amazon rainforest, specifically the south east of Ecuador, to spend time with a Shuar indigenous community.


The Shuar people are a population of about 110,000 indigenous people living in the Amazon tropical rainforest of southern Ecuador and northern Peru. Traditionally they are forest people, living dispersed across the jungle in small communities. They were the only tribe not to be conquered by the Spanish empire in South America and historically they were renowned for their practice of shrinking human heads.


Living conditions in the Shuar communities have changed with influences from outside however their language and culture are still relatively intact. The basis for their livelihood is hunting, forestry, fishing, agriculture and stock farming. The Shuar have a rich culture adapted to the rainforest, and a deep sense of harmony between humans and nature.

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Shrunken head in Pumapungo museum, Cuenca


There is so much we can learn from the Shuar about our relationship with the flora and fauna of the forest and our role in sharing knowledge with others. Here is an opportunity to shed the worries of busy lives, to recharge yourself close to nature and to appreciate the natural beauty of our world through the eyes of those who see themselves as guardians of the world’s most amazing rainforest.

 
 


During the adventure you’ll stay in local cabanas and on the expedition stage, when you will carry out a small journey, we will teach you how to camp out in the rainforest in hammocks.

Our hosts will demonstrate traditional skills and will show how plants can be used as natural remedies. They will also introduce you to their culture and stories of old, allowing you time to immerse yourself in the deep spirituality of the Shuar.

They may even share with you the secrets of their head-shrinking past!


Since the discovery of oil in the upper Amazon, the lands that the Shuar own have been subject to interests from the outside and they have been forced to defend their lands from the collective threat of oil extraction. This pressure for minerals, oil and timber is damaging to the homelands of the Shuar and the Amazon rainforest itself.

This adventure will not only help you, but by providing an income on a local level will help the Shuar in their struggle to maintain their lands, their traditions and their cultural identity.

 

Click here for

Expedition inclusions, exclusions, content and cost




You too could enjoy an amazing experience in the world's largest and most spectacular rainforest in Ecuador.

Here is one of our past expeditions to Ecuador and the Shuar.


NOTE:

Due to our close links with our Shuar hosts and the need to maintain our special relationship with them, this venture requires an application process.

It is important for us to ensure that there is an appropriate match between you, the Shuar and our team.