WAPONI is a business incubator aimed at providing small community-based tourism initiatives in Ecuador and Peru with the market access and skills to compete and thrive. These businesses have sustainability at their core, adhere to high standards of environmental and socio-cultural respect, and have tourist and local population involvement/engagement.
Waponi introduces Ecuador’s unique cultures and provides authentic, adventurous cultural experiences while helping to preserve the traditions and lands of local indigenous groups.
These exciting back-to-basics lodges and camps aim to create an off the beaten path experience that allows visitors to experience the true essence of a place through the eyes of their hosts. Environmental and cultural conservation is at the heart of Waponi’s adventure programs, which are designed for socially conscious travelers with a passion for the outdoors.
These ecotourism programs are the result of partnerships between Waponi’s parent company Tropic Journeys in Nature and the indigenous communities that live in protected areas in the Andes highlands and the Ecuadorian Amazon. Waponi means Joy,chev ere, cool, everything that is positive and beautiful in life in the Huaorani language, and you are bound to realize why ecotourism is so cool once you return from one of these trips!
When you go with Waponi, you get locally owned Amazon lodges and Adventure campsites, bilingual naturalist guides, specialized itineraries, and the opportunity to travel to the most remote corners of Ecuador while improving the standard of living of the people who live there.
Waponi’s low-impact, small-sized community tours do not compromise ones safety, hygiene or comfort. You will always enjoy filling meals made with local ingredients, sleep in cozy lodges or spacious clean tents, and be led by people who have lived off of these lands their entire lives.
