If you are the type of person who craves exploring the rarely visited nooks and crannies of our planet – I have the perfect adventure for you! Everyday we lose more of our precious rainforest – land that is filled with plants and animals we are just beginning to discover. I have a personal theory – that for every disease on our planet there is a cure, and I feel many of those cures will be found deep in our rainforests, hopefully before they are torn down. Now is the time to visit while we can still travel there.
Mashpi Lodge is set within a 2600 acre private reserve which is part of the Tumbez-Choco-Darien bio-region that extends from Panama, through Columbia, Ecuador to northern Peru. Only 2.5 hours northwest of Quito (a UNESCO World Heritage site) – you slowly ascend into another universe of mountains and lush forests filled with unusual creatures, birds and bromiliads, ferns, orchards and mosses of unparalleled beauty.
Here, in the middle of what feels like a lost-in-time section of mother earth, is a 22 room glass hotel high on a ridge in one of the last untouched areas of this planet. Over 500 species of birds can be found, thousands of orchid species, brilliant hummingbirds, tens of thousands of insects, unworldly large blue morpho butterflies, and frogs so small that they can sit on an aspirin.
All this and organic local gourmet dishes, an eight person hot tub, an aerial tram that goes into the upper canopy, massage treatments using local herbs and leaves, and the opportunity to connect with our mother earth in an unparallelled and unique way.
Mashpi’s goals for the environment include the local people who live in the rainforest and you will be able to connect with them and learn how they live. Through nature walks you will learn about the forest and it’s importance to our survival and future. You’ll even have the opportunity to walk the forest at night to explore the nocturnal magic! They are also interested in your education and feature a reading room with videos on the natural world so hopefully you will become an advocate for the rainforest.
This eco-conscious resort only hosts a maximum of 36 guest in 18 suites. Several of these rooms do connect if you are bringing the family – and young folks are definitely encouraged to come. The resort is scheduled to open April, 2012 and rates start at $1552.00 per person for two nights, all-inclusive. Do not miss the slideshow above and the beautiful video below.
Travel with an open heart & live boldly, Sheri
Ready to explore the rainforest? Book now!
