Cabanas San Isidro Lodge

The Bustamante family, originally from Quito, founded Cabanas San Isidro Lodge over 50 years ago when the Ecuadorian government began making the underpopulated eastern lands available to the general public to convert to farms. Rather than clear the land for farming, Simon Bustamante left the majority of his 1,100 hectares, plus a further 800 hectares bought by the Bustamantes’ local foundation, untouched.

Today the lodge is set amongst large, accessible tracts of primary cloud forest and is overseen by Simon’s daughter, Carmen.

The lodge sits in the picturesque Quijos Valley, one of the westernmost headwaters of the Amazon basin. There are 13 comfortable en suite rooms surrounded by sprawling gardens, all with private porch, hummingbird feeder and sitting area. A cosy living room is found in the main house as well as a separate dining room serving a delicious fusion of traditional Ecuadorian and international dishes. There is a comfortable mirador (viewpoint) lounge, Wi-Fi is available in the dining room and additional amenities include a pool table, TV room, book exchange, dartboard and laundry service.

The lodge has a number of well-maintained forest trails and, along with its immediate surroundings including the forested roadsides, boasts a bird list of 330 species. There is a high diversity of other wildlife too, including mammals such as night monkey, kinkajou and black agouti.