Arapaima Adventure
10 Nights | Western Amazon, Ecuador
Trip Details
Accommodation
Jungle Lodge
Season
December – February
Target Species
Arapaima
Fishing Style
Spinning & Fly Fishing
Arapaima Fishing in the Amazon Jungle
Trip Overview ➜
- A true arapaima-focused expedition: This trip is built around arapaima, one of the great freshwater bucket-list fish. These fish can exceed 2 metres and 120 kg, and the fishing is highly visual, with anglers watching for fish as they surface to breathe.
- Exclusive waters: The expedition reaches one of the most remote and preserved areas of the western Amazon, with access to rivers, lagoons, jungle channels, and community-managed waters covering more than 170,000 hectares.
- Conservation: We work in partnership with the local Kichwa community, supporting catch-and-release arapaima fishing, conservation of vulnerable species, and sustainable economic alternatives for local families.
- Wildlife, rainforest, and the full Amazon experience: Beyond the fishing, the trip offers a deep immersion into Amazon nature, with opportunities to see monkeys, Amazon river dolphins, parrots, macaws, caimans, reptiles, amphibians, and other rainforest wildlife.
11-Day Adventure
$4,600 per angler
- 10 nights lodge & hotel accommodation
- 7 guided fishing days in the Amazon
- Domestic flights, ground transfers and expedition logistics within Ecuador
- All meals & drinking water in the jungle
- Fishing, conservation and community fees
Fishing for Arapaima in Ecuador
The arapaima is one of the Amazon’s most remarkable freshwater fish, not only because of its size, but because of the way it lives. Known in parts of South America as pirarucu, it belongs to an ancient group of bony-tongued fishes and can grow to proportions that feel almost out of place in freshwater. In the right waters, mature fish can exceed two metres in length and weigh well over 100 kilograms, making them one of the true giants of the river world. Their armour-like scales, broad head, heavy tail, and red-flecked flanks give them a prehistoric look, but it is their behaviour that makes them especially compelling to anglers. Arapaima are obligate air-breathers, rising to the surface to gulp air, often revealing themselves with a sound, swirl, or subtle roll before disappearing again into the dark water.
The fishing on this trip takes place deep in the western Amazon, across a vast network of rivers, lagoons, jungle channels, and wetlands managed by a local Kichwa indigenous community. The territory covers more than 170,000 hectares of community-managed rainforest and aquatic habitat, giving anglers access to exclusive waters that remain far removed from conventional fishing pressure. Much of the experience is built around moving through remote lagoons and river systems where arapaima still behave like wild Amazon fish, surfacing to breathe among flooded forest, blackwater edges, and untouched jungle.
Fishing for arapaima is unlike casting blindly for most freshwater species. It is a game of patience, observation, and timing. Anglers watch for breathing fish, track patterns, and wait for the right shot, knowing that the fish they are casting at could be longer than a grown man and powerful enough to test both tackle and composure. Their size and vulnerability also make them a species that demands responsible handling, which is why well-managed catch-and-release fisheries, community involvement, and conservation-focused access are so important.
Accommodation on this trip is simple, comfortable, and built around the realities of fishing deep in the Amazon. During the first part of the expedition, guests stay in cozy jungle cabins constructed on site over several years using locally gathered materials. Each cabin has two or three beds, mosquito mesh on the windows, mosquito nets above the beds, and a private bathroom and shower. A large shared kitchen and dining area overlooks the river, creating a relaxed base between fishing sessions and a place to eat, rest, and take in the surrounding rainforest.
For the second part of the trip, the group moves to a more remote community basecamp, giving access to lagoons and water systems deeper inside the territory. This setup is more expedition-style, with a covered raised platform, tents, comfortable mattresses, toilets, a shower, generator, kitchen, and dining area. It is not a luxury lodge in the traditional sense, but that is part of the point. The accommodation is practical, immersive, and positioned close to the fishing, allowing anglers to stay inside the environment they came to experience: rainforest, lagoons, wildlife, and some of the most remote arapaima waters in the western Amazon.
The expedition begins in Quito, Ecuador’s capital city and the main international gateway for the trip. From there, anglers travel east toward the Ecuadorian Amazon, moving from the high Andes into one of the most remote rainforest regions in the western Amazon basin. This is a true Amazon setting, far from conventional fishing pressure, with the trip built around access to remote arapaima waters, multi-species rivers, and protected rainforest habitat. See map.
Anglers will arrive at Quito International Airport where the trip begins with an overnight stay in the city. The following day, the group takes a short domestic flight from Quito to Coca, which is approximately 35 minutes. From Coca, the journey continues by private ground transfer for around two hours, followed by a motorized canoe transfer of approximately five hours into the lodge area. After the fishing portion of the trip, guests travel back out of the jungle by canoe and private shuttle to the local town for an overnight stay, before flying back to Quito on the final day.
11 Day / 10 Night Ecuadorian Amazon Arapaima Expedition
Trip Dates: January 24 to February 3, 2027
Fishing Days: 7 full days
Main Target Species: Arapaima
Additional Species: Peacock bass, pacu, sabalo, aimara, and giant Amazon catfish
Day 1: January 24, 2027: Arrive in Quito, Ecuador
Arrive at Quito International Airport, where anglers are met by the team and transferred to the hotel. The first evening is designed for rest after international travel, with time to settle in before the journey into the Amazon begins the following morning.
Overnight: Hotel in Quito
Day 2: January 25, 2027: Travel to the Jungle Lodge
After breakfast, anglers transfer to the airport for the short domestic flight from Quito to Coca, the gateway to this section of the Ecuadorian Amazon. From Coca, the journey continues by private ground transfer to the river, followed by a motorized canoe transfer deep into the jungle. This travel day takes guests from the Andes into the western Amazon, ending at the lodge inside the community-managed fishing territory.
Overnight: Jungle Lodge
Days 3 to 9: January 26 to February 1, 2027: 7 Full Fishing Days
The expedition includes seven full days of guided fishing across remote rivers, lagoons, jungle channels, and backwater systems within the Kichwa community-managed territory. The first part of the fishing programme gives anglers the chance to explore the waters around the lodge and target a variety of Amazon species, including peacock bass, pacu, sabalo, aimara, and giant catfish.
As the expedition progresses, the focus shifts more heavily toward arapaima. Fishing for arapaima is highly visual, with anglers watching for fish as they surface to breathe, tracking movement and breathing patterns, then making carefully timed presentations into lagoons, channels, and protected waters.
The area covers more than 170,000 hectares of rainforest, rivers, lagoons, wetlands, and aquatic habitat, giving anglers access to a large and highly remote Amazon fishery. The setting is a major part of the experience, with fishing taking place among flooded forest, blackwater edges, rainforest, and wildlife-rich jungle habitat.
Depending on the fishing plan, conditions, and location, anglers may stay between the jungle lodge and the more remote community basecamp during this portion of the expedition.
Overnight: Jungle lodge & community basecamp
Day 10: February 2, 2027: Journey Out of the Jungle
After breakfast, anglers begin the journey out of the jungle by motorized canoe and private ground transfer back toward the local town. The day is primarily focused on travel, rest, and regrouping after a week in the Amazon.
Overnight: Hotel in local town / Coca area
Day 11: February 3, 2027: Return to Quito and Depart
After breakfast, anglers transfer to the airport for the domestic flight back to Quito, where anglers can connect with international flights home or continue their travels in Ecuador.
Rates per angler:
10 Nights x 7 Fishing Days: US$4,600 per angler
Fishing equipment rental: $300
What’s Included:
- Airport meet and greet on arrival in Quito.
- Hotel accommodation in Quito on arrival night.
- Domestic flights between Quito and Coca.
- Ground transfers between Coca and the river access point.
- Motorized canoe transfers into and out of the jungle.
- Lodge and jungle accommodation during the expedition.
- Hotel accommodation in the local town / Coca area on the final night before returning to Quito.
- All meals during the trip, except dinner on the first evening in Quito.
- Drinking water throughout the expedition.
- Services of local and specialized fishing guides.
- Motorboats and rowing canoes for fishing activities.
- Fishing rights and conservation fees.
- Community entry fees.
- Access to community-managed fishing waters.
- Internal logistics from Quito International Airport back to Quito International Airport.
What’s Not Included:
- International flights to and from Quito.
- Dinner on the first evening in Quito.
- Personal fishing tackle and equipment.
- Alcoholic beverages.
- Soft drinks, Gatorade, and extra drinks.
- Tips and gratuities.
- Excess baggage fees.
- Satellite phone usage.
- Travel, baggage, cancellation, medical evacuation, and repatriation insurance.