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Trip Planning

It's basically useless to try to plan your trip around the weather because the only consistent thing about weather patterns in the Amazon Basin is their inconsistency. So, just plan your trip to Ecuador based on when it fits best into your life and expect to have some sunny days and some rainy days, some high water and some low water!

 


When should you come kayaking in Ecuador?sunny day while kayaking in ecuador

The kayaking season in Ecuador is year-around since the climate is warm and the rivers flow all 12 months. The favorite paddling months are November through February in the popular kayaking areas of the Quijos and Napo River Valleys. Although the boating areas of Ecuador have a wet and dry season they are not as well defined as in some other countries where a monsoon season or a summer run off occurs. It can rain a lot or be dry and sunny any week of the year and quite likely will be both during your visit.

Quijos, Napo, Santo Domingo

The dry season in the Quijos and Napo valleys is October through February and that is when you'll have a better chance to find fun water levels with less risk of being flooded off the harder runs. The creeks in the Quijos Valley have never been too low to run, although they do get too high quite easily. In unusually dry spells, the creeks in the Napo Valley will get too low to run, and you'll want to stick to the rivers with bigger drainages. But, in general in these too valleys, you want generally dry weather so you don't have to worry about too high of water. In the Santo Domingo region the rainy season is January through August and that is the popular time to paddle there because most of the creeks there don't run unless it is raining. If you go there in dry weather, you can always paddle the Toachi and Blanco, you'll just miss out on their tributaries.