A series of 14 bridges carry you from big tree to big tree at the Explorama canopy walk just a short walk from Napo lodge on the Napo river, one of the Amazon tributaries.
Successive walkways gain height until you reach a height of 117 feet above the forest floor.
Netting strung between cables provides hand holds for a shaky bridge. The floor of the walkway is two side-by-side boards covering ladders laid horizontally end to end. Longer bridges shake noticeably, but are safe, and checked every day.
Few birds were active in the middle of the day when we did the canopy walk, but the views were magnificent.
Bromeliads covered the top one third of the tree trunks. These “air plants” capture rainfall in the canopy and provide breeding sites for frogs, lizards, spiders, and insects, which the birds then feed upon.
A Black-bellied Cuckoo rested in the shade at tree top, escaping the mid-day heat.
A White-tailed Trogon alternately panted and looked around from his high altitude perch in the canopy.
This canopy lizard would have made a nice meal for the cuckoo, but the birds were too hot to hunt. And so were we!
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