Masphi Lodge, the perfect fusion of nature and luxury

Located in the Equinoxial Chocó, just 3 hours’ drive from Quito, lies the Mashpi Lodge lies, in the heart of a 3,200 acre pristine lush tropical forest, where a select group of discerning travelers will experience the perfect fusion of nature and luxury.

El hogar de Masphi Lodge

Mashpi Private Reserve is located in the heart of the Chocó Biogeographic Region. Starting from Panama, and running through Colombia and down to Northern Ecuador, the Chocó is one of the last pristine coastal tropical rainforests on Earth*.

The Chocó is the “other” Rainforest experience in the heart of the “South American Eco-Cross ™” formed by the intersection of the Andes and the Equatorial Line.

Mashpi Lodge at sunset, Choco Cloud Forest, Pichincha province, Ecuador
The Chocoan Rainforests still harbour thousands of undiscovered plants and animals, and acres of ancient forests and shorelines. The Chocó biogeographic region is globally recognized as one of the world’s most biologically and culturally diverse. It provides habitat to an extraordinary wealth of plant and animal species.

Split from the Amazon by the Andes a few million years ago, the Chocó now displays one of the world´s highest rates of endemism.  Chocó has the highest number of endemic bird species in the Americas.

The Chocó EBA (Endemic Bird Area) has registered over 600 species to date, with large areas still unsurveyed. Numbers are expected to rise over 700, comparable to all continental Europe. The Chocó has the largest number of range-restricted birds of all the world´s EBAs.

Mashpi is a Private Reserve with a lush, ever-green forest where guests discover the sounds and colors of its nature, encountering the world of hummingbirds and butterflies, discovering hidden waterfalls, surrounded by all sorts of life forms, from the tiniest to the great.

About the project and sustainability

This reserve belonged to a logging company that filed for bankruptcy about 15 years ago. Only 20% of the reserve is secondary forest, with 80% of pristine primary, untouched forest. We built the lodge where the saw-mill functioned and used the same road as the access to the lodge. Today, Mashpi is a private reserve, registered with the Ministry of the Environment, focused on conservation and sustainable luxury eco-tourism.

They have a resident biologist, constantly researching and monitoring species and life forms of the forest.  He developed important projects such as the camera traps that were placed around the reserve in order to capture movement-triggered images. He found the presence of pumas, ocelots, armadillos, peccaries, and much more. He is developing a new project for studying and reintroducing the Spider Monkey in the tropical forests. A volunteering project is also under development.

65% of our staff are from local villages. The idea is to have 85% of the local staff for 2016. This tourism business provides a sustainable alternative income for the nearby villages, instead of agriculture and logging. Once the lodge sales reach break-even point versus the investment, the idea is to sell 16% of the stocks of the Lodge to the employees and local communities, making them true stakeholders in the project.

The Lodge

Imagine a room in any W hotel… but in a pristine and mega diverse cloud forest. An “urban” hotel in the heart of the Chocó. Each room offers amazing panoramic views of the forest, with floor to ceiling windows on one wall: the biggest “flat screen live nature show”, 24/7. comfortable beds to get lost dreaming in nature, luxury amenities and designer bathrooms with rainfall showers. Our suites have bathtubs-with-a-view.

The Lodge, built with the latest techniques in sustainable building and employing hydroelectric power in the near future, is designed to blend beautifully with its surroundings. It features contemporary, minimalist decor, mixing warm earth tones, notes of bright colour, clean lines and striking angles and vistas: a luxury cocoon amid the cloudforest with the natural world just beyond, ideal for contemplation and relaxation.

National Geographic Unique Lodge of the World

January 2015 Mashpi Lodge become a Charter-Founding member of National Geographic Society’s newest venture in world-class travel experiences: National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World, a collection of boutique hotels in extraordinary places around the world with a proven commitment to sustainability, authenticity and excellence.

Selected through a rigorous evaluation process, each lodge offers an outstanding guest experience while supporting the protection of cultural and natural heritage and embracing sustainable tourism practices.

Mashpi Lodge is extremely proud to work with National Geographic and to be a member of the exclusive founding group of the Organization’s Unique Lodges of the World, given the worldwide recognition and prestige that National Geographic has as a universal Institution that fosters the learning, knowledge dissemination and preservation of our planet’s most amazing natural and cultural heritage features and wonders.