PHOTO: Sunrise in the Amazon jungles of Yasuni National Park.

Tofino Expeditions launched a series of Amazon River kayak tours featuring exploration of Ecuador’s Yasuni National Park with naturalists and aboriginal guides.

The excursions travel through a region thought to have been a Pleistocene refuge, where numerous species survived extinction during periods of global climatic change. Throughout the journeys, Tofino’s jungle experts identify native plants and animal life.

Travelers return by motorized dugout canoe to one of the three deluxe jungle lodges following each day’s exploration. Departures are available from April 25 to May 3, Oct. 31 to Nov. 8 and Dec. 17 to 25, 2014.

Rates start at $4,390 per person.