Mashpi Lodge announced it has become a Charter-Founding member of National Geographic Society’s newest foray 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 demonstrated commitment to sustainability, authenticity and excellence.

“By creating this carefully curated group of hotels, lodges and retreats that meet internationally recognized sustainable tourism criteria while providing top-notch guest experiences, National Geographic opens a new chapter in the power of travel to protect our planet,” said Costas Christ, a sustainable tourism expert and editor at large for National Geographic Traveler magazine. “Travelers can feel confident when they stay in one of these lodges that they are helping to safeguard cultural and natural treasures in some of the world’s most incredible places.

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Located inside a Protected Private Reserve in the heart of the Equatorial Chocó Bio-Region, considered one of the planet’s “hotspots” of biodiversity, Mashpi Lodge stands like a fairytale crystal palace set amidst spectacular landscapes of hilly mountain slopes covered with dense vegetation and home to myriads of species of plants and animals, many of them endemic and unique.

Built with the latest eco-construction techniques and materials and conceived around sound environmental and social practices, Mashpi Lodge provides to an exclusive number of privileged guests the perfect combination between nature and luxury while it fosters ongoing scientific research and investigation. Boasting world-class accommodations and service, fabulous nature outings and activities, superb guides and staff, the property, a three hour ride from Quito, the capital of Ecuador offers an experience second-to-none in continental Ecuador and a model in South America.

Mashpi Lodge, www.mashpilodge.com