Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Four vast reserves characterize this region, the Cayambe Coca Ecological Reserve, Yasuní
National Park, Cuyabeno National Park and Sumaco Galeras National Park, each demon-
strating a remarkable diversity of flora and fauna concentrated into a relatively small area.
So pack some biodegradable repellant, turn off that cell phone and tune into the raw sym-
phony of The Oriente, where time stands still and all waters flux lazily toward The
Amazon.
Tena
One of South America's top whitewater rafting destinations and the capital of Ecuador's
Napo Province, Tena's splendid streets at the Amazon's doorstep offer much to the travel-
er looking to get in touch with jungle life. Out of the grasp of oil exploitation and far from
the border conflict that troubled Southern villages, it's actually thought of as the darling of
the East, a city designed to exist in harmony with the nature that envelops it.
At over 1,000 feet above sea level the 'Cinnamon City' can be refreshingly cool, and even
cold at night in the forest. As you would expect, it rains all the time in Tena but never
really characterizes its personality; slippery streets and muddy puddles don't scatter about
town. Instead, the equatorial sun dries any memory of rain out and, after each earth-shak-
ing downpour, life resumes normally as if nothing had ever happened. The small city cen-
ter is divided into two sections by the confluence of the Tena and Pano Rivers and the
sunny pedestrian bridge that crosses over it. On the clearest days the western wall of the
Andes can be seen on one side while the rainforest stretches out to the East on the other.
Besides these bodies of water, the Jondachi, Jatunyacu, Misahuallí and Hullín Rivers can
also be ridden for their wilder waters, and its proximity to all of these is why Tena ranks
#1 when it comes to water sports in Ecuador. Rafting, kayaking, canyoning and caving op-
erators from around the world have settled in Tena, forming agencies with the local guides
that line the city's streets, ready to lead newcomers on day trips along the Tena or aficion-
ados on the Class 4 waters of
Rio Hullin.
Tena is a city with strong indigenous roots. In the markets, on the streets and especially on
the tiny tin can buses that escort villagers to their homes on the outskirts of town, lowland
Kichwa is widely spoken. The jungle town was even a hotbed of political action during
the indigenous uprisings in 2001 and have since formed into two major confederations
and a few smaller organized communities with representatives in local government. Many
operators in town have guides that hail from these communities and can be asked about
