Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Lost in the Jungle or Jungle Comforts?
Ecuador's Oriente now offers the chance to visit even the
deepest, most remote parts of the rainforest in relative com-
fort. The weather is warm and humid, but manageable.
Simple accommodations are clean andmore than adequate,
especially when sipping on a cool
cerveza
while lounging in
a hammock. Even hiking through the jungle is generally
not too difficult. The reason for this level of comfort, how-
ever, can be summed up in one word: clearing. Lodges,
trails and routes have been meticulously planned and de-
veloped either around naturally clear areas (the edge of an
ox-bow lake, for example) or they have been cleared specifi-
cally for tourism.
Keep in mind that indigenous hunters and gatherers never
had it so easy. Bushwhacking through undeveloped virgin
rainforest the way traditional inhabitants did is enough to
make you wish you were dead, and, in fact, most people left
on their own would be dead in a very short time. The native
jungle tribes depended on an intimate - almost spiritually
and ecologically perfect - understanding of the land. The
few groups left still depend on that.
Tours & Tour Operators
M
any tour operators and community-based ecotourism organiza-
tions overlapwith their services, I have listed themall together.
In addition, most tours are associated with all-inclusive packages at
ecolodges and are listed in the
Where to Stay
section, below.
/fax 6-886-
372, is a respectable outfitter offering various multi-day excursions
into the jungle and working closely with local people. Typical adven-
tures include hiking, canoeing, staying at ecolodges, visiting local
families, swimming, and panning for gold.
In Tena,
Amorangachi Tours
, 15 de Noviembre 432,
From Tena,
Senior Delfín Pauchi
(Casilla 245,
6-886-434/088,
owner of Cabañas Pimpilala) is one of the better family enterprises,
less than an hour fromTena. AQuichua native, Delfín is quite knowl-
edgeable about the region. He incorporates jungle excursions with a
stay at the cabañas, where you can meet his entire family. Delphín
speaks only Spanish and Quichua, but his cultural and botanic
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