Tena (Ecuador) & Amazon Rainforest

September 2022

Rain. Jungle. These were the only words that popped into my mind when I heard the term Amazon rainforest. I kind of knew that the Amazon River did not run though Ecuador, and, I was curious how we could get to the Amazon Rainforest during our packaged tour of Ecuador. The tour did offer two choices out of Quito: one to the hot springs town of Banos and the other to Tena to experience the Amazon Rainforest. I picked Tena to fulfill my curiosity. (Banos has a more interesting town scene, I believe.)

The first step in getting to the Amazon Rainforest was climbing up (as high as 14,000+ feet) and down the Andes Mountain Range. The road was winding but in fair condition It was a rather tedious drive, though. It took about 5-6 hours to cover the 119 miles with a lunch stop.

As we descended the mountains, our guide introduced to us to the concept of cloud forest, a type of rain forest in higher altitudes. Clouds were hanging over us and light showers came down at times. The forest in this area did not seem as luscious as I had imagined a jungle to be.

Tena (population: 60,000) is the biggest city in the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest. The city itself didn’t seem special (Lonely Planet says otherwise, but, we did not see that), however, it is the launching pad for all the would-be Amazon explorers who come to Ecuador. We just drove through it and went directly to the boat dock on the Napo River where the adventure began.

The Napo River is a tributary of the Amazon River, and our hotel was built on a bank of the river reachable only by boats such as these. There had not been enough rain in the area for some time and the water level had become so low that the motorized boats had to be pushed along by a stick whenever they got stuck. The 20 minute boat ride was very pleasant, though. We were told that the optional tour of visiting a native village would have to be canceled because the boats couldn’t reach it due to the low water level.

Itamandi Ecolodge was one of the all inclusive lodgings in the area. There was no restaurant or market along the river, thus, these lodgings had to be all inclusive. They were all discretely positioned on either side of the river that we could not see them well as our boat passed by.

Our room was quite spacious, nicely decorated, and comfortable. We were supposed to go for an evening jungle walk after dinner, but, the rain started pouring down. Ah, the rain forest! We fell asleep listening to the loud music created by torrential rain.

Luckily, the rain stopped by the next morning. Someone from our tour group asked the guide, “isn’t the water level high enough now after that much rain so that we can to go to the villages?” The guide chuckled and said, “not even a millimeter higher.” We all got fitted with rain boots and a walking stick and were ready for a jungle walk.

After a short boat ride, we walked into the jungle. The ground was mostly level but muddy. Yes, the rain boots were a good call & so was the walking stick.

The local guide tried to show us the way of life in the jungle: what they used to build a house, what they ate or wore, etc. Of course I don’t remember any of the names of the plants. Most of the natives don’t live like that any more, but, there are some who still live deep in the jungle somewhere.

After returning from the 2 hour program, we finally got some rest from two days of non stop traveling. Some people did go swimming in the river. Many swam in the hotel swimming pool. I chose a hammock and parked myself there for hours.

Our guide arranged a stop in a local market in Tena on the way back to Quito. He said we had to try a local delicacy: grilled larva. He was sensible enough to order just one portion for everyone to have a taste. I didn’t find it super delicious but it was quite okay to eat. Well, try it yourself and tell me what you think!

So do I now have more words to describe the Amazon Rainforest other than rain and jungle? Survival. Resilience. And a deeper realization that what happens in a remote jungle does matter to everyone around the globe or vice versa.

I don’t think I can claim that I’ve been to “the Amazon” even though technically I have. I now have a remote idea what it could be like to be in the real Amazon jungle.

Itinarary: Quito -> Tena -> Quito -> San Cristobal (Galapagos) -> Guayaquil