The Best Ways to See the Amazon from Tena, Ecuador

You can stay in a luxury Amazon lodge and go white water rafting through the jungle as part of Culture Trip’s epic eight-day Ecuador adventure, led by our Local Insider.

The many rivers in and around Tena, such as the Pano, Anzu and Jatunyacu, offer some of the best white water rapids in South America. These Class I to Class IV rapids provide opportunities for beginners, intermediates and experts alike, with plenty of calmer sections in between where you can sit back and admire the jungle scenery, watching out for Amazonian wildlife as you go.

With Culture Trip, you can enjoy a white water rafting adventure on the Jatunyacu River as part of our specially curated eight-day Ecuador tour, which also includes visits to Quito, the Cotopaxi National Park and several other fantastic destinations.

Even without heading upriver, it’s possible to see a wide variety of animals in the secondary forests dotted around Tena, including several species of monkeys and birds. Laguna Paikawe, a small lagoon with an island in the middle, is a birdwatching paradise. Board a flat-bottomed boat or small canoe while a guide quietly paddles past prehistoric hoatzins – mohawked birds with brilliant blue faces and chestnut-brown feathers – and spider monkeys hanging from the trees.

As well as the web of streams and rivers, there are numerous caves and waterfalls in the area around Tena. In Archidona, around 20 minutes’ drive north of Tena, the Jumandi Caves are among the most spectacular natural features in Ecuador, named after a resistance fighter who pushed back against Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. You’ll see stalagmites, stalactites, mud pools and waterfalls in abundance as you walk through this vast cave network, which shows a starkly contrasting side to Amazonian nature. Visiting with a guide is compulsory.

Many local communities like Yanayacu, meanwhile, offer hiking trips onto sacred lands. Guides will take you up trails to see waterfalls, rock pools and naturally eroded caverns, home to bats hanging from the dripping walls.

Basing yourself in Tena makes for a highly convenient, accessible and inexpensive Amazon experience. However, if you want to venture deeper into the jungle, there are plenty of accommodation options further up the Napo River towards Coca and the wilds of Yasuni National Park.