Tena

By Christopher Sacco

Tena is the quintessential South American jungle town, the kind of place where you would expect to run into Indiana Jones stocking up on supplies before setting out in search of a lost city. Keep that image in your head because if you are in Tena, and that Indiana Jones type is you, then you are in for an adventure.

Five hours southeast of Quito, Tena is the perfect launching point for a jungle trek or a rafting or kayaking trip down one of the countless rivers that pass within reach of town.  

Once an important colonial trading post in the Amazon, Tena is now the commercial center and capital of the Napo Province. The rainforest surrounding Tena supports a large population of lowland Quichua indigenous. Significant numbers of Quijos and Chibcha Indians live further out in the green expanse that stretches as far as the eye can see. It is possible to visit many of these communities and to observe and sometimes participate in traditional dancing, the preparation of chicha (an alcoholic drink made by masticating maiz, rice or yucca and fermenting the juice), shamanic rituals and blowgun competitions. 

Climate

Considering its location in the rainforest, Tena's climate is surprisingly comfortable; it is cooler and drier than most people expect. There is rainfall year-round and the heaviest rains come in June, July and August. Even in this very wet time, it does not necessarily rain every day or all day when it does rain. The rain is pleasant and warm, like the rain that those of us from the northern hemisphere only get in the sweltering heat of summer.