Tena () is a city in the

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

. It is the seat of

Tena Canton Tena Canton is a canton of Ecuador, in the Napo Province Napo () is a province in Ecuador. Its capital is Tena. The province contains the Napo River. The province is low developed without much industrial presence. The thick rainforest is home t ...

, as well as the capital and largest city of

Napo Province Napo () is a province in Ecuador. Its capital is Tena. The province contains the Napo River. The province is low developed without much industrial presence. The thick rainforest is home to many natives that remain isolated by preference, descendan ...

History

Tena is one of several Ecuadorian cities founded by Gil Ramírez Dávalos, a Spanish explorer and

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

. Dávalos — who served as Governor of

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

from 1556 until 1559 — also founded the cities of Cuenca (1557), Baeza (1560) and

Azogues Azogues () is the capital of Azogues Canton and of Cañar Province in Ecuador. The population of Azogues is approximately 40,000. Azogues is located at 2,518 meters above sea level (8,261 feet), its population is of 39,848 inhabitants, its avera ...

(1562).

Geography

At the confluence of the Tena and Pano rivers in the center of town is located the ''Parque Amazónico La Isla'' with a pedestrian bridge, ''el Puente Espiral''. At this point the rivers become the Tena River, which soon joins with the Misahualli and eventually flows into the

Napo River The Napo River ( es, Río Napo) is a tributary to the Amazon River that rises in Ecuador on the flanks of the east Andean volcanoes of Antisana, Sincholagua and Cotopaxi. The total length is . The river drains an area of . The mean annual discha ...

. From this point, the Napo — which is the 11th largest tributary to the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

in terms of inflow — winds its way east into Peru.

Climate

Tena is located in the rainforest, 420m above sea level. There is rainfall year-round, with an annual average of 171.65 inches (4,359.91 mm). The heaviest rains come in April, May, and June.

Tourism

Tena is known for the rainforest and rivers that surround the town, and it is popular with tourists. Many inexpensive hotels, tourist agencies, and restaurants cater to

backpacker tourism Backpacking is a form of low-cost, independent travel, which often includes staying in inexpensive lodgings and carrying all necessary possessions in a backpack. Once seen as a marginal form of travel undertaken only through necessity, it has b ...

. Tena is surrounded by forested hills and is located at the edge of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, which are visible to the west. The jungle rivers on the Amazon side of the Andes are bigger and have more consistent flows than their west-Andean counterparts, and for this reason Tena has become a popular launching point for jungle,

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

and

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

tours in Ecuador's Amazon rainforest region. The entry to the city is marked by a statue of the indigenous hero Jumandy, who led an uprising against the Spanish colonizers in 1578 and was subsequently executed. Tena and its surrounding indigenous communities are also bases for many volunteers working for

reforestation Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting. Management A debate ...

projects, with community support in development initiatives in diverse, and connected areas such as,

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

and capacity building. The indigenous populations of Ecuador are some of the most politically organized in Latin America, and Tena houses two major confederations, Fenakin (Federación de Organizaciones de la Nacionalidad Kichwa de Napo) and Ashin (Asociación de Shamanes Indígenas de Napo); one of the major stand-offs during the 2001 indigenous uprising in Ecuador, took place here. Oil prospecting is a point of contention here, as there is drilling of the Pungarayacu heavy oil field by Canadian corporation Ivanhoe. Illegal sand and mineral mining, such as for gold, near and within Napo's rivers is also a huge concern for many of Tena's inhabitants."An Integrative Approach to Assess the Environmental Impacts of Gold Mining Contamination in the Amazon"
/ref>

Transportation

The road from Quito to Tena is 99% paved as of 2021. It includes a spectacular passage over

Papallacta Papallacta is a small village at an altitude of in Napo Province, Ecuador. The village is located off the Eastern Cordilleras, on the road from Quito into the Amazon rainforest. It is known for its hot springs. How to reach The drive from ...

Pass, above 4,000 m elevation, as well as views of several waterfalls. On clear days the 3,990 m Sumaco volcano can be seen to the east. There is bus service to Tena via Baeza which takes about 4 hours, and private transport from Quito takes about 3 to 3.5 hours. Small yellow truck-taxis are abundant in the city and cost $1.25. Around the time of the discovery of oil in the province,

Mayor Galo de la Torre Airport Mayor Galo de la Torre Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Mayor Galo de la Torre) was an airport serving Tena, Napo Province, Ecuador. It closed in 2001 and was replaced by Jumandy Airport, to the east, in 2011. History Mayor Galo de la Torre Airport ...

was constructed to serve Tena. It closed in 2011. A new airport,

Jumandy Airport Jumandy Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Jumandy) is an airport serving Tena, Napo Province, Ecuador. It is west of the village of Ahuano, and about from Tena. It replaces Tena's Mayor Galo de la Torre Airport, which closed in 2001. Jumandy Airport t ...

located to the east near Ahuano, was inaugurated in 2011. The only airline that served it,

TAME Tame may refer to: *Taming, the act of training wild animals *River Tame, Greater Manchester *River Tame, West Midlands and the Tame Valley *Tame, Arauca, a Colombian town and municipality * "Tame" (song), a song by the Pixies from their 1989 alb ...

, ended flights to Tena in January 2016 citing low passenger loads.

Gallery

File:Tena, Ecudaor.JPG, Tena (2011) File:REDONDEL - panoramio.jpg, statue of Jumandy, at rotary located on Ecuador Highway 45 at the entrance to the city File:Iwias desfilando en Tena.jpg, Soldiers of the Jungle Commands Group parading in Tena File:Iwias en Tena.jpg, Soldiers of the Jungle Commands Group parading in Tena File:Local_children_of_Tena,_Ecuador_(2009).jpg, Local children File:Street_1_in_Tena,_Ecuador_(2009).jpg, Street in Tena (2009) File:Local_child_of_Tena,_Ecuador_(2009).jpg, Child with dog

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Napo Province Provincial capitals in Ecuador