Tena, Ecuador

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Latitude: 1 degree 1 minute 15 seconds South Longitude: 77 degrees 48 minutes 50 degrees West Tena is a city in "el Oriente" (the Eastern, Amazonian part) of Ecuador, which was founded as a missionary outpost and still has a Catholic mission. It is located southeast of Quito and is the commercial centre and capital of the Napo Province. The population of the town is around 26,000 people (2007) and has been doubled over the last ten years, which have also seen a halving of the forested area in the province.

Tena lies at the foot of the Andes mountains at an altitude of 500 m and is, therefore, often seen as a gateway city to the Ecuadorian part of the Amazon Rainforest. The town is centred at the confluence of the Tena and Pano rivers- they meet to form the river Misahualli. A popular pedestrian bridge, "el puente pietonal", crosses the rivers in the central part of the town. The river Misahualli is a tributary to the River Napo further downstream, and the Napo is in turn the ninth biggest tributary to the Amazon River.

The city is home to a major regional hospital and many tourist related businesses, including several rainforest tour operations as well as at least three businesses that take paying customers on white water rafting trips on nearby rivers. One of the local tourist attractions in the town is a small wildlife park called Parque Amazonico, which is located on the peninsula formed where the rivers Pano and Tena meet.

Tena and its surrounding indigenous communities are also bases for many volunteers working for reforestation projects, with community support in development initiatives in diverse, but connected areas such as bio-piracy, ecotourism and capacity building. Ecuador has one of the best politically organized indigenous populations in Latin America and Tena houses two major confederations, Fonakin (Federacion de Organisaciones de la Nacionalidaded Kichwa de Napo) and Ashin (Association de Shamanes Indigenas de Napo); one of the major stand-offs during the 2001 indigenous uprising in Ecuador, took place in Tena. The entry to the city from the near-by town of Archidona (on the road to Quito) is marked by a statue of the indigenous hero, Jumandy, who bravely led an indigenous uprising against the violent Spanish colonizers in 1578, for which he was ultimately executed in a publicly humiliating manner typical of the Catholic conquistadores, described by anthropologist Michael Uzendoski.

In comparison to Puyo, the capital of the neighboring province Pastaza, which is both bigger and growing faster, Tena has a lively night life with bars familiar to foreigners. Friday and Saturday nights hordes of volunteers, guides (both indigenous and foreign), and local young people assemble in the Araña Bar on the West side of the rivers, near the "puente pietonal" and later in el Yagé Bar on the East side of the rivers. Tena also boasts a range of "discotecas" playing loud reggaeton and a wide variety of "comidas tipicas", preparing and serving food in the traditional manners of the [Napo Runa]. The street meat is a must try as well as the maduros.

The fiestas of Tena, which coincide with the city´s anniversary, take place for a week until their conclusion on November 15. A delightful parade marks the first and last days of fiestas, traveling down the main street of Tena, Ave. 15 de Noviembre, and concluding near the Tena airport. Dozens of vendors from all over the country converge upon the tourist city, and local quichua bands and popular singers such as Fausto Miño hold concerts.

References

Lonely Planet Ecuador and the Galapagos by Rob Rach

Author: Rob Rachowiecki

ISBN-10: 0864423489 South America ISBN-13: 9780864423481

External links

• A traveller's guide to Tena
• Ishpingo - a reforestation and autonomous development foundation accepting volunteers.
• Colonos - Amazonia por la Vida! - blogging from Tena

0°59′S 77°49′W