Puyo

Puyo is the capital of Pastaza, the largest province in Ecuador and one of the least populated, and it functions as the meeting point between the highlands and the vast forest to the east, with the road down from Banos arriving here through waterfall country. The town is wet, its name in Kichwa meaning cloudy, and its attractions are edge-of-forest ones: the Omaere ethnobotanical park with Shuar and Waorani dwellings and medicinal plants, the Las Orquideas garden with hundreds of native orchid species, animal rescue centres, and a long riverside boardwalk. Several Indigenous nationalities have organisational headquarters here, and community tourism into the deeper forest is arranged from town.

History

Puyo, whose name comes from the Kichwa word for cloudy, was founded in 1899 and became the capital of Pastaza. Its region grew from the old missions of Canelos: in 1869 the Vicariate of the Eastern Missions was created and entrusted to the Jesuits, and in 1886 it was divided into apostolic prefectures, Canelos and Macas going to the Dominicans, whose missionaries also held civil authority in the canton. Lying between Baños and the Amazonian towns of Tena and Macas, Puyo became the commercial and cultural centre of the region, with some 25,000 inhabitants by late 2006 (Wikipedia, Puyo, Pastaza).

Highlights

• Omaere ethnobotanical park - Shuar and Waorani houses and plant use.
• Native orchid collections - hundreds of species in local gardens.
• The riverside boardwalk - the walk along the Puyo river.
• Community tourism offices - the arranging point for deeper forest trips.

When to go

Year round; it rains most days at any season, which is where the name comes from. A day. Deeper trips must be arranged in advance.

Good to know

The town is unattractive and functional, and the rain is relentless. Animal rescue centres vary a great deal in standards. Most of the real interest is hours further east and needs planning.

Nearby

Banos is north-west; Tena lies north.

Key facts