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.

What you actually see

• 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.

Honest expectations

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.