Ecuador Amazon is also known as 'Oriente' locally. The Oriente has a tropical climate throughout the year, with the average temperature of 24ēC. Ecuador Amazon comprises the provinces of Sucumbios, Napo, Orellano, Pastaza, Morona Santiago, and Zamora Chinchipe.
The Amazon forest is the world's largest tropical rain forest. It boasts of an immense variety of flora and fauna. From monkeys small enough to sit on our finger tips to toads weighing 4 kgs, to bird-eating spiders, and 30 feet anacondas The Amazon forest has them all.
The Amazon river drains 40% of all the total fresh water drained into the oceans worldwide. At certain places the river is so wide, that from the middle neither of the shores are visible. The river in its course has many islands, too.
Ecuador Amazon comprises 2% of the total Amazonian rain forest. These rain forests provide us :
- Cacao (chocolate), Black pepper, Cinnamon, Garlic, Vanilla
- Sugarcane, Figs, Eggplant
- Medicines like Quinine for Malaria, Curare for Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's Disease
- Industrial Products like Latex, timber, Resins, and Oils
Ecuador Amazon is also home to many indigenous tribes, who have been the guardians of this biological heritage for the last 10,000 years. Cofan, Huaorani, Quichua, Secoya, Shuar, Siona, and Zaparo are some of these tribes.
The places of Amazon rain forest that can be covered from Quito while on an Ecuador Sightseeing tour are:
- Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve
- Huaorani Protectorate
- Yasuni National Park
Other places of tourist interest province-wise are :
- Nueva Loja First Settlement of Loja colonizers
- San Rafael Falls Highest waterfall (140 m) in Ecuador
- Reventador A 3500 m high volcano
- Baeza Famous for its birdlife
- Sumaco volcano
- Sucua a place famous for shrinking their enemies heads
- Cueva de Los Tayos A cave over 85 meter deep
