Parque Omaere
SIGHTS / PARKS & GARDENS
More information : www.fundacionomaere.org
Prices : chil/adult $1.50/3
Opening hours : 9am-5pm Tue-Sun
Less than 1km north of the city center, this ethno-botanical park offers one- to two-hour guided tours (free with admission) of rainforest plants and indigenous dwellings, by mostly indigenous guides. The park is run by Shuar plant expert Teresa Shiki and her biologist husband, Chris Canaday, a font of knowledge about everything from jungle plants to ecological dry toilets. Teresa helped found and plant the park and prepares natural medicine.
Get here by following Loja north of town for about 300m until you reach a gas station on the left. Turn right and follow the road right to arrive at the park entrance, across a footbridge over the river and passed the El Jardín hotel. To return, a beautiful trail (called the paseo turístico ) continues past Omaere for 1.7km along the river to the Puyo–Tena road, where you can flag down a bus back to town every 20 minutes, or return along the trail
Jardín Botáncio las Orquídeas
SIGHTS / PARKS & GARDENS
Telephone :+593 3 253 0305
Prices : admission $5
Opening hours : 8am-6pm
Visitors rave about this privately run botanical garden, located 15 minutes south from Puyo on the road to Macas. Enthusiastic owner Omar Taeyu guides visitors through hills of lush foliage and fish ponds to see gorgeous plants and countless rare orchids. Call ahead to let them know you’re coming.
Paseo de los Monos
SIGHTS / OTHER
Telephone : +593 9 474 0070
Prices : admission $1.50
Opening hours : 8am-5pm
At Paseo de los Monos you can see a variety of rescued animals, including six kinds of monkeys, turtles and birds. Some animals are caged, while others run free. For an extra $2, guides lead four-hour walks into the surrounding jungle to see more of the center’s animals
Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ecuador/the-oriente/puyo/sights
