When the Spanish founded Archidona in 1560, they shared out the surrounding land, displacing the indigenous Quichua population. Forced down towards the jungle, the Quichua settled on the riverbanks at the confluence of the ríos Tena and Pano, though it wasn't long before the Jesuit missionaries tracked them down, built a church and gave the settlement a name: San Juan de los Dos Ríos de Tena. The name has since shrunk, but the city has continued to grow and TENA has been the Oriente's most important town for the best part of the last hundred years. It was the capital of Napo-Pastaza province from 1920 and subsequently of Napo province, which was created in 1959. The birth of the oil industry in the Oriente has seen the gradual erosion of the city's power, and it has lost a huge portion of provincial territory to the new oil capitals, Lago Agrio and Coca. But from a tourist's point of view, Tena is by far the most agreeable of the three big towns in the northern Oriente. The town has made the most of its popularity with visitors and ecotourism now makes a significant part of the local economy. This is one of the best centres in the Oriente to arrange an intercultural exchange with a Quichua group, mostly communities that are easily accessed by road or river. Don't expect to see much wildlife on these trips, however, especially larger mammals - although small pockets of primary forest remain, most land has been colonized or overhunted.

 

A huge number of tributaries converge around Tena at the head of the Napo basin. River rapids, waterfalls, mountain streams, sand and pebble beaches allow for a host of water-based activities . A tour from Tena is bound to involve at least one of swimming, climbing up brooks, bathing in waterfalls, tubing, kayaking or rafting. Word is beginning to spread across the international white-water rafting and kayaking grapevines about the scores of runs, from Class I to Class V, all within easy striking distance of town. It's a hot tip to be a major white-water destination in a few years, and a sizeable kayaking contingent already comes to Tena during the northern hemisphere's off-season in December and January. The town celebrates two main fiestas , one on February 12 for provincialization and another on November 15 for its foundation, both of which involve drinking, dancing, the odd parade and partying.