Yasuni National Park

Yasuni National Park (Parque Nacional Yasuní) is an Ecuadorian national park near the Peruvian border.

Understand

History

Landscape

Flora and fauna

Climate

Get in

TAME flies to Coca 3 times daily from Quito. There are also buses from all major cities in Ecuador (10 hr/US$10 from Quito).

Fast (40 min, S/15) and slow (2½ hours, S/7) boats leave Iquitos to Mazán (Amazon port), from where you take a S/5 mototaxi to Mázan village and the Napo port. There are also roughly 3 slow boats per month which travel between Iquitos and Coca.

Fees and permits

Get around

The Napo River (Spanish: Río Napo) is a tributary to the Amazon River that rises in Ecuador on the flanks of the east Andean volcanoes of Antisana, Sinchulawa and Cotopaxi.

Its total length is 1,075 km (668 mi). The river drains an area of 100,518 km² (38,810 sq mi). The mean annual discharge is 6,976 m³ (246,400 cu ft) per second.

Speedboats run daily between Coca and Nuevo Rocafuerte on the Peruvian border. The only part of the river south of Coca where there is no scheduled speedboat service is the border crossing between Nuevo Rocafuerte and Pantoja, you will have to bargain for a private transfer - there should be other locals or travellers hoping to make the same trip, try to find them to reduce the cost.

From Pantoja there are 2 speedboats per week to Mazán, leaving on Monday and Tuesday mornings (S/200, 2 days overnight in Santa Clotilde). There also may be speedboats on other days of the week to Santa Clotilde, and from Santa Clotilde to Mazán.

Towns and cities

Coca and Nuevo Rocafuerte are on the Ecuadorian side of the border. There is a daily speedboat service between the two (US$15, 10-11 hr). Ecuadorian immigration is located in Nuevo Rocafuerte. Pantoja is the first village on the Peruvian side, and here you need to get your entry/exit stamp. Santa Clotilde is the biggest town between Mazán and Coca. Sometimes slow boats from Mazán terminate here, and there is also a scheduled speedboat service (S/100, 8 hr). Mazán is the strategically located across a narrow strip of land at a huge bend between the Amazon and Napo rivers. It is a short boat ride from Iquitos (S/7-15, 40 min-2½ hr).

Other destinations

See

Tours to Parque Nacional Yasuni can be arranged from Coca or Nuevo Rocafuerte (about US$50-60 per boat for a day trip if arranged in Nuevo Rocafuerte).

Do

Take a boat up or downstream, relax and take in the scenery.

Buy

There is no ATM between Coca and Iquitos, so bring enough cash. Changing money at either of the border towns, however, will see you receive an extremely bad rate.

Eat

You will likely eat a lot of rice-based meals while on the Napo River.

Drink

The locals make a liquor from fermented sugar cane and honey, sometimes mixed with milk. Try at your own risk.

Sleep

Lodging

Camping

Backcountry

Stay safe

A mosquito net is a good idea if you plan on sleeping in a hammock and repellent is a must.

Cope

There is no 3G signal on the Peruvian side north of Mazán. There is municipal internet access in Santa Clotilde. There are medical clinics in the bigger villages.

Go next

Iquitos and Coca are the main jumping off points.

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