Kayaking in Ecuador by Nikki Malatin

March 7, 2026

Ecuadorian Kayaking

Picture yourself paddling down a challenging deep in a jungle canyon. The water is clear, the canyon walls are giant basaltic columns covered with moss and plants, vines droop down into the river from far overhead. There is a constant drip of water and far away waterfalls tumbling from the rim occasionally come into view. As you paddle through the rapid, a flock of cheeping parakeets fly over your head.

Once considered a safe haven in South America, Ecuador’s reputation as a worry-free destination for Americans has been tarnished in recent years due to increased violence, drug trade, and political instability. While it is wise to avoid the big cities and the west coast, the small towns that are scattered on the Amazonian side of the Andes are still quite safe. On my recent trip, we stayed in two towns on the east side of the Andes, Baeza and Tena.

Sitting at around 7000’ in altitude, Baeza has a pleasant climate year round and is considered the gateway from the Andes Mountains to the Amazonian Jungle. The old section of Baeza (Baeza Colonial) has two hostels that cater to kayakers, bird watchers, and tourists buses stopping for lunch on the way to adventures in the Amazon. The first hostel, Gina’s, feeds the tourist buses and caters to the younger kayaking crowd seeking inexpensive food and lodging. Rodrigo’s, right next door, does not serve food but provides more services. In addition to lodging, Rodrigo’s will rent complete kayaking kits, arrange for shuttle taxis, provide airport pick-up and drop-off, set up guide services, arrange for other activities such as a visit to a hummingbird sanctuary, and provide any other concierge-type services that you may need.

We also stayed for a few days in the ‘capital of the Oriente’, Tena. While Baeza is the end of the Andes, Tena is the beginning of the Amazon jungle. We happened to be in Tena for the Carnival celebration. The citizens of Tena spend several days before Lent hosting parades and celebrating in the street. We were careful when we hit the streets because most of the celebration activities consist of throwing water balloons, soapy foam, or buckets of water at cars and pedestrians. We were lucky and only suffered some minor hits.

The whitewater kayaking in this region is stellar and accessible. Several outfitters will provide you a complete tour package or local guides can be hired for the day. The best resource is the corps of local taxi drivers who know where to drop you off for various paddling adventures and will wait for you at your river take out location to drive you back to your lodging. This amazing service is less than the cost of a rental car. We did not rent a car and relied solely on taxis.

Rio Piatua

Just past the confluence of the Rio Oyacachi and Rio QuijosWhere to go in Baeza