From
Papallacta the road follows the steep descent of the ríos
Papallacta and Quijos rivers for 37km before reaching Baeza,
the largest town between Quito and Lago Agrio. Before the arrival
of the conquistadors, the Baeza region was populated by the Quijos
group. In 1559, Captain Gil Ramírez Dávalos was
sent here to bring the 50,000 indígenas under control,
and he founded Baeza with an eye to its strategic position.
Although set in pastoral hills at 1850m, Baeza identifies
itself very much with the lowland Oriente to the extent that
hotels are named after jungle themes, and the talk in town
is never far from oil and the nearby pipelines. Colonization
along the main highways nearby has replaced the forests of
old with farming landscape, but patches of cloudforest remain
on the steeper slopes, where birding is still reported to
be good. Other larger areas of pristine forest are also within
reach, as it's surrounded by protected areas, the Cayambe-Coca
reserve directly to the north, Sumaco Napo-Galeras to the
east,
and Antisana to the southwest, so it's a convenient base
for walks in the hills and expeditions into the remoter depths
of the three reserves. Hostels in Baeza |
ROOMS ECUADOR
