Ecuador's northern share of the Amazon Basin is probably the most visited by travellers. Thanks to the infrastructure built by oil companies since the 1960's, the region is one of the most accessible in the entire Basin. The country's most luxurious and comfortable lodges are based here, and one of the country's largest wildlife reserves, the Reserva Produccion Faunistica Cuyabeno. Although pockets of pristine, primary forests remain, much of the Northern Oriente has been irredeemably damaged by the oil industry and colonisation. Roads have been built, airstrips cleared, rivers polluted and indigenous people virtually wiped out. Taking time to visit the more remote areas and lodges in areas such as Cuyabeno that have escaped the effects of the oil companies is worth the effort.

 

Last updated 3rd July 2006

|Article contributed by Dominic Hamilton|||