Coca Tourist Places to Visit in Coca, Ecuador, America

Coca Tourist Places to Visit in Coca, Ecuador, America

Coca also called as Puerto Francisco de Orellana is the capital city of Orellana province of Ecuador, located around 590 km from Guayaquil and 290 km from Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Coca is highly visited by Amazon Forest visitors, especially adventure sport lovers.

Geography of Coca:

Situated at the confluence of the rivers Coca and Napo in the Amazon Rainforest, Coca coordinates with 00°27′45″ south latitude and 76°59′03″ west longitude at an elevation of 300 meters.

History of Coca:

Coca was named in the honor of the explorer of the confluence of Coca and Napo rivers, Francisco de Orellana.

How to reach Coca?

Coca is served by Francisco de Orellana Airport located around 3 km away from the heart of the city with scheduled flights to Guayaquil, Latacunga and Quito, catered by AeroGal and TAME.

There are taxis always available at the airport and also tourist can use pre booked vehicle.

There are daily buses plying between Coca and Quito and most of the bus companies offer advance booking facility for tourist’s convenience.

Culture, Food and Shopping in Coca:

There are many regional festivals celebrated in Coca with great enthusiasm and fervor by gathering all community peoples.

Coca is also known for traditional food corners with different seafood items and juices and list of main food corners in Coca is as follows:

Los Cedros
Parrilladas Argentinas
Media Noche
El Buho
Dragon Dorado
Doña Erma

Major Coca hotels offer internet facility and also tourists can access internet in internet cafes. Traditional handicraft product shops are interesting.

Things to do in Coca:

Jumandy Explorers
Emerald Forest Expeditions
Tropic Ecological Adventures
Safari
Trekking
Hiking
Walking

Tourist Attractions in Coca:

CICAME Museum:

CICAME Museum holds a large collection of artifacts from the ancient Coca and Spanish colonial period. Nice museum and great collection.

Yasuni National Park and Huaorani Reserve:

Coca covers most part of Yasuni National Park and Huaorani Reserve, so tourists are needed to stay 3 to 4 days to explore the full park. Capturing or hunting birds and animals is strictly prohibited. Taking guided tour will be better for easy exploration. Tour guides generally charge US$35-60, the price differs on the numbers of tourists. There are many forest lodges located within the park.

The Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve:

The Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve is a perfect spot to come across indigenous Ecuadorian animals and birds. Be careful when exploring the reserve. Prior permission is necessary from the Huaorani organization ONHAE.

Other places of interest near Coca include:

Museo de la Ciudad
Casa de la Cultura
Museo del Banco Central
Conjunto Monumental San Francisco
Museo Mindalae
Museo Guayasamin
Calle de la Ronda
La Vírgen del Panecillo
Mitad del Mundo
The Intiñan Solar Museum
Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesus

Best time to visit Coca:

The best time to visit Coca is during the months of summer season.

Accommodation options in Coca:

Coca is a picturesque town housing many lodges and guest houses with all the basic facilities and services. Other than facilities, many guest houses serve visitors with a wide variety of traditional Ecuadorian and international cuisines and also arrange bike and bicycles as well. The prominent hotels in and around Coca are as follows: