Tena is the capital of Napo Province and the most accessible entry point into Ecuador's Amazon. It sits where the Tena and Pano rivers meet, two hours east of Baños down a winding road that drops from the Andes into the jungle. The town itself is modest — a grid of streets, a bridge connecting two halves of town, a central park with the usual cathedral — but what surrounds it is not modest at all.
The rivers here are the main attraction. The Napo, Jatunyacu, and Misahuallí rivers offer some of the best whitewater rafting in South America, ranging from accessible class III runs to serious class IV-V sections. Tour operators line the streets near the bus terminal offering full-day and multi-day trips. Many are legitimately good; ask around at your guesthouse and compare a couple of options before committing.
Beyond the rafting, Tena is a workable base for jungle day trips and multiday lodge stays. The indigenous Kichwa communities around Tena have been running community tourism programs for years, offering guided forest walks, canoe trips on quiet tributaries, and overnight stays in village guesthouses. These tend to be more genuine and less staged than the lodge tourism further downriver.
The town itself is relaxed and unpretentious — mostly Ecuadorians and a steady stream of backpackers. There are decent restaurants, a couple of bars, and enough services to restock before heading deeper into the Oriente.