Canelos, Ecuador

The village of Canelos is a Kichwa indigenous community, the most ancient one in the province of Pastaza. It is located about 1 hour drive from Puyo, direction South-East.

The name Canelos comes from abundancy of the the cinnamon trees, which have been exploaded in the past. Now the last cinnamon trees are conserved in a small areas around the river Bobonza and in some private properties.

Nowadays the people of Canelos dedicate to production of fiber-palm, cinnamon and cacao, in addtion to fishery and artistic handcrafts in ceramics.

How to get there
There is a direct bus connections from Puyo four times a day (6h00, 9h30, 12h30, 16h00), the bus leaves from the station of transport company Centinela del Oriente in Puyo, which is situated at Atahualpa street, next to the market Mariscal. From there the bus takes you via route Puyo-Macas until kilometer 27, from where, on the left-hand side, it enters the road to Canelos.

Tourist attractions
The village offers community tourism, walking in the jungle, a journey in canoa on the river of Bobonaza and typical local artcrafts of the Kichwa people.

Tradicional ceramics
A part of the Kichwa tradition has been conserved by Kichwa women in Canelos, who elaborate baeutiful "mocahuas" (typical Kichwa mugs), plates of daily use, variety of pots and ceramic figurines.

River Bobonaza
Day-to-day life in Canelos has always been connected to the river Bobonaza, which still serves as the source of water and food to many families. The river offers a variety of fish , like "bocachico", "carachama", catfish, "barbudos" and, also it serves as a water transport to the other Kichwa villages like Chapeton, Pakayacu, Sarayaku, Montalvo, Kapawi and further to Peru.

Festive events
The village celebrations, which start in November, come with traditional games. The Kichwa people of Canelos also celebrate the "party of abundance" in the month of December.

Tourist services
Tourists can choose Canelos as a part of the tourist-packeges in many tourist agencies in Puyo, or to visit directly and accommodate in any of the hostel or with the family specialized in community tourism.

Community tourism "Montecito" The tourists are welcome to come and enjoy an authentic home-stay experience with the local family Allacuri-Cariajano, which offers a complete tourist service. Their house and hotel "Cabañas Montecito" is situated in the sector "Renacer Amazónico" in front of the confluence of the river Lupambi with Bobonaza, in the village of Canelos.