Omaere Ethnobotanical Park

How to get there? 

Close to the city of Puyo. There you can see birds, reptiles and medicinal plants. In the Omaere Park there are specialized native guides, who are responsible for promoting the customs and traditions of the place as well as ptoviding information that allows tourists to fully enjoy their stay.

Enter Omaere, enter Ecuador.   

The name " Omaere " means " nature of the jungle " in the Waorani language. The Park was founded in 1993 by a Shuar lady and two French women. They joined together to shape what it is today, the Omaere Foundation and acquired a 15- hectare plot on the outskirts of the city of Puyo and began planting the most useful plants for the indigenous cultures of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Now, after almost 20 years of work, the cultivated plants have grown and as a result this place resembles a secondary forest. In this place, typical homes have been built, where knowledge of how the Shuar and Waorani relate to the Amazonian nature are taught. In addition, you can perceive peace and tranquility, just a few minutes from the city of Puyo.           

Omaere Location: Barrio Obrero - Paseo Turístico Rio Puyo 

Omaere Office Hours: From 09h00 to 17h00    

Omaere Price: USD 3.00 adults, USD 1.50 students, USD 0.50 children    

Omaere, the Park

The Omaere Ethnobotanical Park was one of the first ethnobotanical parks in Latin America. Ethnobotany studies the relationships between cultures and the plants that surround them. Whether for medicine, housing, religion or food, plants are a fundamental part of the life of the Amazonian indigenous people. The park is also dedicated to teaching about various indigenous cultures of the Ecuadorian Amazon and for this purpose you can meet typical houses within the park.  

Omaere Guided tours

You can discover the diversity of useful plants along the park's trails through guided walks. These can last one to two hours, depending on the interest of the visitors. People in a hurry can go through some of the most important points within half an hour. The walks are made by native guides, biologists and volunteers. During the tour, you can see a number of useful plants (for food, cultural, medicinal or for materials), learn about the Shuar and Waorani cultures (social life, typical houses, weapons, tools) and enjoy nature with its wonders little.      

How can you get there?

Omaere is on the outskirts of the city of Puyo, on the Puyo River Tourist Walk , which follows the river of the same name upstream, to the northeast of the city. To get there, it goes as if you want to go to Tena, but before leaving Puyo, turn right at the Coca Gas Station and follow Cotopaxi Street until the end, where the Pucon River Malecon is located (also called "Boayaku Puyo"). From there, you cross the river on the pedestrian suspension bridge, you pass the Restaurant and Hostel El Jardín and Hostería Flor de Canela and follow about 300 meters more, to the entrance of the Omaere Ethnobotanical Park, just before the second suspension bridge.