Amazon Forest to Table Cooking Class with Indigenous Hosts

Meet in central Tena and travel to a Kichwa family’s chakra (traditional Amazon agroforestry farm) in the community of San Luis. After a warm welcome and introductions, your Indigenous hosts guide you through their land, sharing how the chakra system reflects generations of ecological knowledge. Along the way, you’ll harvest seasonal ingredients while learning about edible and medicinal plants and their cultural uses. Next, join a hands-on cooking experience led by your hosts, preparing traditional dishes with ingredients gathered directly from the farm. Assemble maitos — food wrapped in leaves and cooked over fire — using techniques passed down through generations. While the meal cooks, walk the finca’s medicinal plant trail and visit a scenic lookout over the forest. Return to share a forest-to-table dinner together, accompanied by homemade artisanal wines or infused liquors, and enjoy time for conversation and cultural exchange before returning to Tena.

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Tortillas de yuca — Mashed yuca patties served with beans and fresh plantain chips · Maitos — Fresh fish, heart of palm, bamboo and other forest foods roasted in leaves over the fire · Assorted fresh fruits (papaya, snake fruit, dragon fruit)