Roaming South America

Sucúa, Ecuador

Sucúa, Ecuador, was first founded in 1963, and has a population of around 11,000. The town is located on the eastern outer flanks of the Andes Mountains in the Amazon basin, sitting in a valley at about 831 meters (2726 feet). The temperatures range from a nightly low of about 18° C (64° F) to a daily high of about 28° C (82° f). The climate is what you would expect for a town in the Amazon - a fair amount of rain and a lot of humidity.

History? Nothing of interest

I couldn't find anything of interest because this little town dates back only a handful of decades.

Some of the area activities

• sightseeing
• rafting
• kayaking
• canyoneering
• camping
• jungle exploration
• birdwatching

And the area around town is loaded with attractions, including:

• Waterfalls
• Botanical Park
• Petroglyphs
• Viewpoints
• The Amazon
• and more

My Impressions about Sucúa

One thing I did notice - no coffee shops. As in ZERO. And the small bakerys, only a few serve coffee, and few of them have tables. But, I found a restaurant called La Delicias del Gringo Loco, something like that. Anyway, the owner is from Canada and married to an Ecuadoriana. They're great people. And they have a very good cook. They just opened their restaurant a couple of weeks ago. This guy also has a shop that sells cleaning chemicals and a piece of property with some fruit trees. Otherwise, it's a very nondescript town. All the interesting to-do stuff is outside of town, much of which you'll need a car to get to, some are served by local buses or taxis. This town has at least 40 murals - that's how many I found and took pictures of, and this is pretty normal for La Selva (The Jungle) regions in both Ecuador and Perú. The people here are very friendly, and enjoy talking to foreigners. I was stopped for chats several times in Sucúa. Others greet you in the streets when passing. Again, this is the norm in La Selva.

Is this a must-see town? No. It's a nice place to stop between Loja and Puyo before crossing the mountains. If you do, look for the Gringo Loco restaurant.