Coca

Overview

This rainforest frontier town is commonly known as Coca , though on official Ecuadorian maps and documents it is referred to as Francisco de Orellana .  The town itself is unremarkable, surrounded by clear-cut forests used for grazing cattle and growing some vegetables.  Malaria pills should be taken if you plan to stay in Coca for longer than a transfer to one of the many rainforest lodges downriver. Several internet cafes are found just off the main street (Napo), as are various small restaurants and other vendors.  A Banco del Pichincha is located at Av. 9 de Octubre y Bolivar, roughly two blocks west of the main drag, and is the only place with a working international ATM at this time. Generally speaking, Coca is just a transfer point en route to a lodge or research station further east for most tourists, or for oil company employees on their way to a job site.

History