"The Oriente finds its heart in the rivers that tie it to the Amazon basin and, eventually, the Atlantic Ocean. The inexorable waters can undercut a huge clay bank or snip a bend overnight, stranding an oxbow kilometers long. The muddy Río Napo, more than one kilometer wide in spots, drains the Ríos Coca and Aguarico and heads off into Peru. Colombia Amazon lies across the Río Putumayo to the north. Farther south, the Río Pastaza flows from Sangay National Park."
Cruiseboats transport locals and visitors to many spots along the river system.