Amazon Forest to Table Cooking Class with Indigenous Hosts

This is not a demonstration-style cooking class, it’s a forest-to-table experience co-created with a Kichwa family on their own land. You’ll harvest ingredients directly from a traditional chakra, an Indigenous agroforestry system that mirrors the natural biodiversity of the Amazon and reflects generations of ecological knowledge. Rather than simply observing, you participate in every step: foraging seasonal ingredients, preparing dishes using traditional techniques, and assembling maitos cooked over fire. The experience is developed and operated in partnership with the host family, ensuring tourism directly supports local livelihoods and cultural continuity. By sharing a meal, stories, and homemade artisanal wines together, guests gain insight into a living Indigenous food tradition that is grown and practiced daily.

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.

• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.