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COCA has enjoyed such a boom from oil that in 1998 it was deemed important enough to become the capital of its own province, Orellana . Wresting power from the old provincial capital of Tena, the country's youngest province took up the territory of the lower half of the old Napo province, extending from Coca to Peru. Coca's official name is Puerto Francisco de Orellana, after the first Spaniard to navigate the length of the Amazon , but its nickname - more commonly used - comes from its position on the confluence of the Rio Coca with the rios Napo and Payamino. In the 1970s Coca was a forgotten outpost in the midst of virgin jungle, cut off from the rest of the world except by boat or plane. When the whiff of black gold came its way, the sleepy village mutated into an urban nightmare, the result of a speedy influx of oilers and colonists. Until recently its chaotic and filthy, pot-holed streets lined with ramshackle houses made sure that visitors left town in a hurry, taking canoes to lodges further down the Rio Napo . In the late 1990s, however, concerted efforts by its authorities have succeeded in neatening up sections of the waterfront and in paving some of its main roads. There's no main park in town, a symptom of its explosive growth, as if no one had time to plan one, and the town sprawls outwards from the north bank of the Rio Napo. It's central streets, Napo and Amazonas run north-south and are busiest in the few blocks around the river, though the town's market , selling the usual produce, municipio and bus station are a dozen blocks to the north. Napo even looks quite respectable now, but you only have to peek down the parallel roads to the east to see the town's shabbier side. Most hotels, restaurants and bus companies are along the southern end of Napo or around the waterfront. A block east of Amazonas, the main road from Lago Agrio leads into the town centre before continuing south to a large metal bridge over the river, the start of the Via Auca, a newly colonized oil road tearing south through the jungle to the rios Tiputini and Shiripuno. With fewer tourist facilities than Lago Agrio or Tena, and with nothing to see or do, Coca is still a town you'll not want to linger in. Its few half-decent hotels and restaurants ensure that its attraction is as a gateway to the primary rainforest of the Rio Napo basin, either down the Rio Napo itself or south along the Via Auca. The last major town on the Rio Napo, Coca is an ideal jumping-off point for tours to the remotest parts of the Ecuadorian Amazon and offers the best access to the vast Parque Nacional Yasuni and the neighbouring Huaorani Reserve . It takes the best part of a day on the river to reach the remoter areas, so consider a tour of at least five days to allow a minimum of three full days in the jungle. On this stretch of the Rio Napo are found some of Ecuador's best jungle lodges , though you should book your visit to these before arriving in Coca. The Via Auca , an oil road heading over the river due south from Coca, is the fastest way to get to Huaorani communities ("auca" means "savages" in Quichua), but make sure your guide has full permission from the communities to visit.
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