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South of Puyo, the dusty, potholed road crosses two wobbly suspension bridges - where buses deposit passengers, who cross on foot and pick up a connection waiting at the other side - on its way to MACAS , 129km down the road. Smaller, cleaner and quieter than Puyo, Macas is the most appealing town in the southern Oriente, mainly for its pleasant climate, laid-back atmosphere and beautiful views onto the surrounding countryside. A good place to take in the lie of the land is on the steps of the modern, concrete cathedral , on the Parque Central, giving views across the low roofs of the town onto the eastern flanks of the sierra - on very clear days you can see the smouldering cone of Volcan Sangay, some 40km northwest. Behind the cathedral, the shelf on which Macas is built drops abruptly down to the Rio Upano whose yellow-brown waters curl around the eastern edge of the town. For the best views eastwards, head five blocks north from the cathedral to the Parque Recreacional , a small, pretty park with a mirador looking down to the seemingly endless blanket of vegetation, stretching into the horizon in a fuzzy green haze. In the foreground, just across the river, you can see the whitewashed buildings of Sevilla-Don Bosco , a Salesian mission station with a handsome church, about a forty-five minute walk from town. While you're up in the Parque Recreational, take a look inside the Museo Arqueologico Municipal (Mon-Fri 8am-noon & 1.30-4.30pm; free), sitting by the entrance, which has a poorly presented but fascinating display of Shuar artefacts, including feather adornments, headdresses made of animal heads, blowpipes, basketwork, large clay funerary urns traditionally used to bury dead children, and a replica of a tsanta (shrunken skull). Otherwise, there's little else to occupy you in town, whose main interest is a base for organizing excursions into the hinterland east of Macas, easily arranged with a number of tour operators, who offers a range of adventurous, three- to six-day tours into the rainforest .
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