Geology students visited the Uctu Iji Changa caverns in Tena

At four kilometers from Tena is located the Tamia Yura community. In it are the Uctu Iji Changa caverns, a few explored geological gems that the students of Yachay Tech found by chance. During December 20 and 21 the students made a field trip to visit the caverns and Ikiam University. The purpose of the visit was to make a reconnaissance of the caverns and establish collaboration ties, through the Rikuna project.

The Tamia Yura community has a Kichwa Center, which began in 2004 with environmental, agro-ecological, permaculture and ecological tourism activities, to facilitate the sustainable development of the sector. The caverns represent an important resource for tourist activities since they have chambers with geological formations such as speleothems (deposits of minerals that are formed by chemical precipitation) and fossils of marine creatures.

Rikuna aims to make these elements found in the caverns, attractive for specialized tourism and geological and biological research in the area. The main reason for the promotion of this tourism is the conservation of the caverns and the elements of geological and biological interest found inside. Students want to make an agreement with the Tamia Yura community that allows conservation and scientific research to the community´s benefit. In addition, the students had a meeting with Marco Simbaña, Ikiam’s teacher, with the purpose of establishing inter-institutional cooperation ties for the project.