CUSTOMIZED AMAZON VACATION PACKAGES

WHY AMAZON IS WORTH THE VISIT

Iquitos
The main access point for exploring Peru’s northern Amazon is the city of Iquitos. Arriving in Iquitos is a stunning experience alone. With no roads, most visitors arrive by air, and as the vast expanse of dark green foliage begins to be broken up by lakes, streams, tributaries and finally the mighty Amazon River; the sight is truly awe-inspiring.

Nestled on the banks of the Amazon River and with a population of around 300,000 people, Iquitos is easily the largest jungle settlement in Peru. Founded in 1757, the city boomed during the 19th century, when it grew to become one of the world’s great rubber towns. The city itself is not without its charm. Hot and humid by day, it has a buzzing cosmopolitan feel about it and an equally sizzling bar scene once the sun goes down. One of the highlights and classic images of the city is the shantytown suburb of Puerto Belen where rustic wooden huts stand on stilts in the Amazon waters, and the whole suburb buzzes with the hustle and bustle of traditional markets.

For most visitors, however, the real reason to travel to Iquitos is quite simply the Amazon itself. The huge complex river system around Iquitos offers some of the best access to indigenous villages, lodges, and primary rainforest in the entire Amazon. The jungle around Iquitos is Peru’s largest area of lowland jungle; here the trees are tall and the flat land along the banks of the already mighty Amazon are regularly flooded. The result, come rainy season (December- March), is a vast area of swampland which attracts a phenomenal amount of wildlife, comparable only to that of the Pantanal swamps of south-western Brazil. The flooding also allows for access to otherwise inaccessible areas of jungle.

Puerto Maldonado
Located in the southeastern corner of Peru’s Amazon region, Puerto Maldonado is a frontier colonist town lying close to the Bolivian and Brazilian borders and on the banks of the Tambopata River. The town with its bar and hardware-store lined streets, has a kind of Wild West atmosphere about it. Historically the local economy has relied heavily upon gold-panning and Brazil-nut gathering from the rivers and forests of the nearby department of Madre de Dios. However, more recently, the rapidly developing tourist industry has played an increasingly important role.

Within easy access of Puerto Maldonado is the fantastic Tambopata National Reserve, an area which boasts some of the finest and most bio-diverse rainforest on the planet. Combined with the nearby national parks of Bahuaja-Sonene and Bolivia’s Maidid, this covers an area in excess of 50,000 square kilometers. Spectacular, tropical rainforest is home to a huge spectrum of jungle wildlife here, particularly bird-life. The area is blessed with numerous Brazil-nut tree trails, indigenous villages, excellent local guides and ecologists, and a great range of jungle lodges - by far the best way to experience the surrounding jungle.

Manu
Located in the foothills of the eastern Andes, the Manu Biosphere Reserve encompasses almost 2 million hectares of the least accessible and least explored jungle of primary and secondary forest in Peru. One of the largest protected areas on the continent, Manu’s variety of environments includes Andean highlands, precipitous cloud forests, and dense lowland jungle. The sheer volume and diversity of flora and fauna within the reserve is astonishing, with estimates in the region of over 20,000 plant species, 1200 species of butterflies, 1000 types of birds, 200 kinds of mammals, plus an unknown quantity of reptiles and insects.

The highlights of any expedition to Manu are the fantastic trail networks and the lakes of Cocha Salvador and Cocha Otorongo. These areas are rich in animal, bird and water life, and visitors marvel at the several types of caiman, giant river otters, wild monkeys, tapirs, capybara, parrots and macaws which can be spotted amongst the light-brown waters and the giant cedars of the lowland jungle. Aside from the plentiful flora and fauna, Manu is also home to dozens of indigenous tribes, some of which have contact with the outside world and others that still remain relatively secluded.

DONT JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT

Thank you for following up with me.  I had a FABULOUS time at Lake Sandoval Lodge in Puerto Maldonado.  My tour guide, Paul, was wonderful.  He was very knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful.  The lodge was well kept up, and very comfortable.  They kept us very occupied.  The food was also very good.
Tammy Eveland, Texas, USA

Pedro was also an amazing ecotourism guide. He knew so much about the Amazon rainforest. All of our guides were so friendly, spoke English very well, and loved their jobs. They were all very knowledgeable and had a strong passion for their country.
Ryan and Trisha Carlile, Dallas, TX, USA

I especially would like to send our gratitude to Juan Carlos, Mariluz and Tracy in Cuzco, Miguel in Lima, Angel in Machu Picchu and Fino in Puerto Maldonado/posada Amazonas. They were all marvelous.
Margarida Lima, Lisbon, Portugal

We had a really great trip, whether in the Amazonian forest, the Sacred Valley, Cuzco or the Machu Picchu site, and finally the wonderful Galapagos Islands. During our whole trip, at every place, our transfers were perfectly organized, we were met by pleasant and kind people and we had excellent guides.
Benoit and Monique, with Raphaël, Frederic and Violaine, Antwerp, Belgium

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