Cradled by lush vegetation and humid, lively air, with binoculars ready for the next thrill, you’ll float gently down the great jungle rivers, lifeblood of the northern Peruvian Amazon basin and the pristine Pacaya-Samiria reserve.
Cruises offer naturalist guides, innovative Amazonian cuisine, and even luxury, as you explore the seemingly endless maze of jungle waterways, including the Amazon River, as well as the Ucayali, Marañón, and Yanayacu-Pucate rivers.
From the boat and during stops along the riverbanks, spot caimans, tropical songbirds, black-collared falcons, sloths… and troops of monkeys! During the day, go fishing for the Amazon’s notoriously ferocious piranhas. As the sun sets, embark on a nighttime excursion to view wildlife and stargaze.
Rise with the sun for early morning birdwatching. On daytime jungle hikes, get up close to medicinal trees, insects, and poisonous frogs, and learn more about the different strata (layers) of the rainforest. Swim, canoe, or kayak the Yanayacu-Pucate River while looking for the legendary pink river dolphins.
You can also visit local communities to learn about their way of life in the rainforest. The reserve is home to some 42,000 indigenous people within its distinctive and dynamic ecological habitat, and park staff help maintain a healthy natural balance, leading initiatives such as integrating sustainable agriculture.
The gateway to Peru’s northern Amazon is the bustling city of Iquitos, a commercial port on the banks of the Amazon River, so immersed in deep rainforest that it is only accessible by plane. Cruising through the northern Amazon not only allows you to get a glimpse of the vast expanse of this great jungle, but is an undeniable, almost too-close-for-comfortable immersion in nature at its most impressive and wild.
