Amazon River Cruise

Arrive in Iquitos, the heart of the Peruvian Amazon. Settle into your suite and enjoy the views as you embark on your Amazon adventure. Enjoy fine South American wine and world-class cuisine on your first evening surrounded by the sounds of the Amazon.

Get up early to catch the first glimpse of the majestic Amazon River. Travel from the Amazon through the Huaysi Canal to explore the black waters of Tahuayo River. Watch for terns, orioles, blackbirds, black collared hawks, monkeys and sloths, as well as the occasional fisherman paddling in his canoe. Bait your hook at Charo Lake and try to catch one of Amazonia’s fearsome piranhas!

In the afternoon, visit Yacapana Island – known as the "Isle of the Iguana.” As the sun sets, enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see and photograph both gray and pink freshwater dolphins. Amazonian people believe that these dolphins turn into humans to steal handsome men and pretty women from their villages during celebrations. After dark, search the jungle discovering exotic wildlife such as caimans and frogs.

Learn from park rangers about sustainable resource management projects in Amazonia. Visit a project where villagers are planting palms to obtain oil. Go deep into the jungle to encounter wildlife and learn about the important medical value of jungle plants. View the famous Kapok Trees, the tallest trees in the Amazon Basin.

In the afternoon, cruise along the Amazon and look for wildlife including rare pink dolphins, 13 species of monkeys, alligators and birds. Photo opportunities abound with possible sitings of caimans, tree boas, tarantulas, frogs and more than 200 species of birds.

Travel by early morning skiff along the Ucayali River to Yucuruche Lake. Walk into the jungle and discover the world’s largest aquatic plants, Victoria Regias giant water lilies. View the Pacaya Samiria Reserve, a flooded forest covering five million acres at the headwaters of the Amazon Basin. Board the skiffs to view a great spectacle of the Southern Hemisphere: the birthplace of the Amazon River. Here the union of two major tributaries, the Ucayali and the Marañon, form the world’s greatest waterway. Watch for large-billed terns, laughing falcons, gray tanagers, sandpipers, five kinds of parakeets, exotic short-tailed parrots, and dozens of other birds. Visit Puerto Prado native village to meet native Cocama Indians.

In the afternoon, visit Nauta to experience life in a large river community. The oldest town in the state of Loreto, Nauta is where the locals come to sell their produce.

Set out early to explore Ucayali River, Amazon’s largest tributary. Sightings may include slow-moving three-toed sloths, iguanas, orioles, horned screamers, and many other birds. Walk through the jungle and visit Madgalena village, a small community of ten families.

In the afternoon cruise the majestic Ucayali River and meet native fishermen who will demonstrate their skill and let you see their catch—including a type of “armored” catfish with a shell-like skin. Watch for rafts drifting down the river to market loaded with hundreds of banana clusters.

Visit native communities practicing subsistence farming and learn how they cultivate wild plants and trees. Explore with knowledgeable guides and discover the wealth of fruit trees and medicinal plants hidden in the jungle.

In the afternoon, head to Yanayacu Lake. You may see saki monkeys, capuchin monkeys, and heavy howler monkeys leaping long distances from tree to tree. As the sun sets, hear ferocious warning signals made by howler monkeys marking their territories. When night falls, listen to the second movement of the symphonic Amazon rainforest, as nocturnal animals send calls across the tree tops. Use special spotlight torches to locate night creatures, including, perhaps, huge caimans.

In the bright morning light, observe parrots, macaws, toucans, and many different types of monkeys. Visit dolphin feeding spots along the Pacaya River. Bait your hook and catch some of the 3,000 species of tropical fish that live in the Amazon Basin. Enjoy a visit to a riverside village followed by a gourmet farewell feast to celebrate your journey.

Weather and time permitting, enjoy a morning excursion to the Amazon community of Belen where the houses and shops actually float on the river during some months. Observe the bustling food market of the entire Peruvian Amazon. All local people throughout the region sell and purchase goods here. In the afternoon, visit Iquitos' Manatee Rescue Center, where biologists and volunteers care for endangered Amazon manatees. Learn how the manatees are rehabilitated before re-introduction back into their natural habitat. Transfer to airport for flight to Lima.