The Amazon of Peru

The Amazon Basin runs down the eastern flank of Peru, providing travelers different environments in which to cruise on the rivers, stay in jungle lodges and explore the rain forest. From Iquitos, one reaches the mighty Amazon mainstream; from Cuzco nature lovers fly or go overland to the Tambopata and Manu nature reserves.

IQUITOS
Nonstop jets hop over the Andes from Lima to Iquitos (the city is also served by direct flights from Miami, Florida). The busy port was built in the rubber-boom days of the Amazon and is now a base for riverboat departures to rustic but comfortable jungle camps up and down river.
By day, guests take boat trips up small tributaries, walk along rain forest trails and visit Indian villages. By night, alligator hunting in dugout canoes is a favorite pastime. Larger vessels carry passengers on three-night cruises to the Brazil-Colombia border.

TAMBOPATA WILDLIFE RESERVE
Cuzco is the air gateway to Puerto Maldonado. From there, travelers go by river to Tambopata, which has been called one of the most biologically diverse environments on earth. Birders often count 100 different species in a day, and the reserve is home to the largest known Macaw Lick in the world.

MANU WILDLIFE RESERVE
Reached by air or overland from Cuzco, Manu is one of the best areas for seeing wildlife anywhere in the Amazon rain forest: monkeys (13 species), turtles, giant otters, peccaries, capybaras, tapir and even the occasional jaguar. Macaws and motmots, toucans and curassows are part of the rich bird life.