Amazonas Tour

You'll be picked up upon your arrival at the Iquitos Airport. Depending on your time of arrival, we might have time for a walk around the city center, where you can learn about some of its historic buildings. In the middle of the rustic charm of much of the Iquitos, eccentric constructions in the city center harken back to the rubber boom of the late 1800s, when fortunes were made by rubber barons who left a testament to their forgotten heyday with grandious buildings adorned with imported ceramic tiles.

From the port we will board a boat and set off for the lodge along the waters of the Amazon River, passing along the way a plethora of exciting sights, from the dark caymans to the distinctive floating houses in settlements that dot its shores. We'll stop at a paiches breeding pond. Paiches are the largest freshwater fish in the world; they can exceed 6.6ft in length, with some exceptional cases exceeding 8.2ft and 220lbs! You'll also see examples Victoria Regia, the world's largest water lily, native to the oxbow lakes and bayous of the Amazon with floating leaves which grow up to 3m in diameter and white and pink flowers up to 40cm in diameter.

Once we arrive at the lodge we'll refresh ourselves with a welcome juice of seasonal local fruits. You'll receive your room assignment and have time to settle yourself before we set off for a hike along a path rich with plants used in the Amazon for centuries as traditional remedies for treating fever, impotence, dressing wounds and more, with sap and resin used as salves, roots steeped for the production of liquours and teas, and more. Our knowledgeable specialized guide will introduce you in this way to local plantlife as well as local culture. The medicinal plants include uña de gato, cat's claw, the large and woody clove vine (named for its smell), blood of the dragon, so-named due to its thick red sap

We'll hike along jungle paths to appreciate the bright plants and tropical birds in their own habitat, winding along the jungle of massive trees such as the striking Lupuna, one of the giants of the Amazon, at times exceeding 230ft and long-believed to hold spirits who protect the rain forest. We'll go along the river the a breeding park for anacondas, monkeys, and sloths before winding down with some recreational fishing. During the night we'll set off in a canoe for a chance to hear the night sounds of the rainforest. We'll spend the night in the Botanical Lodge.

Today we'll visit the Yaguas tribal community, natives of the western Amazon basin who still retain their traditional way of life, subsisting through farming, fishing, and hunting.

We will be able to watch these skilled craftsmen at work as they fashion wood carvings, jewelry, decorative blowguns and bows and arrows, which can be bought or bartered for the traditional trueque method. We'll also enjoy a demonstration of the use of the cerbatana, a blowgun with which they are quite skillful; it is used to shoot darts or small arrows for hunting, especially monkeys.

After our final excursion we will take you back to Iquitos, dropping you off at the airport or your Iquitos lodging, as needed.