GETTING TO IQUITOS, PERU
The city of Iquitos, Peru is our home base for our Amazon River expedition to the lodges some 4 hours up river. Iquitos is the largest city in the world that is not accessible by road. This is where your adventure will begin. Following are suggested flights for your travels. If you would like us to arrange flights for you, please let us know.
Day 1 - Arrive to Iquitos, Peru
Important: You must arrive to Iquitos before mid-day (12:30pm) on this day. Our speedboat heading to the lodge will depart after the arrival of LATAM 2240.
• Airport pickup
• Speedboat transfer (note--is 4
hours) up the Amazon River, then
the Tahuayo tributary to the lodge.
• Evening excursion of your choice
Day 2-4 at the Tahuayo Lodge
The main lodge is not a resort, nor a hotel, but a rustic lodge, comfortable for adventurous travelers. Cabins are private and all (except student cabins) have private bathrooms. Explore from the lodge with your private guide in and around the Tahuayo Reserve. We offer fully customizable itineraries and excursions day and night. To get you started, here is a list of some of our more popular excursions:
- The Canopy Experience – Hike or canoe (depending on the season) through Igapo forest to reach a canopy zipline complex.
- Igapo forest exploration – Explore the Igapo (flooded) forest with your guide in search of wildlife. Go by foot or canoe while searching for beautiful birds, primates, and other wildlife.
- Tahuayo River Exploration – Go by boat with your private guide to explore the Tahuayo River. Here you can spot colorful birds (macaws, tanagers, hawks) sloths, and monkeys along the riverbank.
- Cultural visit – take a short boat ride over to the nearby village of El Chino. This is an experience designed to see how people live in one of the most remote places on theplanet. First start by a visit to a local farm where you will learn about medicinal plants and local crops. Next, visit a local school, learn about the school construction and challenges faced by local people. After visiting the school, visit a woman’s cooperative center “Manos Amazonicas”. Founded in 2009 by non-profit Angels of the Amazon, this cooperative supports the local women of the villages in creating traditional arts and crafts made from 100% plant-based materials sustainably harvested for the forest. Since the baskets are woven by the local women, their economic empowerment has helped them find a voice in their communities thus uplifting their self-esteem and self-worth in their villages and in their homes. Follow and help these amazing women step by step as they turn these raw plants from the jungle into amazing handmade crafts.
- Excursion to Tabano Lake – Hike or canoe around Tabano Lake. This is a remote oxbow lake with a large diversity of wildlife. Search for the spectacular hoatzin (one of the world’s most interesting and unique birds), black caiman, horned screamers, turtles, tamarins, titi monkeys and much more.
- Piranha fishing – Head by boat early in the morning or late afternoon to fish for the infamous Amazonian piranha.
- Frog Valley – For this full day excursion take a motorboat up the Rio Blanco to visit frog valley. Hike through the dense Terra Firme (permanently dry) jungle searching for beautiful little poison dart frogs.
- Dolphin search – search for the rare Amazonian Pink Dolphin and swim in the lake (wet season, best)
- Night excursions – if you are still feeling adventurous into the night we offer a variety of night excursions.
• Go for a night hike or canoe ride to search for scorpions, tarantulas, snakes and other nocturnal wildlife.
• Explore by boat on the Tahuayo or Blanco river, here you can search for caimans, snakes, and frogs.
• Test your jungle skills and try fishing like the locals do, with a spear and a headlamp! (Best during dry season)
• If you are in the mood to relax, sometimes it is nice to just go down the Tahuyao River and find a spot to enjoy the constellations while you listen to the jungle sounds all around you - have you ever seen the night sky with NO night pollution?
Day 5-6 at the Amazon Research Center
Depart the main lodge in the morning en route to the Amazon Research Center (ARC). The Research Center is more remote and about 2 hours up river from our main lodge. Cabins are private, simple and comfortable, all have shared bathrooms.
• Trail Grid - There are over 75 km of hiking trails from the research center. Most of the trails are laid out in a grid to facilitate the scientific collection of population data (In the rainy season these may become canoe trails). The trails go through several ecosystems, including bajial, high and low restinga, palm swamp and terra firme. We can see many different species of monkeys, including brown and white capuchins, saki monkeys, titi monkeys, squirrel monkeys, pygmy marmosets, moustached tamarins, saddle-backed tamarins, sometimes uakaris, as well as giant tayra weasels and tamandua anteaters. Data collected from camera traps also reveal a high density of jaguar live here, but these are rarely seen.
• Boating the various lakes and rivers from the research center we often see caiman as well as the highly endangered giant river otter.
• Hiking to Lake Yarina - (full day) (dry season best) We can see hoatzins on their nests, blue and yellow macaws and caiman.
Day 7 - Return to Iquitos
Depart the Amazon Research Center and return to the main lodge. Search for wildlife along the way. (Optional) Move on to Andean Extension.
• Afternoon boat ride back to Iquitos
• Transfer to airport or hotel
Important: Your flight must depart Iquitos 6:00pm or later on this day unless moving on to Andes Extension.