Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Two to Four Weeks
Exploring Amazonia
More than half of Peru is jungle, populated by spectacular wildlife and tribal peoples. Go
overland and drop dramatically away from the eastern slopes of the Andes to slip deep in-
to the Amazon Basin, which stretches all the way to the Atlantic. This entire itinerary
takes a month, or it can be divided by region into one- or two-week segments.
The most popular excursion starts from
Cuzco
and heads to the
Manu area
, itself the
size of a small country, albeit one with kingdoms of jungle lodges. Another option is to fly
from Cuzco to
Puerto Maldonado
and kick back in a thatch-roofed bungalow with a
view, either along the
Río Madre de Dios
, the gateway to lovely
Lago Sandoval
, or
along the
Río Tambopata
, where a national reserve protects one of the country's largest
clay licks. The dry season (July and August) is traditionally the best time to return over-
land back to Cuzco, although the recent paving of this route means it's possible outside
these months.
Or turn your focus to the north. The easiest way to get there is to fly from Lima to
Pu-
callpa
, staying in a lodge or bungalow in the nearby
Yarinacocha
. The lovely oxbow
lake is ringed by tribal villages. You can visit some of these, including those of the matri-
archal Shipibo people, renowned for their pottery. Hardcore overland travelers can opt to
reach Pucallpa from Lima via the coffee-growing settlement of
San Ramón
and the min-
iscule village of
Puerto Bermúdez
, the stronghold of Peru's largest Amazon tribe, the
Asháninka.
From Pucallpa, begin the classic slow riverboat journey north along the
Río Ucayali
to
Iquitos
, the world's largest city with no road access! This northern jungle capital has a
floating market and a bustling port, where you can catch a more comfortable cruise into
Peru's largest national park,
Reserva Nacional Pacaya-Samiria
, via
Lagunas
. It's also
tempting to float over into Brazil via the unique
tri-border zone
.
It's best to fly if your time is limited; if not, lose yourself for weeks on epic river and
road journeys through jungle terrain. Bring bucket loads of patience and self-reliance -
and a lot of luck never hurts.
