from: Dilwyn Jenkins: The
rough guide to Peru; Rough Guides, New York, London,
Delhi; 6th edition September 2006; www.roughguides.com
Expeditions from Iquitos
|
Map
of the Iquitos region with jungle camps.
Towns and villages: Iquitos, Quisto Cocha,
Libertad, Nauta, Clavero, Bazagan, Genrao Herrera,
Requena, Angamos, Mazán, Indiana. Jungle camps:
Cocome Lodge, Muyuna Lodge, Amazon Camp, Amazon
Rainforest Lodge, Sinchicuy Lodge, Cumaceba Lodge,
Explorama Lodge, ExplorNapo Lodge, Amazon
Explorama, ACTS Field Station & Sucusari
Reserve. Reserves: Pacaya Samiria National Park,
Zungarocha Resort, Explorama Inn. |
General connection
possibilities
Boat connections:
-- from Iquitos to Pucallpa go several boats weekly, a trip
of 5-7 days
-- from Iquitos to Leticia and Tabatinga (Brazil) go several
boats weekly, a tripo of 9-12 hours or 3-4 days, depending
on the boat
-- from Iquitos to Nauta go 1 or 2 boats daily, a trip of
8-10 hours (p.568).
Bus connections:
-- from Iquitos to Nauta are going buses daily, a trip
of 3-5 hours (p.568).
Flight connections:
-- flight from Iquitos to Lima (several daily), a flight of
2 hours
-- flight from Iquitos to Pucallpa (daily), 1 hour 30
minutes
-- flight from Iquitos to Santa Rosa (weekly), 1 hour 30
minutes
-- flight from Iquitos to Tarapoto (daily), 1 hour (p.568).
Tourist Protection Service
If your jungle trip really doesn't match what the agency led
you to believe when selling you the tickets, it would help
future visitors if you report this to the local tourist
office and/or the 24-hour hotline of the Tourist Protection
Service in Iquitos (T. 065-233409, e-mail:
postmaster@indecopi.gob.pe (p.525).
Week tours or day-trips -
Bora and Yaguar natives with dances and handicraft
Expeditions around Iquitos are the most developed in the
Peruvian jungle, offering a wide and often surprising range
of attractions. As usual, anything involving overnight stays
is going to cost a fair bit, though there are also cheap
day-trips. With all organized visits to Indian villages in
this area, expect the inhabitants to put on a quick show,
with a few traditional dances and some singing, before they
try to sell you their handicraft (occasionally
over-enthusiastically). Prices range from $1 to $5 for
necklaces, feathered items (mostly illegal to take out of
the country) bark-cloth drawings, string bags (often
excellent value) and blowguns; most people buy something,
since the Indians don't actually charge for the visit.
While the experience may leave you feeling somewhat
ambivalent - the men, and particularly the women, only
discard Western clothes for the performances - it's a
preferable situation to the times when visits were imposed
on communities by unscrupulous tour companies. Visitors are
now these Indians' major source of income, and it seems that
the
Bora and
Yaguar alike have found
a niche they can easily exploit within the local tourist
industry (p.511).
Colectivo boats -
Tamshiyacu - jungle hostels - Nauta - Bazan - Requena -
Pacaya Samiria National Reserve
The massive river system around Iquitos offers some of the
best access to Indian villages, lodges and primary
rainforest in the entire Amazon. If you want to go it alone,
colectivo boats run up and down the Río Amazonas more or
less daily, and although you won't get deep into the forest
without a guide or the facilities offered by the lodge and
tour companies, you can visit some of the larger riverine
settlements on your own.
One of the first major settlements on the banks of the
Amazon is the small river town of
Tamshiyacu, en route to Nauta upstream; a
couple of hostels including the
Hospedaje Mercedes, just beyond the plaza,
and the
Hospedaje Dianita
a little beyond, accompanied by a few bars and stores, make
it a useful stopping point, if you need one. A long day's
ride (130km) further upstream from Iquitos lies
Nauta, at the mouth o
the Río Marañon. South from Nauta,
Bagazan is another
couple of hours (40km) further up the Río Ucayalí, after
which it's another 50km to
Requena,
at the mouth of the Río Tapiche. A new road from Iquitos to
Nauta has considerably shortened the journey and has begun
to open up tourism to the west of Nauta on the ríos Marañón
and Tigre and into the
Pacaya
Samiria National Reserve, which is only a short
boat ride from Nauta, though the best sectors of the reserve
are arguably easier to get to from Lagunas. The upper Río
Tigre is also excellent for its access to wildlife, but it's
at least three days away by boat (p.521).
Buses from Iquitos to Nauta are going daily, a trip of 3-5
hours, boats go 1 or 2 daily, a trip of 8-10 hours (p.568).
Expedition to the Lagunas -
and from Lagunas to the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve
There are excellent organized tours to take from LAGUNAS,
close to the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve and some three
days upstream from Nauta ($10-25 depending on whether you
take hammock space or a shared cabin). The first day takes
you to the "start" of the Río Amazonas, where the Ucayalí
and the Marañon rivers merge; the second day carries you
along the Marañón towards Lagunas, where you arrive on the
third day. It's also some twelve hours downstream from
Yurimaguas and accessible from there by colectivo boat ($5).
There are a couple of hostels in Lagunas: the
Hostal Montalban, on
the Plaza de Armas, is basic and small but suffices, as does
the slightly cheaper
Hostal
La Sombra at Jirón Vasquez 1121.
Lagunas is the main starting point for trips into the huge
Pacaya Samiria National Reserve ($30 fee for 5 day entry
pass from INRENA), comprising around two million hectares of
virgin rainforest (about 1.5 percent of the total landmass
of Peru) leading up to the confluence between the
Marañón and the Huallaga rivers, two of the largest Amazon
headwaters and possessing between them the largest protected
area of seasonally flooded jungle in the Peruvian Amazon.
The reserve is a swampland during the rainy season
(Dec-March), when the streams and rivers all rise,
comparable to the Tambopata-Candamo Reserved Zone in
southeastern Peru or the Pantanal swamps of southwestern
Brazil in its astonishing density of visible wildlife. It's
possible to arrange guides here (about $10 a day per person,
less if you're in (p.522)
a group) to explore the reserve.
The Cocoma natives in the
Pacaya Samiria National Reserve
This region is home to the
Cocoma
tribe whose main settlement is Tipishca, where the
native community are now directly involved in eco-tourism.
They can be hired as guides and will provide rustic
accommodation, but can only be contacted by asking on
arrival. There's a public
ferryboat
or
lancha you can
catch that travels up to Pacaya Samiria, but it's advisable
not to give yourself too tight a schedule for the outing as
a whole as public transport services can be fairly
unreliable.
You should of course be well prepared with mosquito nets,
hammocks, insect repellent and all the necessary food and
medicines. Officially you should obtain permission from the
reserve office to get into the reserve, but not everyone
does. If you get caught by park authorities without proper
permission you will be sent away and risk a fine or even
deportation. The reserve office also provides maps and
information on the region, when available. Visitors should
be aware that around 90,000 people, mostly indigenous
communities, still live in the reserve's forest.
They are the local residents and their territory as well as
customs should be respected. They are also a source for
detailed information on the sustainable management of river
turtles, since, in recent years some of the communities have
been collaborating on ecological conservation projects.
From Lagunas, it's possible to explore the
Tibilo area, which is
richly populated with birds and monkeys. In the dry season,
the lower Pacaya River area is excellent for
birdwatching, around the
temporary ponds and lakesides, where you can expect to find
macaws, toucans, tiger herons, several varieties of
kingfishers, among numerous other tropical species. This is
one of the best jungle regions in South America, not least
because of its massive extent and the seasonal flooding
which significantly increases the wildlife safari options.
Pevas (Pebas): native
fishing and crafts - Francisco Grippa - flood forest with
varied wildlife and flowers - Bora, Witoto and Ocaina
natives
Downstream from Iquitos lies PEVAS, some 190km to the east
and reached in a day by colectivo riverboat or in a few
hours by speedboat. The oldest town in the Peruvian Amazon,
it's an attractive, largely palm-thatched town and still a
frontier place. The economy here is based primarily on
fishing (visit the market where produce is brought in by
boat every day), and dugout canoes are the main form of
transport, propelled by characteristically ovoid-bladed and
beautifully carved paddles, which are often sold as
souvenirs, sometimes painted with designs.
The
Witoto and
Bora Indians, largely
concentrated around Pevas, actually arrived here in the
1930s after being relocated from the Colombian Amazon. They
are now virtually in everyday contact with the riverine
society of Pevas, producing quality artefacts for sale to
passers-by and yet retaining much of their traditional
knowledge of songs, dances and legends, plus significant
ethno-pharmacological practice in rainforest medicine. The
nearby Bora village of Puca Urquillo is a good example, a
large settlement based around a Baptist church and school,
whose founders moved here from the Colombian side of the Río
Putumayo during the hardships of the rubber era rather than
be enslaved.
Artist Francisco Grippa also lives in Pevas, though his work
is actually exhibited in Iquitos at the
Amazon Art Gallery,
while the surrounding flood forest is home to hundreds of
caimans and significant birdlife, including several types of
parrots, eagles and kingfishers. The area is good for
bird and butterfly watching,
and November, in particular, is a great time to study
orchids and bromeliads in bloom; it's also noted for its
fishing - piranha being
(p.523)
one of the easiest kinds to catch. A number of local Indian
groups can be visited, including the Bora, the Witoto and
the less-visited Ocainas. Costs are from $60 per person per
day, with extra for speedboat transport from Iquitos.
For a good
place to stay,
try the
Casa de la Loma
(write to Green Tracks, PO Box 555, Iquitos; T./Fax
065-221184, www.greentracks.com, run by an American nurse,
also contactable in the US (write to 10 Town Plaza 231,
Suite 231, Durango, CO 81301; T. 1-800/9-Monkey, Fax
970-247-8378.
Set on a small hill close to Pevas, the lodge was set up by
two nurses from Oregon who operate a free clinic here for
the two thousand or so local inhabitants. They have five
large bedrooms with shared bathrooms, and there's
electricity, a refrigerator and a kitchen. Visits can be
customized to suit individual requirements and interests (p.
525).
The three-way frontier
|
Map
of the three-way frontier region
with Santa Rosa (Perú, Peruvian Customs and
Immigration hut), Leticia (Colombia, with boats
for Iquitos), with Tabatinga (Brazil), and with
Benjamin Constante (Brazil, boats for Manaus),
with the the island Islandia (Perú) in the mouth
of Río Yauarí to the Río Amazonas. |
Coming to Perú from Brazil
on a "lancha" boat - Leticia, Tabatinga, and Santa Rosa
Boats from Iquitos to Leticia and Tabatinga go several
weekly, a trip of 9-12 hours [fast boat] or 3-4 days [normal
boat] (p.568).
Leaving or entering Peru via the Río Amazonas inevitably
means crossing the three-way frontier, nearly 300km from
Iquitos. The cheapest and most common route is by river from
Iquitos, some twelve hours in a
lancha rapida, a big speed boat with two
outboard motors, or three to four days downriver in a
standard
lancha
riverboat which will usually have two or three decks, the
middle one being for swinging your own hammock.
Some services go all the way to
Leticia (Colombia) or
Tabatinga (Brazil), but
many stop at one of the two small Peruvian frontier
settlements of Santa Rosa or Islandia; at Chimbote, a few
hours before you get to
Santa
Rosa and on the right as you head towards the
frontier, is a small police post, the main customs
checkpoint (
guarda costa)
for river traffic.
Tikuna natives - exit or
entry stamp from Perú at Santa Rosa - accommodation in
Santa Rosa
The region is interesting in its own right as the home of
the Tikuna Indians, once numerous but today down to a
population of around 10,000. It's possible to arrange visits
to some native communities from Leticia, and you can buy
some of their excellent craftwork - mainly string bags and
hammocks - from stores in that town.
Santa Rosa is your last chance to complete formalities with
migraciones if you haven't already done so at the Iquitos
office - essentially obtaining an exit stamp from Perú, if
you're leaving, or getting an entry stamp and tourist card
if arriving, which can take up to an hour. On larger boats,
you often don't have to disembark here, as the Migraciones
official may board the vessel and do the paperwork there and
then.
There are several cafés and few hostels, but the small
La Brisa del Amazonas
is also a restaurant whose owner is a useful contact for
local information, including contacts for local
guides.Ferryboats connect the town with Tabatinga and
Leticia. Islandia is in the middle of the river, on the
Peruvian side of the border, and has no hotels; from here
you have to take the ferry to Tabatinga or Leticia across
the river to enter Brazil or Colombia; most boats prefer to
use Tabatinga (p.529)
especially in low-water season - it's a long, muddy hike
from the quay to the surfaced streets of Leticia, whereas at
Tabatinga's two ports, the road goes right to the water's
edge.
Flights to the three
borders
The only other way of crossing these three borders is by
flying - a much less interesting approach, but not
necessarily a more expensive one (though there's an airport
departure tax of $2). flights from Iquitos to Santa Rosa are
operated by TANS, and both Varig and Rico fly to Manaus via
Tabatinga at least three times a week. TANS tickets can be
bought from Señor Teddy, who operates out of one of the
restaurants in this tiny town - just ask anywhere for him.
From Leticia, Avianca fly to a few major Colombian cities,
including Bogotá, several times a week (p.530).
Leticia in Colombia
Having grown rich on tourism and contraband (mostly
cocaine), Leticia has more than a touch of the Wild West
about it, but is still relatively safe. There's no physical
border at the port or between Leticia [Colombia] and
Tabatinga [Brazil], though disembarking passengers sometimes
have to go through a customs check, so carry your passport
at all times. If you want to go on into Colombia, the
cheapest way is to take a canoe to Puerto Asis, , where you
can latch on to the bus transport system, but to do this, or
to stay overnight, you'll need to get a Colombian tourist
card from the consulate at Iquitos, or at Manaus if coming
from Brazil. Alternatively, head straight for the DAS office
(Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, C 9, 9-62, T.
098-5927189 or 5924878; open 24hr) just a few blocks from
the port.
If you do stay, be warned that it's a lively town, with
cumbia and salsa music blasting out all over the place, and
establishments remaining open until the wee hours of the
morning. The best of the basic hotels are
Residencial Monserrate
and
Residencial Leticia,
but much nicer are the
Colonial,
which has (p.530)
air-conditioning and private baths, located near the port
square at Carrera 10 (T. 098-0057919, and the swish
Anaconda at Carrera 11
(T. 098-5927891 or 5927119), which has a pool and an
attractive
maloca-style
bar.The cheapest place to eat, and with the greatest variety
of food, is at the riverside market, though the Bucaneer and
La Taguara cafés, both at Carrera 10, are much better.
Tabatinga in Brazil
Smaller than Leticia, Tabatinga is hardly the most exciting
place in South America, and many people stuck here waiting
for a boat or plane to Manaus or Iquitos prefer to hop over
the border to Leticia for the duration of their stay, even
if they don't plan on going any further into Colombia. There
are two docks here: at the smaller of the two, where lesser
boats and canoes come and go with local produce and
passengers, you'll encounter customs checks; Port Bras, the
larger dock, is where you find the big
recreo boats heading
for Manaus.
Brazilian entry and exit formalities are processed at the
Policia Federal office (T. 092-4122180; 10am-8pm, though
24hr for emergencies); if you're entering Brazil you'll
usually be asked to show an exit ticket or prove that you
have $500.
There are a few places to stay. Try the
Hotel Paje, Rue Pedro
Teixeira (T. 092-4122558), or the much nicer and friendlier
Hotel Te Contei,
Avenida de Amizade 1813 (T. 092-4122377 or 4132566), which
is entered via the rickety spiral stairway over a pizzeria
of the same name. There are a handful of other restaurants
dotted about, mainly by the smaller dock.
Boats from Tabatinga and
Benjamin Constante to Manaus - and from Tabatinga to Perú
Continuing on downstream into Brazil on boats to Manaus, a
four-to seven-day journey that is often very crowded, costs
$40 to $80 depending on their size, condition and whether or
not you require a cabin. They leave from both
Tabatinga and
Benjamin Constante, on
the other side of the Amazon, usually starting from the
former in the early afternoons (frequently on Wednesdays,
but also less regularly on most other days of the week) and
calling at the latter an hour or so later. If there are no
boats in Tabatinga, however, it may be worth taking a
speedboat ferry ($7; a 30min trip) to Benjamin Constante to
see if there are any departing just from there.
If you've arrived from Iquitos on a boat that's continuing
all the way to Manaus, it's important to let the captain
know whether or not you need to go into Tabatinga to quickly
sort your visa business (use a taxi) and then meet the boat
at Benjamin Constante. Bear in mind that it's virtually
impossible to get from Islandia to the federal police in
Tabatinga and then back to Benjamin Constante in less than
an hour and a half.
Blue Moon Tour Agency,
Rua General Sampaio 740 (T. 092-4122227) in Tabatinga,
specializes in cheap flights and boat trips from there to
Perú (p.531).
Guides
Lodges, cruises and guides
in the deep jungle without roads - guides and payments
If you're planning on an expedition beyond the limited
network of roads around Iquitos, you'll have to take an
organized trip with a
lodge
operator, a
river
cruise or hire a
freelance
guide. The larger local entrepreneurs have quite a
grip on the market, and even the few guides who remain more
or less independent are hard to bargain with since so much
of their work comes through the larger agents. That said,
they mostly have well worked-out itineraries, though you
should always deal with an established office - check out
which companies are
registered
at the tourist office in Iquitos - and insist on a written
contract and receipt. Be aware that there's no shortage of
con artists among the many
touts
around town, some of whom brandish quality brochures which
belong to companies they are not actually affiliated with.
Under no circumstances should you hand them any money.
A general rule of thumb is that any expedition of fewer than
five days is unlikely to offer more wildlife than a few
birds, some monkeys, and maybe a crocodile if you're lucky;
any serious attempt to visit virgin forest and see wildlife
in its natural habitat requires a week or more. That said,
if Iquitos is your main contact with the Amazon and you're
unlikely to return here, you can rent a boat for an
overnight trip from upwards of $40-50 per person.
A group in low season may well be able to negotiate a
three-day trip for as little as $25-30 per person per day,
though there will be little guarantee of quality at this
price. One or two of the smaller camps sometimes offer deals
from as little as $25, but make sure they provide all the
facilities you require.
There's an almost infinite amount of jungle to be
rewardingly explored in any direction from Iquitos. One of
the less-visited but nevertheless interesting areas - at
least in terms of being relatively accessible yet still
quite untouched and wild - lies
east between Iquitos and the Brazilian border.
It's difficult to access this region without the help of a
local guide and/or tour company. The public boats plying
this stretch of the Río Amazonas rarely stop and certainly
don't give any time for passengers to explore. If you do
want to stop off and spend some time here, Pevas is a good
base for making river trips more or less independently at
least without going through an Iquitos tour company, though
it's always a good idea to make use for local guides
(p.525).
Freelance guides
There are some good independent contacts who can help you
find the right trip. The Iquitos tourist office has a list
of registered
freelance
guides and is usually helpful in providing
up-to-date contacts for them. Some of the longer established
local rainforest guides and independent operators are listed
below, but this list is by no means exhaustive.
Alex Weill Renfigo
T. 065-940739, www.jungletrips.4d2.net
Runs a company called Ecological Jungle Trips, whose tours
are tailored to the client's needs and can last from short
three- or four-day trips to longer seven- to ten-day
adventures. Price varies according to whether you use the
speedboat or local river bus, but is usually between $30-70
a day.
Carlos Grandez
who speaks some English, runs excellent trips, usually over
200km upriver from Iquitos using colectivo riverboats to
keep costs down (from $25-35 per person per day).
Hamilton Souther and Moises
Torres Monte Luis
[Jirón] Ramon Castilla 1012, T. 065-223678, e-mail:
bluemorphotours@hotmail.com, or in US via: 237 Plateau
Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, T. 831/425-7437
Newer on the scene, offering adventurous trips upriver and
deep into the rainforest, sometimes as far as the Río
Galvez, a tributary of the Río Aucayacu (accesses from the
riverside town of Genaro Herrera). Their company, called
Blue Morpho, offers mid-price-range ($15-80) adventure
rather than luxury and really demand a minimum of five or
six days' commitment; they can sometimes organize ayahuasca
shamanic ceremonies.
Jimmy Ford
Affiliated with the Great Amazon Safari and Trading Company
Jimmy offers equally adventurous safaris, but tends to cover
a different territory, downriver towards the border with
Brazil - a good option for those wanting to explore lesser
touristed areas of the jungle.
Silvia Grandez (Carlos Grandez' daughter)
contactable through the
Hostal
La Libertad (Jirón Arica 361, Iquitos, T./Fax
065-235763, or: esilvia_grandez@origimail.com.ar), also
offers good expeditions from around $30-40 per person
depending on the size of the group, lasting (p.528)
up to 25 days. Silvia doesn't speak English, but some of her
assistant guides do. They sometimes operate from a base camp
at Veagali (250km from Iquitos) and around the bountiful
wildlife area of Lago Curahuate.
Walter Wacho Soplin
contactable via the Hobo Hideout Hostel, [Jirón] Putumayo
437, Iquitos, T. 065-234099, e-mail: hoatzinperu@lycos. com,
or: wacho@lycos.com
is a freelance guide who frequently works for some of the
larger lodges but has his own small lodge too, near Panguana
village, about one to two hours from Iquitos. He speaks
English fairly well and is a knowledgeable and capable
jungle guide.
Richard Fowler
T. 065-677645, e-mail: aukoo@hotmail.com, or via Chinchilejo
Expeditions at [Jirón] Napo 272, T. 065-674559 or 937325.
Richard, an American based in Iquitos, is a naturalist guide
who offers customized survival and wilderness trips.
Lodges in the jungle around Iquitos
Guided tours require some kind of camp set-up or tourist
lodge facilities. There are two main types of jungle
experiences available from Iquitos - what Peruvian tour
operators describe as "conventional" (focusing on lodge
stays) and what they describe as "adventure trips" (going
deeper into the jungle). Prices given are per person
(p.526).
Amazon Camp on Momón river
in Yaguar and Bora region - around $100 per night
contact through Amazon Tours and Cruises (p.526), [Jirón]
Requena 336, Iquitos, T. 065-231611, Fax 231265,
www.amazontours.com;
A pleasant conventional lodge on the Río Momón between the
Yaguar and Bora Indian villages. This place can be visited
in a daytrip, though it's more fun and a better deal if you
stay longer. Around $100 per night.
Amazon Explorama CEIBA
TOPS: luxury lodge for $100-400 per day
contact Explorama, Avenida La Marina 340, Iquitos, T.
065-253301, Fax 252533, e-mail: amazon@explorama.com,
www.explorama.com; or: Box 445, Iquitos; toll-free in the US
t. 1-800/707-5275
Explorama are the top operator in the region, with over 35
years' experience and over 500 beds across their various
lodges and locations; they aren't cheap, but do offer great
quality. Explorama also now have their own very
well-equipped river ferryboat - the
Amazon Queen. Some 40km
from Iquitos, this is the most luxurious lodge in the
Peruvian Amazon, with a fantastic jungle swimming pool with
a water slide, proper bar and dining areas, surrounded by 40
hectares of primary forest and 160 hectares of
chacra and secondary
growth. Accommodation is in smart conventional bungalows
with air-conditioning and flushing toilets, or in simpler
bungalow-huts. Phone and Internet ($3 for 10 minutes)
connection available. Very popular in high season, so be
sure to book well in advance. Can be visited in conjunction
with other Explorama lodges; $100-400 per day, depending on
size of group, length of trip and the number of lodges
visited.
Amazon Explorama CTS Field
Station (Amazon Conservatory for Tropical Studies):
medical plant trail - path on stilts: $100-400 per day
contact Explorama, Avenida La Marina 340, Iquitos, T.
065-253301, Fax 252533, e-mail: amazon@explorama.com,
www.explorama.com; or: Box 445, Iquitos; toll-free in the US
t. 1-800/707-5275
An hour's walk from the company's ExplorNapo Lodge (see
below), this particular establishment owns some 750 hectares
of primary forest and was designed for research though it's
available for short visits and is quite comfortable, with
separate rooms and shared dining and bathroom facilities.
There's a medicinal plant trail with a written information
booklet corresponding to the numbered (marked / tagged)
plant species on the path, but the really special feature is
the well-maintained canopy walkway [path on stilts in the
roof of the trees] (the Amazon's longest), whose top-most
platform is 35m high. Can be visited in conjunction with
other Explorama lodges; $100-400 per day, depending on size
of group, length of trip and the number of lodges visited.
Amazon Explorama Lodge:
dolphin swimming in the Amazon: Bora natives, native
music, dolphin swimming in Amazonas, night walks, Yaguar
natives: $100-400 per day
contact Explorama, Avenida La Marina 340, Iquitos, T.
065-253301, Fax 252533, e-mail: amazon@explorama.com,
www.explorama.com; or: Box 445, Iquitos; toll-free in the US
t. 1-800/707-5275
In a 195-hectare reserve and 90km from Iquitos, this was
Explorama's first lodge. Well equipped, it retains its
rustic charm and acts as base camp for long-range programs.
Bora Indian talking drums (manguare) announce meal times in
the dining room and guides often play Peruvian music in the
bar during the evenings. Bedrooms have no locks and are
simple but attractive, with individual mosquito nets;
toilets are latrine-style but well maintained, and showers
are cold. A few animals - including a tapir, an otter and
several macaws - come and go around the place, and you can
swim with dolphins in the Amazon, plus there are night walks
and visits to the nearby Yaguar Indians. Can be visited in
conjunction with other Explorama lodges; $100-400 per day,
depending on size of group, length of trip and the number of
lodges visited.
Amazon Rainforest Lodge:
native villages, fishing, walks, birdwatching, ayahuasca,
healers, excurcions - $30-60 per day
[Jirón] Putumayo 159, Iquitos, T. 065-233100 or 241628, Fax
242231, e-mail: schneide@amauta.rcp.net.pe,
www.amazon_lodge.com; Inn Lima: T. 01-4455620, Fax 4472651.
Up the Río Momón (1-3hr, depending on water levels), the
heart of this large lodge, run by an English resident, is a
thatched native-style
maloca
dining room and bar. Accommodation is in bungalows with
bathrooms and private toilets, with hammock spaces out front
for relaxing, but the pool is not always functioning. There
are conventional trips to local Indian villages that include
fishing, jungle walks, birdwatching, plus ayahuasca sessions
($20) with local healers, one of whom has built a temple
space at the back of the lodge. This isn't the best lodge
for swish [noble] accommodation or for wildlife (though
monkeys do often pass through), but you can walk to the Río
Napo (8hr), or go further up the Momón to one of the two
main headwaters, the Juano and Agua Planea creeks (both
3hr), the former noted for its marmosets. From $30 to $60 a
day, the more expensive options including airport transfers,
river travel, guides and food.
Cumaceba Lodge: native
Yaguar village, bird- and dolphin-watching - reserve,
water-skiing and ayahuasca - $120 for three days
[Jirón] Putumayo 184, T./Fax 065-232229 or 610656, e-mail:
info@cumaceba.com
A highly recommended budget option on the Río Yanayacu, some
40km downriver from Iquitos (45min by speedboat), with
accommodation in private rustic bungalows with individual
bathrooms. They have the usual communal dining area and
hammock lounge, while lighting is by kerosene lamps. They
take visitors to (p.526)
the local Yaguar village and on jungle walks; bird- and
dolphin-watching also form part of their programs. Optional
extras include trips to the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve,
water-skiing (June-Nov) and ayahuasca sessions. They also
run an explorer camp downriver. Around $120 for three days.
ExplorNapo Lodge:
ExplorNapo Reserve - canopy walkway on stilts not far -
jungle camp - $100-400 per day
contact Explorama, Avenida La Marina 340, Iquitos, T.
065-253301, Fax 252533, e-mail: amazon@explorama.com,
www.explorama.com; or: Box 445, Iquitos; toll-free in the US
t. 1-800/707-5275
Over ninety miles from Iquitos, on the Río Sucusari (Orejon
Indian for "way in and out"). The palm-roofed buildings,
hammock areas and dining room/bar are linked by
thatch-covered walkways. The lodge controls 3000 hectares of
surrounding forest, the ExplorNapo Reserve, and during full
moons you can sometimes hear tropical screech owls and the
common potoos. From here there's easy access (less than an
hour's walk) to the canopy walkway [path on stilts in the
roof of the trees] (see Amazon Explorama CTS Field Station,
above); and further into the forest there is a jungle camp -
ExplorTambos -
where visitors can experience a night out in the middle of
the forest away from any lodge, lights or people.
Two hours' walk from
ExplorNapo
Lodge deep into primary forest, this is in many
ways the ultimate jungle experience; a small collection of
open-sided
tambo-style
huts, offering a night close to the earth, the elements and,
of course, the animals.
Can be visited in conjunction with other Explorama lodges;
$100-400 per day, depending on size of group, length of
trip, the level of quality and number of lodges visited.
Heliconia Amazon River
Lodge: basic jungle program - $100 per day
[Jirón] Prospero 574, or: [Jirón] Ricardo Palma 242,
Iquitos, T. 065-235132 or 231959, or contact via the
Hotel Victoria Regia;
or [Jirón] Las Camelias 491, Oficina 503, San Isidro, Lima,
T. 01-4219195, Fax 4424338.
A pleasant lodge, 80km downriver from Iquitos, with
accommodation in twin rooms with private bathrooms. They
offer a basic three-day program at around $100 per day.
Muyuna: Yanayacu river -
reserva Pacaya Samiria - animal excursions - $80 per day
[Jirón] Putumayo 163, T. 065-242858 (Lima 01-445-9441),
e-mail: amazonas@muyuna.com, www.muyuna.com
Based 120km upriver from Iquitos, up a tributary called
Yanayacu, this lodge is fairly close to the Reserva Nacional
de Pacaya Samiria. Attractive and very pleasant cabin
accommodation, with private mosquito-proof rooms, en suite
bathrooms and white-tiled showers; they offer jungle
walking, river safari trips in canoes and other traditional
excursions like piranha fishing, searching out
Vittoria regia (renamed
Vittoria amazonica)
plants and alligator spotting.
The Río Yanayacu is also pretty good for wildlife (see the
photos in their groundfloor office) with lots of lakes, and
most of the locals make their living from fishing rather
than agriculture, as the soil here is relatively poor. They
use their own dedicated guides, many of whom have a
university background. Their jungle tours and lodge work
hard to distinguish themselves from competitors as
protectors of wild animals' right to remain free rather than
be kept in zoos or cages. Their role is to provide a service
to enable people to see the animals, with respect, in the
forest. This stance ensures their reputation as one of the
greenest eco-tour companies in the region. They're reliable
and all their tours are sold directly by them to their
clients; the standard charge is around $80 a day.
Refugio Altiplano:
Tamshiyacu river - ayahuasca ceremonies
[Jirón] Raymondi 171, T. 065-222001, e-mail:
refugioaltiplano@lycos.com, www.refugioaltiplano.org
A jungle lodge noted mainly for its ayahuasca ceremonies,
this relatively new operator, run by a Scot, takes its
groups to a lodge on the Río Tamshiyacu some 50km upriver
from Iquitos.
Zungarococha: Nanay river -
basic jungle program - $60-70 per day
[Jirón] Ricardo Palma 242, Iquitos, T. 065-231959
The kind of comfortable rooms and bar associated with good
middle-range conventional lodges, but only 14km from Iquitos
on the Río Nanay. This place offers jungle treks, nightwalks
and the usual canoe exploration. From $60 to $70 a day (p.
527).
Shamans and ayahuasca
sessions: female shaman Norma Panduro Navarro - $300 per
month
Ayahuasca sessions or psychedelic tourism, have become a
booming business in Iquitos. A new facility has opened near
the city operated by an NGO - the Centro Medico ONG
Shapinguito (Iquitos-Nauta road Km 45.5, T. 065-231566, with
an Iquitos office at [Jirón] Tacna 327); open to all
interested parties, this clinic offers healing and working
with ayahuasca usually in association with the female shaman
Norma Panduro Navarro.
Costs start at as little as $300 a month, including room and
board as well as ayahuasca ceremonies.
A well-known local ayahuasca guide, Francisco Montes
(Sachamama, 18km from Iquitos on the road to Nauta) offers
very traditional ceremonies with all the comforts of a
lodge.
Another popular shaman is
Augustin
Rivas, a famous sculptor who has dedicated over
thirty years to working with ayahuasca; his sessions are run
through
Yushintayta Lodge,
contactable via the Hostal
La Pascana, Pevas 133, T. 065-231418; the
lodge is located on the Río Tamshiyacu.
In addition, many if not most of the jungle lodges around
Iquitos regularly organize ayahuasca sessions for their
clients. Similarly, many of the independent guides will
organize sessions with shamans at their jungle camps. This
sacred business is not regulated at all right now and, given
the extremely sensitive states of mind achieved by ingesting
ayahuasca (which can be much more powerful than LSD), it's
important not only to feel comfortable with the scene and
setting, but also with the person leading it. There are more
teacher plants than only ayahuasca (p.528).
Riverboat and cruise operators
Amazon Explorama - Amazon
Queen Ferry boat
Avenida La Marina 340, Iquitos, T. 065-252530 or 252526 or
253301, Fax 252533, www.explorama.com; or: Box 445; Iquitos;
toll-free in the US T. 1-800/707-5275
A superbly converted ferryboat now operating with up to 180
passengers and nine crew members. Mainly connecting Iquitos
with Exporama's busiest lodge, CEIBA TOPS, and sometimes
traveling down the Amazon and up the Río Napo. With its
365-horsepower engine it makes CEIBA TOPS in about 90min. It
has a large, comfortable lounge, card deck and carpeted bar
on the second deck.
Amazon Tours and Cruises
[Jirón] Requena 336, Iquitos, T. 065-231611, Fax 231265,
www.amazontours.com; in the US 8700 W Flaglet St S/190,
Miami, FL 33174, Fax 305/227-1880.
Five luxury boats, running up the Río Amazonas to Requena,
Pacaya Samiria National Reserve and down to Pevas, Leticia
and Manaus, not quite as smart as those operated by Junglex,
but cheaper and still of a high standard. The company is
planning to speed up access to the (p.527)
rainforest with flights to places such as Requena and
Leticia.
Junglex
Avenida Quinones 1980, Iquitos, T. 065-261583; in the US: T.
205/428-1700, Fax 428-1714, e-mail: intlexp@aol.com.net
Five luxury boats of varying sizes, possibly the fanciest on
the Amazon. A variety of expensive trips go to areas such as
Requena, up the Río Ucayalí and on to the Río Tapiche, and
even up into the wider reaches of the Río Yanayacu to visit
Lago Umaral, a great area for wildlife. They also go to the
Pacaya Samiria National Reserve (p. 528).