Spot pink dolphins, sloths and Indigenous villages in Peru
The mighty Amazon River flows high in the snow-covered Andes Mountains, passes through Peru, Brazil and Colombia and flows into the Atlantic Ocean 6,400 kilometers away. The Peruvian section of the Amazon is easier to reach, with a wide variety of wildlife and all kinds of boats to explore, from local ferries and cargo boats to the ultra-luxury small ship Aqua Nera.
1 Admire Amazon itself
The world’s largest river by volume of water, it contains approximately 20 percent of the world’s total fresh water… and there is not a single bridge. A striking sight. Unlike Brazil and Ecuador, Peru is the source of the river and it varies dramatically with different seasons. It is between one and five kilometers wide in dry weather, much narrower than in other countries, but can expand up to 50 kilometers in wet conditions. Navigating the river with spectacular sunrises and sunsets gives the feeling that the river is a living, powerful force, teeming with wildlife and the Indigenous communities along its banks.
2 Wish on a pink dolphin
Sign up for the Traveler Deals newsletter
Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.
Pink dolphins may seem as mythical as unicorns, but they do exist, and nowhere else in the world are there as many of them – estimated at several thousand – as in the Peruvian Amazon. It’s very exciting to suddenly spot one of those endangered mammals, which surprisingly has even larger brains than humans, alone or in a small herd, and see the flash of a pink back or belly as it rolls (they don’t leap like sea dolphins). Many legends grew up around them about their ability to transform into handsome men at night and impregnate young women who wandered too close. But maybe myths will help preserve them…
3 Float through a flooded forest
The Peruvian Amazon can reach heights of up to 30 meters during the rainy season and is also fed by melting snow covers in the Andes. Various water levels make it fascinating all year round. In dry weather, visitors can take long walks through the rainforest, marveling at the abundance of furry, slimy or just plain scary creatures; In the wet state, they are almost ethereal and can pass through the treetops of water forests to reach not-so-dry lands. Parts of Peru’s protected ecological wonderland, the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, are called the “forest of mirrors”; Surrounded by water that reflects both greenery and the sky, it can be difficult to guess where the world begins.
4 Join the big cold with sloths
Sloths are a favorite wonder amidst all the wildlife in the river, including magnificent macaws, hummingbirds, butterflies, caimans, piranhas, howler and spider monkeys, boas, anacondas and tarantulas. Hanging silently upside down from tree branches, these creatures are slow, gentle, ancient and perfectly adapted to their environment, moving at a minimum speed, a bit like koalas, to preserve their energy. They may sleep 10 to 15 hours a day and only come down to the ground once a week. For scientists, these remain a magnificent mystery.
5 Visit an Indigenous village
There are more than 50 different Indigenous groups in the Peruvian Amazon who live in splendid isolation along river banks, living mostly in houses built of mud, eating fish, using medicines made from rainforest plants, and having a water-centered culture. The Aqua Nera ship stopped in a small settlement of Lisbon, with passengers greeted by local children, delighted with gifts of books, pencils and paper, and stunned by toy koalas. It can be a rare privilege to experience such a rich traditional community.
6 Attract Iquitos
Iquitos is the gateway to the Amazon and what a beautiful place! It’s the largest city in the world that’s inaccessible by road (only by boat or plane) and has a fascinating history, with Jesuit missions in the 1700s and then rubber barons building some spectacular landmarks in the 1880s. On the river, there are the columned houses of Belen, where local people visit each other by canoe during the rainy season. There is also a vibrant market.
7 Two rivers flowing side by side will surprise you
This is a natural phenomenon that is not credible. Near Iquitos, where the Nanay River meets the Amazon, there is a clear line between them; The first is black and the other is light brown. Segregation is caused by the amount of sediment in each, the speed of the flow, and their different temperatures. This is similar to the divide between the Rio Negro and the Amazon in Manaus, Brazil, but more compact.
Aqua Expeditions’ small luxury ship, Aqua Nera, has 20 cabins and 40 crew and is available on four- and eight-day itineraries starting from US$5130 ($7435) per person based on double occupancy. Early booking discounts are available. LATAM flies from Sydney to Santiago with connections to Lima and then Iquitos.
To see aquaexpeditions.com; lataairlines.com; peru.travel
The author traveled as a guest of Aqua Expeditions. To see aquaexpeditions.com
Sue Williams is a Sydney-based freelance travel writer, author and journalist who writes for newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations around the world.Connect via email.
