The great Amazon river flows from the peaks of the snow-capped Andean Mountains and rushes through Peru, Brazil and Colombia before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean, a distance of 6400 km. The Peruvian part of the Amazon is easy to get to, with a variety of wildlife and all kinds of boats to explore, from local ferries and cargo boats to the small luxury cruise ship, Aqua Nera.
1 Be amazed by Amazon itself
The largest river in the world by volume of water with about 20 percent of the world’s total fresh water … and not a single bridge. It is an amazing sight. Unlike Brazil and Ecuador, Peru is the source of the river, and it changes a lot according to different seasons. In dry places, it is between one and five kilometers wide, much narrower than in other countries, but in the rains it can end up being 50 kilometers wide in a row. Cruising the river, with its glorious sunrises and sunsets, gives the impression of a living, dynamic force, teeming with wildlife and Indigenous communities along its banks.
2 I want a pink dolphin
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Pink dolphins seem as mythical as unicorns, but they exist, and nowhere else in the world in such large numbers – estimated at several thousand – as in the Peruvian Amazon. It’s very interesting to suddenly see one of these endangered mammals – which, surprisingly, are more intelligent than humans – alone or in a small shell, and see a flash of a pink back or belly as they roll over (they don’t jump like sea dolphins). Many legends have grown up around them – that they can transform into handsome men at night and impregnate young women who wander too close. But maybe stories can help protect them…
3 Walk through the flooded forest
The Peruvian Amazon can rise 30 meters in the rainy season, and it is also fed by the melting of the snows of the Andes. Its various water levels make it attractive all year round. In the dry area, visitors can go for long walks through the rain forest, admiring the cornucopia of creatures – fur, slimy or just plain scary – and in the rain, it is almost ethereal, past the thickets of trees in the water forest, until reaching the not-so-dry land. Parts of Peru’s ecological wonderland, the Pacaya Samiria National Park, are called the “forest of mirrors”; surrounded by green reflective water and sky, it can be difficult to judge where the world begins.
4 Join the cold and lazy
Among all the wildlife in the river – including macaws, hummingbirds, butterflies, caimans, piranhas, howler and spider monkeys, boas, anacondas and tarantulas – sloths are very strange. It just hangs calmly upside down from the branches of trees, it is slow, gentle, ancient, and perfectly adapted to its environment, moving at a slow speed, like koalas, to conserve energy. They can sleep 10 to 15 hours a day and go down once a week. For scientists, they remain an amazing mystery.
5 Visit a Native village
There are more than 50 different Indigenous groups in the Peruvian Amazon, living in beautiful isolation along the banks of rivers, in houses often built of mud, eating fish, using medicines made from the rainforest, and a water-based culture. The ship, Aqua Nera, stopped in a small settlement in Lisboa and passengers were greeted by local children, delighted with gifts of books, pens and paper … and amazed by toy koalas. It can be a rare opportunity to experience such a cultural community.
6 Be fascinated by Iquitos
Iquitos is the jumping off point for the Amazon, and what a place! It is the largest city in the world that is not accessible by road (only by boat or plane), and it has a fascinating history, with Jesuit missions in the 1700s, then football pioneers in the 1880s building beautiful landmarks. On the river there are Belen houses, where the locals meet by canoe during the rainy season. There is also a mass market.
7 You will be tormented by two rivers that flow side by side
It is a natural thing that beggars belief. Near Iquitos, at the confluence of the Nanay River and the Amazon, there is a clear line between them, with the former black and the other light brown. The division comes from the amount of sediment in each, the speed of the flow and their different temperatures. It’s similar to the divide between the Rio Negro and the Amazon in Brazil’s Manaus, but more complicated.
Aqua Expeditions’ small luxury ship, Aqua Nera, has 20 cabins and a crew of 40 on four- and eight-day cruises from $US5130 ($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.
Take a look aquaexpeditions.com; latamairlines.com; peru.travel
The author traveled as a guest of Aqua Expeditions. Take a look aquaexpeditions.com
Sue Williams is a Sydney-based freelance travel writer, author and journalist who has presented to newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations around the world.Connect through email address.
