AMAZON LOWLANDS/IQUITOS TOUR
Tour Overview
PERU
BIRDING TOUR
ANY TIME*
| Duration: | 15 days, 14 nights |
| Group Size: | 2-4 |
| 2-3 Price: | $6400 |
| 4+ Price: | $6100 |
| Single Suppl: | $700 |
| Est #Species: | 375-425 |
| Pace: | Easy |
| Difficulty: | Moderate/Difficult |
| Best Time: | Jun-Oct |
| * This tour is available for any dates of your choosing provided guide services and accommodations are available. | |
In northern Peru the clear waters of the Marañon River carves a deep canyon and flows through it into the lowlands of northeastern Peru. There it joins the muddy brown waters of the Ucayali River that originates in southern Peru and flows north into the lowlands. This confluence is the geographical beginning of the mighty Amazon River and is home to many amazonian birds found nowhere else in the world. Our tour of the Peruvian Amazon visits all 4 birding locales just downstream from where these two rivers come together near the lowland city of Iquitos.
Our tour begins with an early morning flight from Lima to Iquitos in the Peruvian Amazon followed by a 3-hour boat transfer to the ACT Canopy Walkway Lodge located on the Sucusari River, a tributary of the Napo River in the Peruvian Amazon. After 3 full days birding there, we transfer to the nearby Explornapo Lodge where we'll stay for the next 2 days. We then return to Iquitos for 3 nights to accommodate 2 full days of birding in the nearby Allpahuayo-Mishana Reserve and along the Iquitos-Nauta Road. We then drive 2-hours south from Iquitos and take an hour-long boat ride up the Amazon River to Muyuna Amazon Lodge, where we'll devote 4 full days of birding there. The tour ends with a boat transfer back to Iquitos followed by an evening flight to Lima.
Tour Considerations
PACE - Easy
DIFFICULTY - Birding in the Peruvian Amazon around Iquitos can be very rewarding but also difficult. Some birding is by boat, some on trails through terra firme forest. Trails in the forest are mostly level. The difficulty comes from seeing birds that are often in dense thickets or high in the canopy and occur at low densities.
DOMESTIC FLIGHTS - Direct flights are available from Lima to Iquitos with numerous departure times from very early in the morning to a bit later. The return flight currently departs around 10:15pm so the schedule on the final day could be adjusted to take the mid-afternoon flight instead.
CLIMATE - The climate around Iquitos is tropical - oppressively hot and humid year-round. Rainy season is December-May, resulting in higher water in flooded forests that allows taking a boat farther into the interior of these forests. The greater rains leads to more mosquitos. Dry season is June-November. During these months, rainfall is somewhat less but sudden showers sill occur. The days are hotter than during wet season.
BIRD ACTIVITY - During rainy season birds are active all day. Breeding occurs at this time of year, so birds are vocalizing more and endemics are easier to see. During dry season birds are most active early in the morning and become inactive by mid-morning. Activity picks up again in late afternoons.
PHOTOGRAPHY - Photography can be challenging in the rainforest.
TOUR NOTES
Internal flights are not included in the tour price.
ACCOMMODATIONS
The ACTS Canopy Walkway Lodge and Explornapo Lodges are comfortable but rustic. Both lodges only have pit toilets and shared showers, all clean but not in the rooms. Both lodges have very good meals. The Muyuna Amazon lodge is nicer with private bathrooms though still somewhat rustic. Hotels in Iquitos are comfortable and similar to moderately priced hotels in other Peruvian cities. In Iquitos the accommodations are moderately priced, comfortable hotels.