Amazon & Andes of Northern Peru
Itinerary Day 1 Lima Arrive Lima. Your guide will meet you in Lima and transfer you to the hotel for a nights rest to help settle in after a long flight. Lima is a fascinating city and you will have a chance to enjoy the local sights and meet the other trip members. Day 2 Lima-Tarapoto - Yurimaguas (B,D) Transfer to the domestic airport for the 1.5 hour flight to the high Amazon town of Tarapoto. After a meal in a traditional restaurant we have a 2 hour van ride to Yurimaguas. The drive to Yurimagas takes you from the mountainous high Amazon to the low Amazon rainforest. The transition is dramatic as you drop down through steep canyons and jungle and get your first glimpse of the great Amazon basin. We will stop at Las Cataratas de Ahuashiyacu for short walk to a beautiful waterfall and a swim. You will have the afternoon to check out Yurimagas, this bustling river town is literally the end of the road and the town is alive with people and goods arriving and departing by river. Have a swim in the pool as you get your last taste of luxury before heading into the "Selva". Day 3 : Yurimaguas - Lagunas (B,L,D) In the morning we board a "fast boat" for the 5 hour trip to the remote village of Lagunas. These long motorized vessels are the only way the local people received goods and transport. It is a fascinating glimpse of river life as you pass isolated villages. Lagunas is a small village with one paved road and electricity in the evening only. Accommodation Hostal Eco is basic but clean with a private bathroom in each room. Don't expect nightclubs and discos, but as night falls and the sounds and smells of the rainforest take over, you know you are not in Kansas anymore. Day 4 Pacaya Samiria (B,L,D) The massive Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve is the largest protected area in the floodable Amazon rainforest. To protect the amazing variety of wildlife it is only possible to visit with a registered guide. In the morning we meet our river guides and transfer to dugout canoes. With two guides and two clients in each canoe there is plenty of room to relax and stretch out. The boats are surprisingly stable and the guides are masters at maneuvering the craft through the jungle. Using only paddles and no motors provides the best possible views wildlife viewing. Paddling the on the slow moving, narrow stream in flooded rain forest is a unique experience and one you will never forget. Don't worry about seeing wildlife, there is something around every bend. In the afternoon we arrive a Gloria, a large bungalow on stilts and our accommodation for the night. Day 5 : Pacaya Samiria (B,L,D) Things move slow in the Amazon and after a relaxing breakfast we push further into the reserve. You can expect the unexpected with monkeys providing the soundtrack. Otters and comic looking sloths are your constant companions. Evening brings a new bungalow on stilts with a beautiful pool for swimming and a hammock to relax in. Day 6 : Pacaya Samiria (B,L,D) Just when you think you have seen it all you discover pink river dophins and paiche, an air breathing fish that grows up to 3 meters long! The guides do a night time excursion to show you snakes and crocodiles, not nearly as scary as it sounds! Day 7 : Pacaya Samiria (B,L,D) With the sounds of Howler Moneys ringing in your ears today we go for a walk where the countless species of giant trees go forever. Egrets, ducks, tucans, taricaya (turtles), macaws and majestic paiches. Squirell monkeys, brown moneys, black monkeys, and Yellow Tailed Wooly Monkeys.....overnight in Refugio on stilts. Day 8 : Pacaya Samiria - Lagunas (B,L,D) Today is a combination of paddling and a walking tour of the reserve, discover medicinal plants and animals living deeper into the jungle. At he end of the day we return to Lagunas and Hostal Eco Day 9: Lagunas - Yurimaguas-Tarapoto (B,L,D) Departure at 5am to Yurimaguas fast boat. Arrival at 11.30am in Yurimaguas. Transfer to Tarapoto. Arrival at Tarapoto and transfer to Pumarinri. Evening-night walk in the surrounding forest, looking for poison dart frogs, herpetofauna and owls. Overnight at Pumarinri Lodge. Day 10 From the Amazon to the Andes (B,L,D) Breakfast and early depart towards the Andes. Boat trip along the Huallaga and Mayo rivers, with some birdwatching. Boxed lunch. We'll cross the Alto Mayo forests and finally see the sunset in front of Gocta waterfalls, one of the highest in the world, in the heart of the Peruvian northern Andes. Dinner. Overnight at Gocta Lodge. Day 11 Gocta Waterfalls (B,L,D) From Gocta Lodge there's an amazing view of the waterfalls, but the trail leading to them is even more breathtaking. It's a two hour hike (each way), crossing Andean orchards and a lush gallery forest. Gocta Falls straddles the void between the towering Andes Mountains and lush Amazon rainforest, and offers one of the most worlds most sublime spectacles and reputed to be 3rd highest in the world . Though the climate is tropical and the jungle dense, the cataracts are still 2,000 meters above sea level Lunch at the lodge, free afternoon, dinner. Overnight at Gocta Lodge. Day 12 / Kuelap Fortress (B,L,D) We'll start driving along the Utcubamba valley, between bromeliads and cacti, and at Tingo we'll begin to climb to Kuelap, crossing traditional Andean villages, to finally reach the fortress at 3,000m. The fortress of Kuelap is a walled city associated with the Chachapoyas culture built in 6th century AD. It consists of more than four hundred buildings surrounded by massive exterior stone walls Guided visit to Kuelap archaeological site. Lunch at the village of Maria. Return to Gocta Lodge, dinner. Overnight at Gocta Lodge. Day 13 The Marvelous Spatuletail & the Alto Mayo (B,L,D) Breakfast and early depart towards the lowlands. First stop at the Marvelous spatuletail visitors centre, where we'll be able to watch this amazing hummingbird amongst many other colourful species. Second stop at Moyobamba to visit an orchid botanical garden. Boxed lunch. We'll finally reach Tarapoto, but before we'll stop at Quiscarrumi Bridge to see the Oilbirds. Dinner. Overnight in Tucan Suites Hotel Day 14 Tarapoto-Lima (B) Transfer to Tarapoto's airport for your flight to Lima and make onward connections |
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Dates & Prices Dates & prices on request
Inclusions: All accommodation in comfortable hotels & lodges ( Lima & 11-16 June), basic camps & lodges 4-11June . Transportation throughout. River transport. Entry fees to parks & reserves. Guiding both by us and some local guides.All meals as stated each day ( B=breakfast,L=lunch,D=Dinner). Transfers to and from airports Exclusions : International flights from New Zealand to Peru & internal to/from Tarapoto. Any visas required (none for NZ/US/UK/Australian passport holders). Alcoholic drinks. Medical requirements. Insurance. Tips. Personal requirements, souvenirs etc. Airfares: We will provide a separate quotation for the airfares.Often the airfares Lima-Tarapoto -Lima can be included as part of the international ticket with LATAM |
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