-Day 01 Iquitos/Nauta/Pacaya-Samiria Nat’l Reserve
Our personnel will meet and greet you at the airport. Transfer to the city.
Along the way you will briefly sightsee Iquitos, looking at the most important tourist sites of this representative city of the Peruvian jungle which on the XIX Century turned from a small outpost settlement into one of the most important river ports on the Amazon, reaching an outstanding cosmopolitan condition during the “rubber boom” era.
You will meet the expert naturalist guide in-charge of providing you the most exact information during your trip to the Amazon rainforest.
Transfer by bus to the town of Nauta, some 40 miles from Iquitos, linked by a modern highway. After the two-and-a-half hour ride you will reach this picturesque town on the shores of the Maranon River where you will board the boat that will take you to the Yanayacu-Pucate River Basin in the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve. Before departure you will have time to take a short walk around Nauta and lunch.
Continue up the Maranon for about two or two-and-a-half hours, when you shall be entering the Yanayacu-Pucate River, and thus into the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve (70 miles SE from Iquitos). The trip promises to be interesting from the start; your eyes will delight with the sights of endless vegetation and blue skies with white puffy clouds reflecting upon the dark water of the river. The color is a characteristic of almost all water passages and oxbow lakes in the reserve, thus it is know as “The Jungle of the Mirrored Waters” Flocks of parrots, macaws and egrets flying above; up ahead a blink of pink on the water signals the presence of a mythic river dolphin.
You will sail on Yanayacu making a brief stop at the forest police checkpoint in the village of 20 de Enero. Then you will proceed to a properly selected camp site. Complex lodging facilities are not allowed inside the reserve, thus comfortable tents will be installed by our crew as you move along the Yanayacu. This base camp where you will spend the first night of your itinerary is located near the village of Yarina, the last settlement on the Yanayacu. Supper will be cooked and served by our personnel. Later you will enjoy a thrilling evening boat or canoe ride to search for black or white caimans, bound to be found in this area. Overnight. (L.S)
-Day 02 Pacaya-Samiria (Yanayacu-Pucate)
After breakfast you will continue your journey into the reserve. The boat will follow the Yanayacu course making brief stops to watch closely for interesting sights. There is a great chance that you may see Monk Saki, Howling, Wooly and Squirrel Monkeys. It is also possible to spot macaws, toucans and capybara amongst others. You will continue to the Yarina settlement where its inhabitants have been developing a repopulation project for the endangered river turtle (Podocnemis unfilis). There are over 200 communities around the reserve many of them taking part on conservation and reforestation projects.
Lunch in the camp.
In the afternoon you will hike on jungle trail close to the camp. Follow endless trails of Leaf Cutter Ants along the path as the jungle gets thicker. Look at the trees canopy above you to discover primates and other interesting creatures which inhabit the area.
Supper. Evening excursion by foot to listen to the sounds of the forest after dark (hawks, owls, potoos, and insects).
Overnight. (B.L.S)