I’m sure that everybody has their own ideas about what amazon adventures would be like. For some it might just be going to the Amazon and staying in a lodge for 2 or 3 days or doing a short cruise to see the river. These options would normally include seeing the people living nearby, taking a walk in the jungle to learn about the plants, fishing for piranha and maybe do a night excursion to spotlight caiman. |
A few of the tribes have decided that maybe having visitors will be good for them, under controlled circumstances, so programs have been developed for visiting them, though not in mass numbers and a portion of the price goes to the community.
We sometimes get messages from people who want to do a cruise from Brazil into Peru or vice versa. There used to be a ship that did that regularly, but it was damaged and the owner decided that it wasn’t worth it to fix it and operate it again. There are regular cruises from Iquitos Peru to the Brazilian border and back, but they don’t continue into Brazil. Only passenger or cargo boats are regularly offered from the border eastward into Brazil– no touring or English-speaking guides, just transportation. The big cruise boats with 100’s of people are the only ones that do that route now, maybe a couple of times a year.
We also get inquiries from people who want to paddle all the way down the Amazon. Some people did this in December, 2012. From the source in the mountains of Peru all the way to the Atlantic. I read the article. They were gone for 4 months and it cost US$110,000 ! That is a bit extreme. We could arrange a paddling trip with support from Iquitos to the end for a lot less than that, but it would still be expensive because the support people would have to come all the way back by boat and that would take several weeks. One of my operators said it might cost something like US$10,000 per person for 2 people, but that’s not a definite figure.
Here are some examples of the more adventurous Amazon Adventures that we can offer at any time:
- 4-10 days kayaking in Brazil
- 6 day lodge stay with 3 nights camping in Brazil
- 6-8 day package with some survival training in Brazil
- Unlimited hiking/camping/paddling/jungle survival in Peru
- 6 days kayaking, visiting with Huaoranis in Ecuador
- 5 days rafting, visiting with Shuars in Ecuador
- Amazon Expedition cruise
- Amazon cruise with canoeing/camping opportunities in Brazil
I would suggest that you be careful when deciding on what kind of adventure you are going to pay for. The airports in Manaus and Iquitos used to be full of guys promising people a great adventure, but many times they did not provide anything close to what had been promised. The governments are doing their best to curtail this type of activity. |