The IE Blog is your comprehensive source for the latest news on nature travel trends impacting wildlife, the environment and the planet, as well as exciting discoveries. Check back daily for insider’s tips and “must sees” from International Expeditions’ staff, the latest on worldwide conservation efforts, and inspiring stories from knowledgeable nature travel guides about Earth’s greatest natural and cultural destinations.
 | Four Tips for Packing Light Large, bulky suitcases can make it difficult to meet the luggage restrictions imposed on small, in-country flights, so the best way to pack for these expeditions is with as little as possible. Read more » |
 | Insider’s Tip: What’s Watching You? Our naturalists had this great tip to keep in mind for your next game-viewing excursion. Read more » |
 | Getting Spicy in Costa Rica With Salsa Lizano Recently, our Costa Rica tour naturalist Jonathan Sequeira told us about one of the most frequently asked guest questions during meals out: “What’s this sauce?” Read more » |
| Insider’s Tip: Stroll through San Blas During your afternoon at leisure in Cusco on Day 6 of IE’s Machu Picchu tour, consider strolling through the streets of the San Blas District. Read more » |
 | Packing Tips for a Nile Cruise Depending on the season, certain articles of clothing and products will ensure that visitors to Egypt have the best Nile cruise imaginable. Read more » |
 | Floating in the Dead Sea is Beneficial to Health and Spirit After sailing upriver on a Nile cruise and crossing the sands of the Sinai, time to relax in these rejuvenating waters is ideal for both the body and soul. Read more » |
 | Amazon River Cruises Offer Piranha Sightings and Fishing Travelers who venture into a tributary with slower-moving waters on our Amazon cruise will likely find red-bellied, white or black piranhas. Read more » |
| Insider’s Tip: Fog-Free Photographs How to keep your camera and glasses from fogging up. Read more » |
 | Visitors Eat Well in Egypt Learning about Egypt’s dining culture will whet any visitor’s appetite for some local fare before exploring the Pyramids or relaxing on a Nile cruise. Read more » |
 | Peruvian Salt from Maras is Becoming Known and Liked Worldwide Salt mined in Maras, Peru, just north of Cusco, has always been popular among the Andean people, but markets as far away as Switzerland, Japan and the Philippines are now demanding the special mineral. Read more » |
 | Insider’s Tip: Keep Your Receipt; Keep Your Souvenirs When traveling from Egypt to Jordan, make sure you keep your receipts for any antique or artifact-style item you purchased in Egypt. Read more » |
 | Travel Tips: How to Stay Healthy During Your Trip There are a few simple things that you can do to make your trip as healthy and pleasurable as it can be. Read more » |
 | Keep Your Shoes On! Drawing from data from frequent flyer programs, the TSA plans to identify trusted travelers and indicate their status with a bar code on their boarding passes. Read more » |
 | Insider’s Travel Tip: Morning Walk Through Pre-Inca History Do you need a suggestion for stretching your legs in Lima? Just blocks from our Lima accommodations at the Swissôtel is the Huaca Huallamarca, a pre-Inca tomb where more than 50 mummies were found... Read more » |
 | Know Before You Go: Tipping in Egypt The first thing to consider when contemplating tipping procedures in Egypt is that though the country is rich in culture, much of its population remains poor and ill-compensated for the work they do. As such, tipping in Egypt is far more common than it is in the U.S. or U.K. Read more » |
 | Know Before You Go: Tips for the First-Time Birder There are a few things that amateur birdwatchers should keep in mind whenever they enter the brush in search of an elusive species. Read more » |
 | The Key to Planning for Nature Travel? Pack Light. How well you pack for nature travel is an important factor for how much you enjoy your trip, and of the many suggestions one can offer for these natural expeditions, the best may be to pack light. Read more » |
 | Keep Calm and Still to Snap Great Wildlife Photos IFor those amateur shutterbugs who are hoping to come home with a photographic record of their exciting excursion, the best advice is to stay calm and keep quiet. Read more » |
 | Don't Forget About TSA's Flight Requirements If it's been a while since you last traveled, you may not be familiar with the TSA's Secure Flight requirements. Read more » |
 | Traveling to Laos? Quick Tips to Show Your Respect These quick tips are useful in ensuring the best cultural experience possible. Read more » |
 | Carefully Plot Your Shot for the Best Birding Photos There are a few ways to ensure that your photos of the majestic icterine warbler or a resplendent quetzal come out perfectly. Read more » |
 | An IE Guest's Amazon Adventure The trip is a 600 mile cruise down the Amazon River, stopping at remote villages along the way and using smaller craft to go through some of the many tributaries that thread their way through the Amazon rainforest. Read more » |
 | Anaconda Sighting on the Peruvian Amazon What happens when Amazon cruise naturalists spot an anaconda along the riverbanks? An IE guest found out when he got an up-close and personal meeting with a female anaconda during an excursion! Read more » |
 | Guest Galapagos Diary, Days 1-3 My dad and I were very excited to be finally setting off for our 10-day adventure. Before the trip, I was keen to gain a basic understanding of what to expect and what I was likely to see on the Islands. Read more » |
 | Galapagos Islands Cruise Guest Diary: End of an Expedition Today we were at North Seymour where we took a hike and saw all the wildlife we had seen over the course of the week ... Read more » |
| Insider’s Travel Tip: Morning Walk Through Pre-Inca History Do you need a suggestion for stretching your legs in Lima? Just blocks from our Lima accommodations at the Swissôtel is the Huaca Huallamarca, a pre-Inca tomb where more than 50 mummies were found... Read more » |
 | Tips for a Productive Amazon Photo Workshop George Ritchey tips for how to capture, preserve and enhance their memories while exploring the narrow tributaries of the Peruvian Amazon. Read more » |
| Amazon River Cruises Offer Piranha Sightings and Fishing Travelers who venture into a tributary with slower-moving waters on our Amazon cruise will likely find red-bellied, white or black piranhas. Read more » |
 | Paragmoninas becomes first "Green City" in Amazon Once the site of rapid deforestation, the Brazilian government in partnership with The Nature Conservancy has put a stop to illegal deforestation and turned Paragominas into a "Green City." Read more » |
 | Discover the Real Life "Lion King" on Safari Many children dream of climbing on Pride Rock in the Disney-created land of Simba and Nala, but those on an IE custom Tanzania safari can get as close to that dream as possible. Read more » |
 | Dive Into Biodiversity Off Moyo Island Few islands in Indonesia’s Nusa Tenggara chain offer the same snorkeling travelers can find on Moyo Island. Lining the perimeter of the island's coast is a gold mine of untouched coral reefs. Read more » |
 | Spotting Jaguars in the Jungles of Guyana Guyana is tucked away in a lesser-known part of South America, and within it is a rarely glimpsed species of big cat — the jaguar. Read more » |
 | Shaking a Tail Feather on an India Wildlife Tour The peacock is one animal that will fascinate visitors to India's Bandhavgarh National Park. Read more » |
 | Borneo's Endemic Primate: The Gibbon There are many places that travelers can go to see primates in action, but only one place where nature travelers on a Borneo tour can find the Bornean gibbon. Read more » |
 | Happy Anniversary to our Amazon Partner WWF Protecting and conserving the Amazon, a place two-thirds the size of the U.S., is a big job. We’re thrilled to have teamed up with WWF for years to provide conservation focused nature travel to this precious region – and to other destinations within Peru. Read more » |
 | Wildebeests: One of the "Seven New Wonders of the World" Between July and October, more than 2 million ungulates migrate from the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Read more » |
 | Wake Up to the Call of the Wild in Trinidad Visitors who are lucky enough to visit Asa Wright Nature Center during breeding or nesting seasons will hear the crested oropendola's unique calls as they find their partners or communicate messages of territory. Read more » |
 | Prehistoric-Looking Birds One More Reason to Visit Uganda Among the 450 bird species recorded in Uganda's Murchison Falls National Park, the shoebill is one of the most distinguishable and intriguing. Read more » |
 | Larval Eels Disappear Like a Wisp of Smoke in Bali In Bali, what many may dismiss as a current in the water may actually be an eel in its larval stage. It is Latin for "slim head," because the head of this swimmer is the only part of it that is clearly visible. Read more » |
 | There's Nothing Boring About Biodiversity No one travels to Costa Rica to see the same species they encounter in their backyard…which is good since Costa Rica is one of Earth’s richest displays of biodiversity! Read more » |
 | Breeding Success in Brazil's Pantanal Araras Ecolodge, where guests stay during our Pantanal tour, has a hyacinth macaw project to help the bird re-populate the northern Pantanal region, where its numbers have been dwindling due to habitat loss. Read more » |
 | See Signs of Asian and Pygmy Elephants in Borneo Many visitors to eastern Africa see massive elephants on Kenya and Tanzania safaris, but guests on one of our Borneo tours, have an opportunity to enjoy an even more unique sighting. Read more » |
 | Galapagos Islands Cruises Offer Iguana Sightings Like many species of the Galapagos Islands, marine and land iguanas are colorful, eccentric and can vary noticeably depending on the island you happen to be visiting. Read more » |
 | Condors: An Awesome Sighting of the Andes Andean condors offer the ultimate in viewings for avid birders and amateurs alike. The massive birds are some of the largest flying creatures in the world, and are a highlight of a visit to Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia. Read more » |
 | Birders Flock to Panama’s Rainforest Reserves Panama is full of fascinating sights, but nature travel enthusiasts will want to check out Soberanía National Park for a different kind of excitement. Read more » |
 | New Rodent Fossils in Amazon Area Confirm Hypotheses Researchers from Case Western Reserve University recently found the oldest fossils on the South American continent along the banks of the Ucayali River, an offshoot of the Amazon River. Read more » |
 | More Than 1,000 New Species Discovered in Papua New Guinea Vivid violet fish, round-nosed dolphins and lizards with turquoise spots were some of the 1,060 news species discovered on Papua New Guinea between 1998 and 2008. Read more » |
 | Pantanal Offers Opportunity to See World's Largest Rodent Paddling along the Clarinho River in Brazil's northern Pantanal will offer many fantastic wildlife sightings, but the capybara may be one of the most interesting. Read more » |
 | Beisa Oryx Adapted to a Dry Climate The hot, arid bushland that visitors traverse on a Kenya safari is exactly the type of habitat the Beisa oryx likes. Read more » |
| Amazon River Cruises Offer Piranha Sightings and Fishing Travelers who venture into a tributary with slower-moving waters on our Amazon cruise will likely find red-bellied, white or black piranhas. Read more » |
 | ENVIRONS – New Catalog is on the way! Each year, we create Environs, the quintessential guide to nature travel. The latest version will be in the mail on August 31, but you can get a sneak peek online here. Read more » |
 | Java Pond Heron Seeks Solace in Petulu Although not officially endangered, the Java pond heron still finds sanctuary in Petulu, Bali. The heron sanctuary allows incredible ornithological observation for bird lovers. Read more » |
 | Amazon Travelers Can Hear Red Howlers From Miles Away Travelers need not listen closely to hear the low, rumbling growl of red howler monkeys—these primates can be heard up to three miles away. Read more » |
 | Trinidad is a Birder's Delight Hundreds of bird species are attracted to the dense tropical forests of Trinidad. But these avian creatures aren't the only ones flocking to the Caribbean island — birders are also drawn to the area, seeking out the spectacular and rare species that live there. Read more » |
 | Lake Nakuru Named UNESCO World Heritage Site Kenya's Lake Elementaita, Lake Bogoria and Lake Nakuru were recently named UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Read more » |
 | UNESCO Names 25 New Sites to World Heritage List Though sites like Machu Picchu, the Great Pyramids of Egypt and Stonehenge may differ from one another in several ways, they are all bound by at least one similarity — distinction as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Read more » |
 | Amazon River Birding Species List Are you an avid birder? Guests on our Amazon River cruise compiled this impressive list of species. Read more » |
 | Spongebob Squarepants Has a Name in Borneo Fungal Discovery A new species of fungi that vaguely resembles the Nickelodeon character Spongebob Squarepants, was recently discovered in the forests of Borneo. Read more » |
 | Borneo's Carnivorous Plants In the Mount Kinabalu National Park alone there are nine species of carnivorous pitcher plants. Read more » |
 | Saffron Toucanets Blaze Through Brazilian Forests The striking yellow breast and beak of the saffron toucanet is one of Brazil's most spectacular gems, and can be found in Iguazu National Park. Read more » |
 | Spot Thousands of Orchid Species in Borneo Borneo’s Mount Kinabulu National Park will bring visitors face to face with thousands of different plant species, as the island hosts more than half the world's species of flowering plants. Read more » |
 | Birders Can Discover an Avian Adventure in Brazil's Pantanal Ranging between 54,000 and 75,000 square-miles, the Pantanal is home to a wealth of rare and beautiful animals, including more than 1,000 species of birds. Read more » |
 | Macaques Show Dual Nature in Bali Fuzzy, grey-bearded faces peer out at visitors as they enter the Sacred Monkey Forest of Padangtegal in Bali. The four troops of Balinese long-tailed macaques in this forest are protected by Hindu values. Read more » |
 | Giraffes: "Colossal in Height and Inoffensive in Character" Once thought to be a cross between a camel and a leopard, the giraffe is now a commonly recognized animal in its own right. However, spotting one on safari is still a treat for nature enthusiasts. Read more » |
 | Dragons Still Thrive on Komodo Island Camouflaged and immense, Komodo dragons will eat almost anything, including the deer, pigs and smaller lizards found on their native islands. Read more » |
 | Previously Unknown Tribe Discovered in the Amazon Satellite images and flights over the western Amazon recently revealed the existence of a previously unknown indigenous group. Read more » |
 | Spot a Rare Black Rhino in Ngorongoro Crater In the Ngorongoro Crater, visitors will have the best chance on a Kenya and Tanzania safari to spot a black rhino, a critically endangered species. Read more » |
 | The Mekong River Provides Respite and Livelihood The Mekong River is a perfect place to sail at sunset and unwind after a long day. But for the Lao, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Thai communities that surround it, the river is more than a relaxing excursion — it is a livelihood. Read more » |
 | Galapagos Doves are an Evolutionary Wonder While Genovesa Island can overwhelm Galapagos Islands cruise guests with many opportunities to see spectacular wildlife, one underrated bird to look for is the Galapagos dove. Read more » |
 | The Wonders of Laos Come Alive in the Bolaven Plateau For adventurers making their way to the recently "opened" nation of Laos – the country has only been opened to tourism for about a decade, the ideal destination for natural beauty is undoubtedly the Bolaven Plateau. Read more » |
| Carefully Plot Your Shot for the Best Birding Photos There are a few ways to ensure that your photos of the majestic icterine warbler or a resplendent quetzal come out perfectly. Read more » |
 | Bear Witness to the Power of Nature in Murchison Falls National Park The "Pearl of Africa" is home to a vast array of natural treasures and an impressive biodiversity, much of which can be seen in Murchison Falls National Park. Read more » |
 | Birders and Cultural Travelers Will Find It All in Borneo's Sarawak Birders can glimpse the elegant Buceros rhinoceros, or rhinoceros hornbill. Read more » |
 | New Dragonfly Species in Vietnam Explorers who find beauty in bugs may want to book an excursion to the jungles of Vietnam, as scientists working in the Asian nation have recently discovered a new species of dragonfly. Read more » |
 | See a Different Side of Tanzania in Tarangire National Park One of the most underrated destinations for nature travelers in East Africa is Tarangire National Park in northern Tanzania. Read more » |
 | The Ultimate Safari Destination Witness both the epic beauty of the African countryside and the majestic grace of some of the most beautiful animals on the planet at Kenya's Amboseli National Park. Read more » |
| Know Before You Go: Tips for the First-Time Birder There are a few things that amateur birdwatchers should keep in mind whenever they enter the brush in search of an elusive species. Read more » |
| Keep Calm and Still to Snap Great Wildlife Photos IFor those amateur shutterbugs who are hoping to come home with a photographic record of their exciting excursion, the best advice is to stay calm and keep quiet. Read more » |
 | See the Wild Side of India with a Trip Through Kanha National Park Thanks to an increased representation in pop culture spurred by the popularity of films like Slumdog Millionaire and Eat Pray Love, India tours have grown in popularity for western travelers. Read more » |
 | Anaconda Sighting on the Peruvian Amazon What happens when Amazon cruise naturalists spot an anaconda along the riverbanks? An IE guest found out when he got an up-close and personal meeting with a female anaconda during an excursion! Read more » |
 | Scientists Launch New Wildlife Conservation Initiative in the Galapagos Scientists in the Galapagos have launched a new conservation program designed to protect many of the islands' weakest inhabitants from imported predators. Read more » |
 | Endangered Giant Tortoises Released on Pinta Island Galapagos Islands cruise guests always love meeting famous "Lonesome George" at the Charles Darwin Research Station. The giant tortoise, the last of his subspecies, is a native of Pinta Island, where the Galapagos National Park officials have just released 39 giant tortoises. Read more » |
 | New Marine Life Found in Galapagos Waters British researchers from the University of Southampton have found several new species of life – and some that were thought to be extinct – during an in-depth study documenting some of the world’s rarest and most fragile coral reefs in the Galapagos Islands. Read more » |
 | See 13 Species of Primate in Pacaya-Samiria Reserve The Pacaya-Samiria Reserve in northern Peru is home to one of the richest collections of animals on the planet, with more than 520 species of bird, 65 reptiles and 260 varieties of fish, among others. Read more » |
 | Elephanta Offers the Best in Hindu Tradition Just a few miles from Mumbai, the "City of Caves," a World Heritage Site, holds seven caves with some of the greatest rock-art in all of India. Read more » |
 | Amazon River Marsh Birds Although the Amazon River basin boasts more than 1,500 unique species of birds (roughly one-third of the world's population), many travelers have become entranced by the vast collection of marsh birds that have been known to populate the region. Read more » |
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