Amazon River Cruise

Day 1 • Friday
U.S. / Lima
Fly to Lima, Peru, the nation’s capital and largest city, and transfer to the Swissôtel for the night. (D Aloft)

Day 2 • Saturday
Iquitos / Nauta / Embark Amazon Riverboat
Tour historic Lima, seeing the Cathedral and Plaza de Armas before we fly over the Andes Mountains to Iquitos. Drive to the small port town of Nauta on the Marañón River, where we board our riverboat, La Amatista, home for the next seven days of our Amazon cruise. Our first excursion navigates the waterways aboard sturdy excursion boats to areas where we may find marsh birds such as oriole blackbirds, green ibis, yellow-headed caracaras, black-capped donacobis and white-headed marsh-tyrant. Tonight, we journey slowly up the Amazon, looking at the stars of the northern and southern constellations. (B,L,D)

Day 3 • Sunday
Amazon River / Río Ucayali
We awake this morning on the Amazon, seeing some of the ever-changing panorama of jungle life as La Amatista continues upriver. Small villages dot the shoreline, and channels weaving through island mazes provide close-up views of a variety of marsh birds. The confluence of the Ucayali and Marañón Rivers is famous as the beginning of the Amazon River. Amazingly, we are about 2,400 miles from where the river flows into the Atlantic. The river drops only about 350 feet the entire way! We turn into the Río Ucayali, where we’re apt to find gray river dolphins and Amazon pink dolphins cavorting near the boat and along the shoreline. Visit a village along the river, with the chance to learn about the lives of the “Ribereño” people who live there. Accompanied by guides who grew up along the river, this is a fantastic opportunity to stroll through gardens learning about medicinal plants and folklore, visit a school, or join in a game of soccer. Later we take an excursion into the surrounding rainforest in search of giant water lilies and elusive wildlife such as monkeys and sloths. As dusk approaches, fishing bats begin their night’s foraging. (B,L,D)

Day 4 • Monday
Río Ucayali / Pacaya-Samiria Reserve
We explore a small tributary of the Ucayali in search of piranha, which are very common in the slower-moving water. With luck, we may catch red-breasted, white or black piranha, and feast on our catch this evening. We look for animals including primates, sloths and an enormous variety of birds. La Amatista continues upriver to the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve. Although scientific studies are far from exhausted, the Pacaya-Samiria is the known home to 450 bird species, 102 species of mammals, over 130 species of reptiles and amphibians, and countless plants. This afternoon, an excursion into this largest wetland reserve in the world provides the opportunity to see primates, including monk sakis, red howler, saddle-backed tamarin and squirrel monkeys. We explore Caro Lake, connected to the river by way of a very small stream, where we may find flocks of greater ani, often seen following monkeys in search of insects disturbed by the monkeys’ foraging. We enjoy a nighttime boat excursion for a chance to find caimans, capybaras, common potoos, frogs and other nocturnal wildlife. (B,L,D)

Day 5 • Tuesday
Pacaya-Samiria Reserve
We spend the day exploring this flooded realm, seeing wading birds such as herons, wattled jacanas and horned screamers. Parrots are common, including the endangered scarlet macaw. We’ll watch for giant river otters, which have become increasingly rare but still may be found within the reserve. We may also see massive black caimans and manatees. Venturing deep into the rainforest, tour an igapo (seasonally flooded forest), where plant life is very different from what we see along the main course of our Amazon cruise, and walk through the forest. (B,L,D)

Day 6 • Wednesday
Pacaya-Samiria Reserve
After an early breakfast, we board our excursion boats for access even further into the heart of these vast wetlands. As our Amazon cruise tours the narrow waterways, we’ll find birds such as canary-winged parakeets and spectacular blue-and-gold and scarlet macaws. Primates also are fairly common, including noisy squirrel monkeys. We arrive at a ranger station, where we may take a short hike to explore the forest. After a picnic lunch, we gradually make our way back to our riverboat through the maze of waterways. (B,L,D)

Day 7 • Thursday
Río Ucayali / Marañón River
This morning we head back downriver, with a morning wildlife or other activity. After dark we’ll go out in our excursion boats to listen to the sounds of the rainforest and look for nocturnal wildlife. Take a walk in the rainforest, where we may spot poison dart frogs. (B,L,D)

Day 8 • Friday
Marañón River / Amazon Rainforest
Journey into the terra firma forest on a winding trail. Large trees festooned with epiphytes, palms, woody vines and a vaulted canopy add to the shadowed mystery of the tropical jungle. Once back aboard La Amatista, we enjoy a farewell dinner. (B,L,D)

Days 9 & 10 • Saturday & Sunday
Nauta / Iquitos / Lima / U.S.
In the morning we disembark La Amatista in Nauta and drive to Iquitos for flights to Lima. Enjoy lunch at a distinctive Peruvian restaurant. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure, with dayrooms reserved at our hotel, before we transfer to the airport for our flight to the U.S. We arrive Sunday and connect with flights home. (Day 9: B,L; Day 10: Meals Aloft)

Note: Because conditions at the time of our visit and new opportunities always determine what is possible on the Amazon, our itinerary is flexible. The itinerary shown is a guide to what we may do, but it’s always subject to change.

Read more about our Amazon River cruise on the IE Travel Blog.