|
|
Amazon River Explorer Cruise - Low Water (5 days)5 days duration
Upon arrival at Iquitos Airport, you will be transferred to Nauta Wharf, a scenic one and a half hour drive through the Peruvian countryside where you will board the 'M/V Aqua' and settle into your over-sized suite. Before dinner, your Cruise Director and Guides will give a brief orientation talk about life on board, where you will go and what you will see on your Amazon journey. Enjoy a Welcome Dinner and watch the river go by as you experience your first wonderful meal aboard the 'M/V Aqua'. (D)
You will set out early this morning to explore the Ucayali River, the Amazon’s largest tributary. Sightings will include the slow-moving three-toed sloths, iguanas, orioles, and horned screamers, as well as many other birds.
After breakfast you will walk through the village of Madgalena, a small community of ten families. After meeting the people, including lots of lively and curious children, your naturalist guides will lead you through the jungle to a beautiful lake that is home to the world famous Victoria Regia giant water lily. Return to the vessel for lunch. This afternoon you will cruise the majestic Ucayali River, giving you a chance to see and meet native balseros, or fishermen, who will demonstrate their skill and let you see their catch—including a type of “armored” catfish with a shell-like skin. You will have at least one chance to sample this delicious local fish at dinner aboard the M/V Aqua. You are also likely to spot, and have an opportunity to photograph, the “banana balsero” rafts, loaded with hundreds of clusters of bananas, drifting down the river to market. Other highlights include the viewing of woodpeckers, parrots, macaws, and toucans. Dinner onboard. (BLD)
After breakfast you’ll take a walk where your guides will introduce you to native people doing subsistence farming, and will tell you how they learned to cultivate wild plants and trees to earn farm income. Deep in the primary forest, your guides will also show you the wealth of fruit trees and medicinal plants hidden in the jungle—the source of many of the world’s pharmaceutical products. Return for lunch.
In the late afternoon, you will take our skiffs along the Pacaya River, journeying from Ranger Station No. 1 toward Yanayacu Lake, where you can view the abundant life that is hidden in the deep rainforest. You may see saki monkeys, capuchin monkeys, and the easy-to-spot heavy howler monkeys, leaping long distances from tree to tree. As the sun sets, you will hear the loud, ferocious sounding warning signals made by the howler monkeys as they mark their territories. When night falls, you will hear the second movement of the Amazon rainforest symphony, as other nocturnal animals send their shrill calls across the tree tops. We will use our special spotlight torches to locate night creatures, including, perhaps, huge caimans. Tonight the 'M/V Aqua' will be docked by the No. 1 Ranger Station in Pacaya Samiria National Park. Dinner onboard. (BLD)
In the bright morning light, your Guides will show you parrots, macaws, toucans, and many different types of monkeys. We will also go to the dolphin feeding spots along Pacaya River, where you will be delightfully surrounded by these creatures while enjoying a light breakfast and fresh juice.
After breakfast, armed with poles and bait, we will take you to a special place on this fish-rich river, where you will catch some of the more than 3,000 species of tropical fish that live in the Amazon Basin. The key target will be piranhas, the small carnivorous fish with a fearsome reputation—considered a good food source by the locals. Whilst enjoying lunch, you will begin your homeward journey, sailing downstream toward Iquitos. Your optional afternoon excursion is a short informational walk into a native riverside village. Your guide will show you way of life in these communities of fishermen and farmers. Once we are back onboard, the ship will continue its journey down stream, sailing toward Iquitos through the night as you enjoy a Farewell Dinner. (BLD)
After breakfast, weather and time permitting, there will be a last opportunity to see how people live along the Amazon—by visiting the lively riverside community of Belen, in Iquitos, by skiff. Here, where the houses and shops actually float on the river during some months, you will see the bustling food market for the entire Peruvian Amazon. All local inhabitants throughout the region sell and purchase goods here.
After returning to 'M/V Aqua' for a light lunch, we arrive for an afternoon of the remote city of Iquitos. This bustling town was once a rich centre of the rubber industry. En-route, you will visit the Manatee Rescue Centre, where biologists and volunteers care for endangered Amazon manatees that conservation authorities have seized from local people and fishermen. You will see how the manatees are cared for and are prepared for re-introduction into their natural habitat. Finally, we will stop at the San Juan Amazonian Indian Market, for a last chance to shop for local crafts. You are then transferred to the airport for your flight back to Lima. (BL) Inca Tours does not own any of the hotels, lodges or service providers utilised in making up the tours. As a result Inca Tours is only acting as an agent for the operators and as such does not accept responsibility for any negligence, omissions, errors or differences in standard experienced by passengers when utilising the operators' products or services. Please Note: for full booking terms and conditions please see the back of our booking form.
To Enquire about this Product Please call us now on 1800 024 955. Alternatively, you can enquire about this product by clicking the button below. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
