Luxury Amazon Explorer

Board an air-conditioned bus for your journey to the Maroñon River and enjoy a scenic one-and-a-half hour drive through the Peruvian countryside to the small village of Nauta. Embark the luxurious Aqua Amazon and enjoy an atmosphere of low-key luxury. Settle into your handsomely-appointed, over-sized suite and feel the vessel begin to move, the beginning of one of the great adventures of your life. Over the next five days, sail along the largest tributaries of the Amazon, as well as the mighty Amazon itself. Embark on a spectacular adventure to a place visited by only a few of the most experienced world travelers.

Meet the naturalist guides and cruise director, who use video, photos,and maps to introduce the details of your journey deep into the Peruvian Amazon. Enjoy the innovative Amazonian cuisine, created by your Executive Chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, whose restaurant, Malabar, is one of Lima’s top-ranked dining experiences. Schiaffino’s imaginative use of local products – fruit, fish, spices – makes every meal a delightful adventure.

This morning board the skiffs to explore this amazing black water stream, part of the vast Amazon flooded forest. Your guides tell you about the rainforest and its dynamic life, as you explore what scientists call a “gallery forest” because of its narrow vegetation, creating a tunnel of leaves. Float through this tunnel and spot parrots, macaws, and fluffy monk saki monkeys. After lunch, take a magical journey through the “Mirrored Forest,” and see towering trees reflected in the black water river while spotting dozens of enchanting parrots, blue-yellow macaws, and a great variety of primates and sloths enjoying nature unperturbed by your presence. As you make your way back to your vessel, see caimans and frogs and fishing bats.

Choose from two different excursions: 

Option 1:
Undertake a full-day excursion along the Pacaya River. Observe and explore the flooded forest of this vast region. Sail among a wide variety of wildlife, birds including large parrots, macaws, herons and storks, and many species of primates. Visit some of the most beautiful lakes in the protected reserve and meet some of the friendly local people who take care of the reserve’s natural resources. Your nature guide discusses the ship operator's involvement in the natural resource management of Amazonia. En route back to the Aqua Amazon, see the famous Ceiba tree, the highest in the Amazon.

Option 2:
Board your comfortable boat to sail and explore the Pacaya black water river. Life jackets, ponchos, rubber boots, and fresh water are always available in your boats. As you sail, the occasional fisherman paddles past in their homemade canoe. Keep your binoculars ready to spot terns, tropical songbirds, black hawks, monkeys, and sloths. Try to catch some of the ferocious piranhas of the Amazon. As you fish, your naturalist guide tells the story of the lake and its inhabitants. 

Keep your eyes out for two different kinds of freshwater dolphins, but especially the unusual pink dolphins found in the Amazon River. Spot arboreal lizards, iguanas, and look up to catch a glimpse of some of the area’s 200 bird species.

Sail on to Lake Clavero where villagers paddle in their traditional dugout canoes. Swim in the lake’s calm waters and visit the community to interact with Amazonia neighbors who are pleased to welcome you. From this point, sail downstream toward Iquitos.

In the afternoon, sail along the great Amazon River, observe the flora and fauna, then stop at a riverside community that actively conserves the forest’s natural resources and their own ancestral customs.

Weather permitting, tour the flood zone that borders the city of Iquitos and observe the houses and shops that actually float on the Itaya River for several months of the year. Visit the traditional market of Bellavista Nanay, bordering the Nanay River, to see products from the Peruvian Amazon including exotic snacks like the Amazon caterpillar.

This afternoon, take a tour of Iquitos, a glorious city in the days of the rubber boom. Visit the Manatee Rescue Center, a kind of animal orphanage for Amazonian manatees to be rescued, rehabilitated, and released back into the wild. Later, stop at the Amazonian Indian Market San Juan and shop for local crafts before leaving.

Guides help with check-in at the airport and stay with you until you have boarded your flight back to Lima.