Our ILP Volunteers in Peru just got back from a vacation touring the Amazon by boat and they keep raving about it! Here's everything you need to know so you can experience it for yourself.
There's so much to see in Peru, but we have to admit that one of our top picks is the Amazon! With its diverse wildlife, breathtaking views, and serene culture, you're bound to fall in love with this remarkable natural wonder.
What else is there to do in Peru?
Don't miss the Paracas Peninsula
With the Amazon rainforest being the largest in the world (2.1 million square miles to be exact), the thought of exploring it can be quite daunting, but no fear! Our ILP volunteers found a tour that is full of bucket-list-worthy experiences. Trust me, you are not going to want to miss out on this.
Did you know that the Amazon rainforest extends across nine countries? It covers much of the north/central South American land, including Peru's eastern border. To put its sheer size into perspective, if the Amazon were in the United States, it would cover more than 56% of the country!
Due to its greatness, the Amazon is the perfect place for many species to thrive. By many, I mean hundreds of thousands of species! The Amazon rainforest is home to 50% of all living species of plants and animals—talk about diversity. Sloths, Dolphins, Toucans, Piranhas, and Howler monkeys, oh my!
Visiting a huge forest like the Amazon can feel pretty impractical. I mean, where do you even start?
Since we're budget travelers, we often like to be more adventurous and do things on our own, but we have to admit the best way to see the Amazon is by booking a tour. It's affordable and your guide can take you to the most memorable parts with almost no planning needed, plus we love that it helps support local Peruvians who make a living by helping us experience their beautiful country.
It's easy to book a tour ahead of time online. It's the most common way to experience the Amazon in Peru, so there are lots of options. Here are a few websites to get your search started.
GetYourGuide
TripAdvisor
Viator
TourRadar
Airbnb experiences
ILP volunteers just went on a trip with The Jungle Tour and they raved about it! If you're overwhelmed by your tour options and want a recommendation, keep reading below to get a peek at their experience.
- Tours can be found in cities all over the country, so when you are picking a tour, be sure you take note of which city it is based in.
- Always check the reviews. Companies are going to do the best they can to sell themselves to you. Make sure you read about other peoples' experiences before you have already spent hundreds of dollars.
- Check out the perks of the tours and don't be afraid to ask questions like:
- Compare prices. If a tour is much more expensive than competing tours, why?
- Make sure that they have tour guides that can speak your language.
Every tour will come with its own unique perks. Doing a little extra research to find one that is filled with experiences that resonate with you and for a price that fits within your budget is worth it.
There are a lot of tour options out there, but this 3-Day Amazon Jungle Adventure Trip is the one that comes highly recommended by our ILP volunteers who have been living in Peru the last 3 months!
Here's a quick peek at what the tour was like, from their experience:
This tour starts in Iquitos, Peru. Once you get to the airport, you're all set! This tour group picks you up right at the airport, so you truly get to sit back and relax the second you land.
The tour group will take you on a taxi ride from the Iquitos airport to the Nanay River, a small offshoot of the famous Amazon River. From there, you board your boat, and the adventure into the Amazon begins.
*Disclaimer: If you are an ILP volunteer, you already know that moto-taxis are not allowed during your ILP trip. The tour states that you will be taken home via moto-taxi, but ILP volunteers instead arrange a car to get home.*
This cruise down the river lasts about three hours. This is plenty of time to admire the "prettiest place on earth" with its never-ending foliage and, as our volunteers' tour guide loved to announce, the "animals in the wild!"
Speaking of animals, we cannot go one second longer without sharing the critters you will stumble upon. Dolphins, anyone? Yes, dolphins. Our volunteers' favorite part of the boat ride was the dolphins that would swim right up next to them on the boat, splashing in and out of the water. Talk about a warm welcome.
Dolphins aren't the only things you will stumble upon; be sure to keep an eye out for the snoozing sloths in the trees, exotic birds soaring through the sky, and the little frogs whose croaking will echo throughout the jungle. Feel like a main character yet?
Living within the Amazon jungle is the Yaguas Tribe. With only 6,000 members, this tribe has been residents of the Peruvian side of the jungle dating as far back as 1768. Did I mention that your tour guides are actually members of the Yaguas tribe? This tour gives you just a taste of what an OG local lives like. And we always love an opportunity to support the locals of the place we're visiting.
There's a village about a 15-minute boat ride away from your lodging, but you will get to visit it pretty frequently. Expect to see local children playing soccer, butterflies everywhere, all while being surrounded by pretty much the prettiest place on earth.
Piranha Fishing
Three words. Fishing. For. Piranhas.
It's true! On this tour, our volunteers got to go down the river to go fishing for their dinner — piranhas.
Your tour guide will provide you with everything you need for a delightful fishing experience — a makeshift fishing rod and some raw meat. Piranhas are more picky than your average bass and a worm will simply not do, so raw meat it is!
Our ILP volunteers mentioned that fishing for piranhas is a lot harder than you would expect. They are fast and have no problem stealing your bait before you can pull your rod out! You won't have a problem seeing piranhas, but you may end your excursion without a personal piranha appetizer. If that happens, no worries! You will still get a delicious home-cooked meal back at the lodge.
Pink Dolphins + Mud Baths
If cruising down the Amazon River next to gray river dolphins wasn't enough for you, no fear. The pink ones should hopefully do the trick.
Your tour guide has lived amongst these beautiful mammals their whole life, so they will "know a place" for just about everything. Including pink dolphins. You won't get to swim with them, but watching them play in the river is plenty exciting in and of itself.
If you were hoping to be able to take a dip into the Amazon, you're still in the right place. After admiring the dolphins, you will be taken to another part of the river where it's possible to get in and take a mud bath. Lather up, embrace nature, and think of it like a makeshift spa experience. You can wash it off in the Amazon, so let loose! Don't forget to bring a swimsuit that you don't mind getting a bit dirty.
Jungle Trek
Another excursion you can take is trekking through the rainforest!
Your guide will lead you through the towering forest, keeping an eye out for unique plants, pretty views, and animal tracks. Our ILP volunteers mentioned that they would follow animal tracks through the forest which would lead them straight to the wildlife — like a capybara!
There also is a night walk that you are able to take part in. This is where you get to witness more of the creepy crawlies that live inside the jungle. Once again, your guide will lead you through the forest to spots where you may run into tarantulas, snakes, and other insects. You also may get lucky enough to run into other nocturnal animals, like some night monkeys!
Stargazing
Grab your guide, hop onto your boat, and cruise down the river to the perfect spot to sit back and study the picture perfect views of the sun setting behind the rainforest.
It doesn't end there, because once the sun is down, the moon and the stars light up. With nearly no light pollution, you may be able to see constellations that aren't visible back home. The views aren't the only dreamy thing about this experience. The nocturnal animals love to sing their songs at night, which totally adds to the aesthetic. Disclaimer: Bugs also love to come out at night, so remember to wear bug spray!
We have good news for you... this tour not only provides once in a lifetime experiences, but also seven home cooked meals.
Our volunteers took note of how fresh all of the food was, from the fish to the vegetables. One of our volunteers mentioned "I'm not usually a fish eater, but all of it was caught fresh that day and holy cow... it was so good!"
Some of the other meal items they took note of were the watermelon and the plantain chips. Although there is a lot of fish, our vegetarian volunteers made sure to mention that they were well-fed with the amount of vegetables, fruit, and other miscellaneous items that were provided.
After days full of experiencing the Amazon rainforst, you are going to need some rest. This jungle cruise tour offers you a little Eco-Lodge just a 15-minute boat ride away from the rest of the Yuguay tribe.
Our ILP vounteers described it like a "glamping" experience. You have accesss to beds, bathrooms, and showers, but definitely don't expect a 5-star hotel experience. Make sure to bring a portable charger or two, because the electricity goes out every once in a while!
This lodge comes with some cute ameneties though that the vounteers were "obsessed" with, like the hammock room and fooseball table! Relaxation time between your excursions is a must, so what better way to spend it than by relaxing in swinging hammocks and challenging your fellow travelers to a game of fooseball.
If the 3-Day Jungle Cruise sounds like something you want to add to your travel itinerary, heres a link to where you can go book your guide!
We asked out volunteers what they recommend for future travelers when they set out to tour the Amazon rainforest. Don't forget to take notes!
There are never-ending opportunities to explore the Amazon, whether that's by appreciating its wildlife, touring ancient nearby cities, cruising down the river, or visiting local tribes. Here's a list of a few more things you could look into before officially booking your tours of the Amazon!
This place is exactly what it sounds like — an "island" that overtime has been claimed by hundreds of both wild and rehabilitated monkeys.
Okay, maybe it's not exactly an island. Our ILP volunteers called it more of a "monkey clearing in the Amazon." But that didn't take away from the pure joy of getting to hang out with these precious little monkeys.
The fan favorite part about visiting this "island" is getting to feed the monkeys. When you arrive, you will find a little stand that sells fruits like papayas and bananas. These are for the monkeys! The monkeys know exactly what the humans are there to do, so they hang around closely on the trees, and eventually onto you if you let them! Our volunteers couldn't get over how the monkeys liked to be held like a baby. You can find a tour that works for you here.
If you haven't caught on by now, the variety of wildlife is one of the major draws of the Amazon rainforest. If trekking through the forest doesn't fit in with your personal travel needs, no problem. Visit an animal conservation sight instead!
There are a few options, but the one that stuck out to us was the Pilpintuwasi - Wildlife Rescue Center And Butterfly Farm. This rescue center is a non-profit organization that works with local ecological police and rescues animals found and effected by the poaching and wildlife trafficking industry. They also rescue animals that are confiscated by markets, airports, and unsafe homes. Their goal is to bring these malnourished and injured animals back to good health.
Inside, they have dozens of animals that you can see more closely than if you were in the wild. You can also visit the butterfly sanctuary! These animals aren't meant to have much human interaction, so know that this is a place of observation and appreciation.
This tour's goal is to use tourism to raise money to help these animals and to inform visitors on what impact we truly have on nature.
We've heard of Venice, Italy, and we've even written about the Venice of the North, but have you heard about the Venice of the Amazon? Introducing, the floating city of Belen!
With a population of around 60,000 scattered across the river, these locals live a simple life of calling houses that are built on stilts and have no electricity or running water, their home. This is a picturesque city where you won't get as much adventure as you will appreciation for a quiet town that's away from typical tourist traps.
Take a boat ride through for a glimpse of their unique city. You can cruise through their market and purchase fresh fruits, herbal medicines, and more. If you book this cruise, you can also get to go down the Momon river, which is where the movies Terminator and Anaconda were filmed. Here's a link to a tour you can check out!
Want To See Peru As A Volunteer?
International Language Programs sends college-age volunteers to live and teach English in Peru for 3-4 months! It's such a cool way to not only see Peru, but to dive deeper into the culture and get a peek first-hand how the locals live. Come experience Peru with us!