Luxury Amazon

Day 1 Iquitos/Amazon River

Arrive in Iquitos this afternoon. There you will board your luxury vessel, MV Aria, your home for the next eight days. Check into your luxurious suite as the ship starts its journey toward the Yarapa River, an estuary of the Amazon.

Day 2 Yacapanas Isles / Yarapa River

Locals call the Yacapana Isles the “the Isle of the Iguana” thanks to the great number of these reptiles, resembling tiny dinosaurs, which inhabit them. Amazonian beliefs state that if you touch an iguana, you will develop some of its characteristics and, as no one wants to look like one of them, these animals are well protected. Pass very close the islands aboard the launches, giving you an opportunity to take good photos of the flora and fauna that you will be able to observe along your route. You will also have the opportunity to go fishing for the infamous piranhas with your naturalists.

Have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see and photograph both gray and pink freshwater dolphins. The people of the Amazon believe that these dolphins turn into humans to steal handsome men or pretty women from their villages during celebrations. Once the sun sets and the jungle is dark, we begin our search for caiman, frogs, and different kinds of nightlife.

Day 3 Yanallpa / Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve

This morning you will explore with your guides the Yanallpa Stream looking for wildlife such as the bald uakari monkey, squirrel monkeys, saddleback tamarin monkeys, sloths and many other species. Observe the trees which grow in these seasonally-flooded areas and your guides will explain the natural mechanisms through which the vegetation withstands the water during these months.

You will be able to appreciate the different types of freshwater dolphin, including the rare pink dolphins found along the Ucayali River. It is recommended that you bring your binoculars as there will also be opportunities to observe some species of birds, among which the macaws stand out, as well as a spectacular sundown. Depending on how the evening progresses, you will be able to watch nocturnal wildlife on the Dorado River, especially the caimans. Sometimes, your guides attempt to capture some of these ancient reptiles and you will have the opportunity to take photos.

Day 4 Birthplace of the Amazon/Puerto Miguel Village & Marayali River/Disembark

This morning, the MV Aria skirts the edges of the vast Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, a flooded forest covering five million acres at the headwaters of the Amazon basin. Rise early and be on your skiffs at 8:00 a.m. to view one of the great spectacles of the Southern Hemisphere: the sun rising over the birthplace of the Amazon River. Here—where the union of two major tributaries, the Ucayali and the Marañon, form the world’s greatest waterway—nature is at its most dramatic. Your morning excursion will be accompanied by abundant bird song, as you glide in small boats past river banks populated by large-billed terns, laughing falcons, gray tanagers, sandpipers, five kinds of parakeets, the exotic short-tailed parrot, and dozens of other birds.

Travel by skiff to Puerto Miguel native village, where you can meet and interact with local villagers from this most remote part of the world, and can learn a bit more about their culture, traditions, and folklore. You will also have the chance to trade items for local handicrafts. On the way back to the M/V Aria, navigate on a small connector canal between the Ucayali and Marañon Rivers, where you will have a chance to see the world’s largest aquatic plant, the giant water lilies or “Victoria Regias.” Have your cameras at the ready.

Disembark and board your transfer vehicles. En route to the airport, you will visit the Manatee Rescue Center, where biologists and volunteers care for endangered Amazon manatees that conservation authorities have seized from local people, including fishermen. Biologists will give a presentation about the project and its efforts to help these helpless mammals. You will also see how the manatees are cared for and are prepared for re-introduction into their natural habitat. Upon arrival at the airport, your guides will assist you with check-in. Say good-bye to friends made on this unforgettable experience.