We're visiting Peru next month and plan a trip to the jungle. My problem is that I don't know how long of an expedition there to plan for. Tours are anywhere from 3D/2N to 9D/8N. This is probably the only time we'll ever visit a jungle lodge, but our trip is only 15 nights long and I am trying to find the right balance. We are outdoorsy people who've always enjoyed boating, hiking, biking, camping etc. But, we are not birders, nor are we fanatics about wildlife spotting. If you've taken a jungle expedition, can you tell me how much time you spent there and if you felt it was about the right amount of time. Unfortunately this isn't one of those situations where we can just wing it and leave if it doesn't feel right or extend our stay if we are really enjoying it. Thanks.

A few things to consider:

A longer options are really only for die-hard rainforest fans. I think that would be excessive for most people.

Every lodge's website goes into detail about its activities. Find one that seems a good fit for your interests.

Where else in Peru will you be? If you already have plans to do Cusco/Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley, it makes sense to choose one of the southern Amazon lodges that you reach via Puerto Maldonado. That's only a short flight from Cusco. If it's the north you're concentrating on, then the lodges accessed via Iquitos are your best bet.

Some of the lodges are short river trips from your arrival point. Others take a few hours. If you choose a place that's the latter, then "3 days/2 nights" really gives you something closer to 2 nights/1 day at the lodge.

Seeing a variety of animal life is a big part of this experience. If that really and truly doesn't interest you, then is this the right side trip to make? Or the other way to look at it is: You might become a real convert to wildlife viewing.

Thanks Jeff for helping me to clarify my thinking. I too was wondering if the longer trips were really for those who are jungle fanatics. I'd be interested in seeing wildlife, but I also know I am not one to sit for hours just waiting to catch a possubke glimpse of the rare.....whatever animal. We had been thinking that perhaps a 3N/4D would be about the right combo. We were looking at a lodge tht is a bit further in, but we enjoy boat travel so it wouldn't seem like a hardship to us.

"I also know I am not one to sit for hours just waiting to catch a possubke glimpse of the rare.....whatever animal."



Honest, julies. These places are more exciting than that. They employ great guides who know their stuff, who know where to spot the animals and can point out things you would never see on your own. I'm always amazed at their expertise.

Having made two Amazon trips and about to head off on my third I would suggest two or three days to see the jungle up close -- a lodge or a guide service -- plus at least two days on a riverboat to see the expanse of the river. In Peru that could be the segment of the Ucayali between Pucallpa and Iquitos. You can have a rain forest experience with a lot less travel expense in Costa Rica -- if you are going all the way to Peru (or Brazil) you should see the incredible river as well.

You will be there in the flood season and guides operating out of Iquitos or any lodge on a river tributary should be able to take you (by canoe) into the flooded forest.

thanks Meanderer for a new thought--

We had primarily been looking at the Puerto Maldonaldo and Manu of Peru becaue much advice I've read says to stick to that area if you mostly plan to stay in southern Peru. Can you fill me in on a little bit more about an actual river trip? And, where did you go on your first two Amazon trips?

Puerto Maldonado area does have the advantage of being closer to Cusco.

The main starting/ending points for riverboats would be Pucallpa, Yurimaguas, and Iquitos. Pucallpa and Yurimaguas are accessible by bus, Iquitos is not. There are many riverboats leaving from each of those ports -- although Yurimaguas may have the fewest. Iquitos is also a hub for access to forest lodges, tours, etc. These boats are the Amazon busses and trucks (they carry people and cargo). You can get a cabin (might want one for security) but would still probably want to hang a hammock on the boat (you can buy a nice hammock very inexpensively in any river town) as the cabins are mostly small and stuffy.

My first Amazon trip I flew into Iquitos (from Miami), went by riverboat to Pucallpa, busses-small plane via Tingo Maria to Yurimaguas, boats back to Iquitos then downriver to Manaus, busses via the transamazonian 'highway' to Porto Velho and Rio Branco, busses back to Manaus. That was back in 1982. Two changes since then are the completetion of the road along the Hualaga between Tingo Maria and Yurimaguas (where I had to take plane) and the deterioration of the road I took from Manaus to connect to the transamazonian -- it has reverted to jungle nd is completely defunct now.

Second trip (2004) we flew to Manaus (via Sao Paulo for the cheapest flight), downriver by boats to Santarem, Monte Alegre, then to Belem then bussed across the backlands of the Brazilian northeast to the coast at Joao Pessoa.

This June I'm flying (via Caracas) to Puerto Ayacucho, Venezuela, then by the Orinoco river, Casiquiare and Rio Negro into Brazil, down the Rio Negro to Manaus, the Amazon to Santarem, and probably up the Tapajos to Fordlandia.

Puerto Maldonado is much more accessible than Iquitos. You have to fly back to Lima to get to Iquitos but can take a direct 1 hour flight to Puerto Maldonado from Cusco.

I would recommend Corto Maltes lodge near Puerto Maldonado. It has electricity and indoor plumbing and is not as rustic as many of the jungle lodges. There is also a large salt lick on their property which attracts hundreds of jungle birds.

I am told that the majority of animals except for monkeys, sloths, etc. are nocturnal and it is just by luck to spot a jaguar, lemor, etc. I understand bird life is very visible as well as river based creatures (alligators, turles).
What is the REAL low-down to tolerate the 98 degree temp and 90% humidity?