Planning to go to Amazon later this year or early next year. I'd like to do a adventure trip (hike / kayak / camp, etc.) other than a cruise. Any suggestion? What about the rainy season? When is it and is it a no go?

Does anyone know about this company? The price is good and there is no single complement.

Amazonia Expeditions at http://www.perujungle.com/index.html.

www.explorama.com best for Iquitos

www.pmexplorers.com best for Manu Biosphere Reserve

Best for large mammals

For a nice jungle tour contact www.amazingtours.com.br


E-mail:[email protected]


They organize great amazon tours in Manaus.

I was given these contacts on my last Pantanal trip. Never used them

Ambiental
http://www.ambientebrasil.com.br/
Cristalino Lodge
http://www.cristalinolodge.com.br/

We highly recommend Ambiental Expeditions in Brazil. We used them for our first trip to Brasil. They will work with your budget (not just big spenders), their English is excellent and they are very responsive to emails. Their costs are very competitive--much less than US tour companies. They know the country well (they are located in Brazil). www.ambiental.tur.br

Around Manaus the rainy season is usually December or Jan. through May. Just after the rainy season is a good time to explore the flooded forest by canoe -- a unique experience (with a guide, of course).

Santarem -- two days downriver from Manaus -- is a good base. Not as hectic as Manaus. The great beaches of Alter do Chao are close (best late August-November when river is lower). I've travelled the Amazon from Pucalpa to Belem and from Puerto Ayacucho (Venezuela) to Manaus, and found Santarem the most pleasant stop.

Gil Serique -- http://www.gilserique.com/ -- is an excellent guide and expert on the local birds (also a noted Amazon windsurfer).

KST
www.arovingvision.com