How to best enjoy the Iquito's Amazon jungle of Peru. any ideas?
 

Yes, i am going back to Peru people of the world, I am on a mission of my own again! I am planning on spending a whole month in this part of beautiful Peru. I need to know as much as possible about what to do, how to get there and who to contact in this area. perhaps this is a broad request but i know that from here i will sift trough the ideas and recommendations to get the best out of them. One important thing to consider when referring me to people who offer tourists services is their social and environmental consciousness. muchas gracias a todos and Happy new year 2011!

Look into Tahuayo Lodge (Amazonia Expeditions) they have good relations with a nearby Riberno village of El Chino, where many of their guides are from. They have a related Charitable Organization, Angels of the Amazon.

www.perujungle.com

Larevolta,

I can recommend Ceiba Tops which is an Explorama property. One of the reasons we chose this accommodation was that it is readily accessible from Lima - about a 90 minute flight and 40 minutes by boat from Iquitos.

Other more remote Explorama properties will deliver a more rustic experience which other travellers enjoyed. They have some good value packages, http://www.explorama.com/itineraries.php and offer a range of activities that include the canopy walkway, wildlife, village visits and river trips.

Lodge managers seem willing to customise activities when boats and guides are available. There were never any more than 6 people on any of the activities with us and all except one activity was undertaken with our guide, Abelardo Flores.

I particularly enjoyed being on the Amazon mainstream and watching all of the river life motor past and having a birds eye view of life at the riverside.


Cheers,


Pol

I'd listen to Treepol; after experiencing the magic of African wildlife we were very disappointed in our choice of Inkaterras Amazonica lodge..they had little creativity on activities,but of course really nice accommodations. We were so ready to leave after three nights. Best thing i had there was a massage.

Go with someone like Explorama who concentrates more on the experience than the luxury.
(NOT that I dont like a bit of luxury, but to go all the way to the Amazon you want to do/see/experience the area!)

Have a great trip!

thanks for the information guys, Is there anyone out there who has had a direct first hand experience with this Explorama? can anyone advise me more about their reliability in terms of their commitment to protect these areas? sorry, but i am way too familiar with corporations buying land to "protect it". it is easier to protect land to profit off of the land and the people who work and live there. Not long ago i read on the news that some of this '"environmental" tourist corporations where behind the incidents in Bagua where the local native amazonians where slaughtered by the peruvian government when trying to implement their "ley de la selva". however, I am looking for local people, activists or independent guides to take me to some off the beaten track areas. Is there anyone out there who has had a direct first hand experience with this Explorama? can anyone advise me more about their reliability in terms of their commitment to protect these areas? anyone else out there with more information? thank you for understanding my concerns but i think that i want to have a different impact on the places i visit other than just putting my money in the hands of money hungry people. regards

I have traveled three times with Explorama; one of the trips included taking the yearly supplies to the village schools, which is coordinated by Explorama. The guides are local and very environmentally aware; Explorama has a long history in the area. There's a lot of info (and some awards that they received) on their website: www.explorama.com

My favorite spot is the Explornapo Camp; Ceiba Tops is a little too "civilized" for me. Here's one of my trip reports (with a link to the photos) from my most recent time there, this time at the Explorama Lodge:
http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...rip-report.cfm

http://www.andeantravelweb.com/peru/...tos/index.html

careful very dodgy many scammers

www.otorongoexpeditions.com good personal experience