Tour Overview
This Peruvian rainforest adventure begins with a 50-mile journey by boat down the Amazon River to your comfortable lodge. On guided hikes through the rainforest, you'll learn how these plants are used in modern medicine and how natives use them for their own medicinal purposes. But the rainforest is much more than just lush vegetation, there's also a host of fascinating animals to be found. You'll explore an oxbow lake by boat, where you can spot the elusive Hoatzin bird as well as the gentle sloth. A stroll on the Canopy Walkway, a 500-meter suspended bridge high in treetops, affords the rare opportunity to glimpse birds where they make their homes. A visit to the locals and a chance to chat with schoolchildren rounds out this exciting Amazon adventure.Day by Day Itinerary
Ceiba Tops Itinerary: Day 1: Iquitos- Ceiba TopsUpon arrival at the Iquitos Airport, an iExplore representative will meet you. Enjoy a brief orientation tour of Iquitos before transferring to the dock. Known as the gateway to the Amazon, Iquitos lies on the banks of the mile-wide river in the middle of dense, flat jungle. This city of 350,000 has a floating market (Belen) several floating restaurants and some interesting shops selling Amerindian goods. Transfer to the dock where you will board the Explorama water shuttle for a twenty-five-mile journey down the Amazon River to Ceiba Tops luxury lodge. Arrive at the lodge, check-in and freshen up before lunch. Enjoy an afternoon hike in the beautiful primary rainforest reserve surrounding Ceiba Tops where many huge trees are literally covered in epiphytes. After dinner enjoy local flute or guitar music at the “El Tucan” Bar, alternatively ask your guide to share some of the many legends of the Amazon forest.
Lunch, Dinner
Ceiba Tops Day 2: Ceiba Tops- Explorama Lodge- Ceiba Tops
Early morning birding excursion. After breakfast board the boats to continue down the Amazon River to the rustic Explorama Lodge. This morning enjoy a hike along the "Bushmaster Trail." Scientific studies by the Missouri Botanical Gardens have found the highest biodiversity of trees per square hectare in the world along this trail. Your guide will point out many examples of native plants used as remedies by local people. Visit the neighboring Yagua Indian Community, an explanation of their native culture, blowgun demonstration and trading. After lunch walk along a local Amazon River trail, stopping at a "ribereños" house, corner store, and sugar cane rum factory. Return by boat to Ceiba Tops.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ceiba Tops Day 3: Ceiba Tops
Early morning birding. Morning boat excursion to “Monkey Island”, a private reserve where more than five species of tropical primates are protected. Species include small tamarins, saki, titi, and large woolly monkeys. This afternoon enjoy a boating excursion in search of sloth that can be found in the Cecropia trees at the water’s edge, and the two species of freshwater river dolphin. Weather permitting; enjoy a beautiful sunset on the Amazon River. Return to the lodge for dinner and enjoy the evening at leisure.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ceiba Tops Day 4: Ceiba Tops- Canopy Walk- Ceiba Tops
This morning depart from Ceiba Tops by boat to the narrow motorcar crossing connecting the Amazon and Napo Rivers. Continue by boat on the Napo River to ExplorNapo Lodge for breakfast. Hike to the spectacular Canopy Walkway spanning over 500 meters (1640 feet). Connected by tree platforms and reaching the height of over 35 meters (115 feet), this walkway is accessible without any type of climbing skills or equipment. After lunch, visit the “ReNuPeRu” Ethno botanical Garden where over 240 medicinal plants are cultivated by a local shaman who will explain the nature of Amazonian natural healing and the uses of some of the plants. Return to Ceiba Tops in time to relax in a hammock or enjoy the pool before dinner.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ceiba Tops Day 5: Ceiba Tops- Iquitos
Enjoy boating or walking excursions to further enjoy the rainforest surrounding Ceiba Tops, or if you prefer, time to relax at the hammock house or enjoy the pool and lodge gardens. This afternoon journey back to Iquitos and on to the airport or local hotel, depending on your schedule.
Breakfast, Lunch (if departure flight allows) Explorama Lodge Itinerary: Day 1: Iquitos- Explorama Lodge Upon arrival at the Iquitos Airport, an iExplore representative meets you. Enjoy a brief orientation tour of Iquitos before transferring to the dock. Known as the gateway to the Amazon, Iquitos lies on the banks of the mile-wide river in the middle of dense, flat jungle. This city of 350,000 has a floating market (Belen) several floating restaurants and some interesting shops selling Amerindian goods. Remnants of the boom days can be seen in the “azulejos” - handmade tiles imported from Portugal, which were used to decorate the mansions of rubber barons (also notice the imported lacy cast-iron balconies.) Transfer to the dock where you will board the Explorama water shuttle for a fifty-mile journey down the Amazon River to Yanamono Stream where the Explorama Lodge is located. Arrive at the lodge, check-in and freshen up before lunch. This afternoon, enjoy a guided hike along the "Lake Trail" through lowland rainforest that is seasonally flooded. This trail is traversed by canoe during high water months! Return to the lodge for dinner. This evening you have the opportunity to take a guided night walk or boat to enjoy the sounds of the forest and stars of the Southern sky. NOTE: Due to the ever-changing nature of the rainforest, day-by-day activities are subject to change due to weather, trail or river conditions.
Explorama Lodge
Lunch, Dinner Day 2: Explorama Lodge Early morning birding excursion and morning walk along the “Bushmaster Trail”, where scientific studies by the Missouri Botanical Gardens have found the world’s highest biodiversity of trees per square hectare. Continue on to a small village of Yagua Indians where your guide will explain their culture and how it has been affected by the passing of time. There will be an opportunity to see their local crafts and for a demonstration of the use of the blowgun, which some of the Yagua elders still use. This afternoon enjoy a boating excursion in search of sloth that can be found in the Cecropia trees at the water’s edge, and the two species of freshwater river dolphin, pink and gray, found in Amazonian waters.
Explorama Lodge
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 3: Explorama Lodge- Canopy Walk- Explorama Lodge
This morning depart from the lodge by boat to the mouth of the Napo River, where in 1542, the intrepid explorer Francisco de Orellano became the first European to discover the Amazon River. Continue on the Napo River to ExplorNapo Lodge for breakfast. Hike to the spectacular Canopy Walkway spanning over 500 meters (1640 feet). Connected by tree platforms and reaching the height of over 35 meters (115 feet), this walkway is accessible without any type of climbing skills or equipment. After lunch, visit the “ReNuPeRu” Ethno botanical Garden where over 240 medicinal plants are cultivated by a local shaman who will explain the nature of Amazonian natural healing and the uses of some of the plants. Return to Explorama lodge and relax before dinner.
Explorama Lodge
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 4: Explorama Lodge- Ceiba Tops- Explorama Lodge Enjoy a morning boat excursion to “Monkey Island”, a private reserve where more than five species of tropical primates including small tamarins, saki, titi and large woolly monkeys are protected. Lunch will be served at Ceiba Tops luxury lodge. Enjoy an afternoon hike in the beautiful primary rainforest reserve surrounding Ceiba Tops that includes many huge trees festooned with epiphytes or, if you prefer, you have the option to relax at the pool, waterslide Jacuzzi and lovely gardens surrounding Ceiba Tops. Return to Explorama Lodge to once again enjoy the hammock house or Tahuampa Bar.
Explorama Lodge
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 5: Explorama Lodge- Iquitos
Enjoy a morning walk along a local Amazon River trail, stopping at a "ribereños" house, corner store, and sugar cane rum factory. This afternoon, return to Iquitos and transfer to the airport for your onward flight home.
Breakfast, Lunch (if departure flight allows) Combination Program Day 1 Saturday: Iquitos, Peru
Arrive Iquitos. You are met at the airport and transferred to your hotel for check-in and balance of day at leisure.
With a privileged place on the Plaza de Armas, the El Dorado Plaza has filled a gaping hole in the Iquitos hotel scene -- the city never before had a bona fide high-end hotel. A modern high-rise building, with a soaring lobby, a good restaurant, and an excellent outdoor pool, it is the finest hotel in town. Rooms are large and nicely outfitted, with a view of either the main square or the pool.
Known as the gateway to the Amazon, Iquitos lies on the banks of the mile-wide river in the middle of dense, flat jungle. This city of 350,000 has a floating market (Belen) several floating restaurants and some interesting shops selling Amerindian goods. Remnants of the boom days can be seen in the “azulejos” - handmade tiles imported from Portugal, which were used to decorate the mansions of rubber barons (also notice the imported lacy cast-iron balconies.) The Amazon River, originating in Peru, is a world of mystery, grandeur and romance. Its towering forest and rushing waters harbor such an incomparable diversity of life that scientists are still working to classify it all: 2,000 species of fish, more than those in the Atlantic Ocean; 4,000 species of birds, including 120 hummingbirds; 60 species of reptiles such as the caiman and anaconda, the worlds largest non-poisonous snake; and mammals like the marmoset, anteater, tapir, capybara and pink dolphin. At its widest point in Brazil, the mighty Amazon River is 40 miles across. Oceangoing vessels can sail the 2,300 miles from the Atlantic Ocean upriver to Iquitos, Peru’s major port on the Upper Amazon. A unique feature of the rainforest surrounding Iquitos is its lack of a specific rainy or dry season. There is a high water period from December through May, which is caused by the melting of snow as the Andean summer begins and from the rainy season in the upper jungle. The low water period begins in June and ends with the rising waters in November. While the water level can fluctuate more then 45 feet, the warm and humid climate remains relatively constant throughout the year, giving this area its botanical category of "Everwet Tropical Forest." Normal daytime highs are 88° F and nighttime lows are 72°.
Hotel Dorado Plaza Day 2 Sunday: Iquitos- Explorama Lodge
Meet your local guide in the hotel lobby for transfer to the Iquitos boat dock. Here you will board the Explorama water shuttle for a fifty-mile journey down the Amazon River to the Explorama Lodge. Arrive at the lodge, check-in and freshen up before lunch. Established in 1964, the Explorama Lodge is deep in primary rainforest. Romantic kerosene torches and lamps illuminate palm-thatched houses with 17 private sleeping rooms. Covered connecting walkways lead to the Tahuampa Bar, the dining room, sun porch and two hammock houses. Showers & toilet facilities adjoin each house. A variety of treks are offered, including the Seven Bridges Trail walk and a special full day excursion (fees apply) to the Canopy Walkway. This afternoon, enjoy a guided hike along the "Lake Trail" through lowland rainforest that is seasonally flooded. This trail is traversed by canoe during high water months! Return to the lodge for dinner and evening at leisure. NOTE: Due to the ever-changing nature of the rainforest, day-by-day activities are subject to change due to weather, trail or river conditions.
Explorama Lodge
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 3 Monday: Explorama Lodge
This morning, enjoy a hike along the "Bushmaster Trail." Scientific studies by the Missouri Botanical Gardens have found the highest biodiversity of trees per square hectare in the world along this trail. Your guide will point out many examples of native plants used as remedies by local people. This afternoon, you will enjoy a guided canoe trip along the Amazon in search of either of the two species of freshwater dolphin found in the river.
Explorama Lodge
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 4 Tuesday: Explorama Lodge- ExplorNapo Lodge
After breakfast, enjoy a boat-transfer down the Amazon and up the Napo River to the 250,000 acre Amazon Rainforest Reserve and Explornapo. On the Napo River, 160 km (100 mi) from Iquitos, Explornapo provides access to the pristine forest of Explorama´s Sucusari Reserve, as well as access to the adjoining Amazon Canopy Walkway, one of the longest treetop walkways in the world. This adventure offers the opportunity to live in an authentic Amazon River style with palm-thatched houses, kerosene lighting and open-hearth cooking in a rainforest surrounding. Room, shower and toilet facilities are identical to those of Explorama Lodge. Take special rainforest treks and excursions into the surrounding primeval forest in an area named by scientists as the “Biodiversity Capital of the World.” Arrive in time to check-in and lunch at the lodge.
Afternoon hike through primary rainforest. Evening excursion by open canoe along the Sucusari Stream in search of caiman and to enjoy the night sounds and stars of the Southern sky.
ExplorNapo Lodge
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 5 Wednesday: ExplorNapo
Early morning birding followed by a morning excursion in an open boat and hiking to a black water oxbow lake formed when water from the Napo River became separated from the main flow of the river. These lakes are often covered with giant Victoria Regia water lilies and sometimes offer a glimpse of the elusive Hoatzin Bird. Afternoon boating excursion along one of the many Napo tributaries spotting for sloth, birding and having a try an fishing for piranha.
ExplorNapo Lodge
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 6 Thursday: ExplorNapo- Ceiba Tops Early morning birding walk. Morning hike to the Amazon Conservatory Field Station and the Canopy Walkway, a suspended bridge spanning 500 meters (one third of a mile), connected by tree platforms and reaching a height of over 115 feet above the ground. Here there is time to observe part of the rainforest rarely seen by man. Afternoon excursion along the Medicinal and Useful Plants Trail, where your guide will explain the uses of many of the rainforest plants. In the late afternoon you will be up at camopy level when the birds return to roost and watch the sunset from the treetops. After dark there is an opportunity to rediscover the canopy dwellers at night.
ACTS Forschungsstaion
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 7 Friday: Ceiba Tops Depart for the canopy walkway in time to welcome the day from high in the treetops, an unforgettable natural history experience, as mixed species flocks form and their morning chorus begins. Motmots, woodcreepers, antbirds, flycatchers, barbets, toucans and even Red-Throated Caracara add to the cacophony. After breakfast you will hike out to the Sucusari Stream and boad the boat for Ceiba Tops (75 miles, about 2 ¼ hours), where private air-conditioned rooms and hot showers gently ease you back into civilization. At Ceiba Tops you may see a Great Potoo on the short walk from the boat dock and the main Ceiba Tops buildings. After lunch you will visit the islands that were formed at different times by the meandering Amazon River forming unique habitats where some species of birds spend their entire lives. Returning to Ceiba Tops you will travel close to the shore where both pinmk and gray dolphins are often seen, and with luck, there will be a colorful sunset on the Amazon River.
Ceiba Tops Lodge
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 8 Saturday: Ceiba Tops- Iquitos
Early morning birdwatching on a short walk to the huge Ceiba Tree for which the lodge is named. Many organisms spend their entire lives in this single rainforest giant. Depending on your departure flight from Iquitos, there may be time for an open boat ride on the channels of the Amazon in front of Ceiba Tops before lunch. Whatever your departure flight, a boat ride will return you to Iquitos (25 miles, ¾ hour) and then by bus and you’ll be at the airport in time for your departure flight to Lima.
Breakfast, Lunch- if departure flight permits
