Visiting the Amazon during Peru Vacations

An international campaign to identify the world's Seven Natural Wonders has begun, with places of natural point from each continent being ranked by voters colse to the world.

With such attentiveness on some of South America's most spectacular sights, we idea we'd give a Latin America For Less guide to visiting each place that is in contention for the title of South America's most leading Natural Wonder.

Amazon Tips

The Amazon rainforest is currently ranked in first place as South America's most leading natural wonder. It is the biggest forest in the world and is home to the singular greatest attentiveness of life on the planet: one tenth of the planet's species are found right here, in the Amazon.

Visiting the Amazon has become increasingly easy in modern years, especially while a Brazil or a Peru vacation, and thanks to the increase of eco-tourism, it's now inherent to visit the rainforest while causing minimal disruption to the pristine environment.

Where To Go

There are many options for exploring the Peruvian Amazon, but the three most popular entry points are Iquitos, Puerto Maldonado and Manu.

Iquitos, the world's largest city not accessible by road, is a genuine frontier outpost deep in the wilderness. You can only get here by air or a long boat journey, but once you've arrived you will examine a truly unique tropical city, with entire neighborhoods of house boats floating on the river, restaurants serving exotic and appetizing jungle delicacies, a tantalizing night scene, and abundance of jungle lodges dotted up and downstream, offering a opportunity to get up close and personal with the wildlife.

Puerto Maldonado meanwhile is a more accessible but somewhat less tantalizing town. The petition of this ramshackle hamlet is its proximity to Cusco, another popular Peru vacation destination. Travelers can leave Cusco in the morning and by mid-afternoon be placed in to their tranquil jungle lodge, a long way from civilization.

Finally, the Manu retain on the eastern flanks of the Andes is some of the most remote and least accessible stretch of jungle in Peru. This is a vast region of protected land, and is a paradise for the jungle's many native species of creatures, especially birds. A visit to Manu offers a genuine taste of jungle life, one of the few remaining places with large populations of large mammals, including jaguars, anteaters and tapirs.

All three destinations offer similar standards of lodges, although the range in Iquitos and Puerto Maldonado is much broader than in Manu.

However, visitors should bear in mind that Iquitos is a large city, with abundance of economic operation focused colse to the river. Its size and unique atmosphere make it an tantalizing Peru voyage destination in its own right, but also means that the colse to jungle is not a great place for wildlife spotting. You need to journey for some hours, preferably upriver, to get into untouched territory.

Finally, throughout the Amazon, determined restaurants serve questionable produce, including endangered or threatened species such as paiche (an huge fish), turtle, and caiman. Although it is technically illegal to serve these species, the law is largely un-enforced, but visitors should consult their conscience before indulging.

Visiting the Amazon during Peru Vacations