Amazon River DELFIN STANDARD CRUISE
Destinations:  Amazon River, Iquitos
Duration:        4 days / 3 nights

DRY SEASON (June-November)^1,2

DAY 1: FRIDAY

05:00pm Arrive in Iquitos
After arriving at Iquitos Airport, you will be assisted by our guides and transported by bus for about 1 ½ hours, heading northwest toward Nauta (oldest city in the region of Loreto).

07:30pm Arrive in Nauta and board the DELFIN
Upon arriving at the port of Nauta, you will board the DELFIN. The crew will help you settle into your wood-paneled, comfortable twin-bedded cabin.

08:30pm Dinner
Because of its cultural diversity, Peruvian cuisine is considered one of the world’s finest, making the country an attractive culinary destination.

09:30pm Briefing
Brief orientation, outlining details of your journey, including the places you will visit, the wildlife you will see, as well as a summary of the history and geography of the Amazon basin.

DAY 2: SATURDAY

06:00am Breakfast – Buffet

07:00am Yanallpa exploration, Belluda Stream or Jungle walks
You will visit the community of Yanallpa and explore two different kinds of ecosystems: flooded forest and terra firme forest. After disembarking at this native village, we will start our morning hike. This walk affords excellent opportunities for spotting transitional species such as the snail kite, black tailed ant bird, manikins, tanagers, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, nun birds, orioles, blackbirds, etc.

You will also see tall trees filled with epiphytes, woody vines and many varieties of palm trees. After an hour you will reach a lovely lagoon where two dugout canoes await us in the midst of one of the most remote, least visited areas in the world. This lagoon is filled with endangered and unique fresh water fish, such as paiche, the largest in the Amazon basin, which can weigh more than 80kg (170 lbs). Paiche is considered a delicacy, and you can often hear them when they rise to the surface. You will also look for the peculiar crested hoatzin bird with its olive-colored plumage.

12:30pm Lunch

03:30pm El Dorado River exploration
You will head for this spectacular spot within the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, where you will also experience an unforgettable encounter with gray and pink river dolphins. On the river you will experience abundant wildlife and nature in all of its exuberance such as snail kites, festive parrots, endangered scarlet macaws, olive spotted hummingbirds, Amazonian parrotletts, and wood creepers, among others. Pre-historic looking iguanas laze in the sun while we travel along the shoreline searching for whatever the jungle has to offer us. Squirrel Monkeys are very active at this time of the day.

08:00pm Dinner

DAY 3 : SUNDAY

05:30am Wake up call

06:00am Rio Pacaya – breakfast on board
We have reached our main goal, the Pacaya River, the very heart of the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, the world’s largest protected wetland area in the world. An early rise is very rewarding: you will see parrots, macaws, toucans, kingfishers, black collared hawks, southern swallows, white winged swallows, and manikins. Aside from the large variety of birds, you will also see troops of squirrel monkeys. As the sun starts to heat up, we will continue along the shores of the Pacaya river, spotting huge ceiba or kapok trees, mahogany trees, strangler figs, epiphytes such as bromeliads and orchids, palm trees and woody vines.

12:30pm Lunch

04:00pm Atun Poza expedition
You will hike through this pristine and unique ecosystem, passing through a classic tropical rainforest with emergent trees and canopy trees reaching up to 55 mt in height. Our target is the giant ceiba or kapok tree with its large diameter. If you are lucky you will also see giant otters. This forest is also very good for spotting birds such as the bluish-fronted jacamar seen in pairs in middle and lower parts of forest edges, or collared trogons, red-capped cardinals, etc.

07:00pm Briefing and review

08:00pm Dinner

DAY 4:MONDAY

07:00am Breakfast – Buffet

08:00am Yarapa River Exploration and Puerto Miguel Village Visit

On board our skiffs we will stop at the village of Puerto Miguel to meet local villagers. Afterwards, you will explore the Yarapa River, where there is a good chance to see squirrel and capuchin monkeys, herons, egrets and green iguanas. We will reach a beautiful lagoon called Uvos, named after a fruit that grows wild along its shores. Pink river dolphins ply its waters in search of fish. The forest also boasts abundant flora including a variety of bromeliads and orchids.

12:30pm Lunch

01:30pm Disembark at the port of Nauta
You will disembark at our port in Nauta, where a bus will be waiting to take you back to Iquitos.

03:45pm Arrive at Iquitos Airport
Delfin Standard Cruise’s personnel will help you check in, and say goodbye.