Amazon River AQUA LUXURY CRUISE
Destinations:  Amazon River, Iquitos
Duration:        4 days / 3 nights

LOW WATER SEASON (June-November)^1,2

Day 1: SATURDAY

5:00pm Arrival
Your guide will pick you up from the Iquitos Airport. You will board an air-conditioned bus and transfer to Iquitos’ main wharf. As you settle into your over-sized suite, your vessel will start on its journey toward the Yanayacu River, deep in the heart of Amazonia.

8:00pm Safety Drill and Briefing on the Top Deck
Before dinner, we will perform a routine safety drill. The Cruise Director and Guides will then give a brief orientation.

8:30pm Welcome Dinner
Peruvian cuisine is considered one of the world’s best. Here it is presented with a touch of European flair, and a vegetarian dish is always available.

Day 2: SUNDAY

6:30am Early Morning Skiff Expedition on the Amazon River
Be up early to catch your first glimpse of the majestic Amazon River, as you watch the sun rise over this green world filled with wonderful wildlife.

8:00am Breakfast

9:15am Tahuayo River Exploration and Fishing Trip at Charo Lake
This morning you will board our comfortable excursion skiffs to explore the Tahuayo black water river. Life jackets, ponchos, rubber boots, and plenty of cold potable water will always be available for you on board the skiffs. Keep your binoculars ready to spot a vast variety of wildlife: terns, orioles, blackbirds, black collared hawks, monkeys, and sloth share this wonderful environment with us. Upon arrival at Charo Lake, you can bait your hooks to try to catch one of Amazonia’s fearsome piranhas (and other fish as well).

11:30am Return to the Aqua Luxury Cruise
Icy cold towels await you at the Aqua Luxury Cruise.

12:30pm Lunch

4:00pm Yacapana Islands Exploration and Dolphin Sighting
We will pass by in the skiff to the Yacapana Islands which houses a huge population of Iguanas—like tiny dinosaurs—crawling over the ground and resting in the tree tops. As the sun sets, you will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see and photograph both gray and pink freshwater dolphins.

8:00pm Dinner

Day 3: MONDAY

6:30am Breakfast

7:30am Guided Jungle Walk in the Primary Forest
This morning your Naturalist Guide will tell you all about sustainable resource management projects in Amazonia. You will visit one of these projects where villagers are planting palms to obtain oil. Your Guide may also show you the artificial nests created on the sand to protect turtle eggs. Then we will learn about the important medical value of jungle plants and show you famous Kapok Trees (Ceiba Pentandra), the tallest trees in the Amazon Basin.

12:30pm Lunch

3:30am Monkey / Dolphin and Caiman Expedition
In this skiff excursion, you are likely to see howler and capuchin monkeys, the squirrel-sized monkeys called tamarins, and a vast variety of birds. You will also observe pink and gray dolphins. Later, keep your eyes directed toward the jungle canopy, where you can spot at least several kinds of primates—among the 13 species of monkeys resident in the National Park. Watch for alligators, and keep your binoculars at the ready, as you are likely to see more than 200 species of birds. As the sun sets and our searchlight comes on, keep your eyes out for caimans, tree boas, tarantulas, and frogs.

8:30pm Dinner

Day 4: TUESDAY

6:30am Ucayali River and Yucuruche Lake
This morning we will travel by skiff along the Ucayali River to Yucuruche Lake where we will walk a little way into the jungle to see the world’s largest aquatic plant, the giant water lilies or “Victoria Regias”.

8:30am Breakfast

9:15am Birthplace of the Amazon/Puerto Prado Village
This morning, the Aqua Luxury Cruise skirts the edges of the vast Pacaya-Samiria Reserve. We board the skiffs to view one of the great spectacles of the Southern Hemisphere: the birthplace of the Amazon River. Here—where the union of two major tributaries, the Ucayali and the Marañon, form the world’s greatest waterway. Your morning excursion will be accompanied by abundant bird song such as large-billed terns, laughing falcons, gray tanagers, sandpipers, five kinds of parakeets, the exotic short-tailed parrot, etc.

We will then travel by skiff to Puerto Prado native village, where you will meet and interact with the hospitable native Cocama Indians. You will have the opportunity to purchase some of their handicrafts and delightful folk art.

11:30pm Lunch

12:30pm Disembarkation
Step off the Aqua Luxury Cruise in the small city of Nauta where your air-conditioned bus awaits you. On our way to the airport, we will visit the Manatee Rescue Center where biologists and volunteers take care of endangered Amazon manatees and dolphins. Finally, we will stop at the San Juan Market, for a last chance to shop for local crafts.

5:00pm Departure.
Your guides will assist you with your baggage and check-in, and will wait with you until you are ready to board your flight to Lima.