Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [432]
Amazon Yarapa River Lodge (065-993-1172; www.yarapa.com; Av La Marina 124, Iquitos; 4 days & 3 nights s/d US$1020/1840, s/d without bathroom 940/1680; ) Approximately 130km upriver from Iquitos on the Río Yarapa, this lodge is simply stunning. It has a huge and well-designed tropical biology laboratory, regularly used by Cornell University (USA) for research and postgraduate classes. The lab is powered by an expansive solar-panel system, which provides electric power throughout the lodge; there are also satellite phone connections. Facilities are beautifully maintained: elaborate woodcarvings in the restaurant-bar and even on the bed heads were made by local artists, and fully screened rooms are linked by screened walkways. Eight huge bedrooms with oversized private bathrooms are available (professors stay here when Cornell is in residence) and 16 comfortable rooms share a multitude of well-equipped bathrooms. With its scientific agenda, the lodge offers top-notch guides for its jungle tours, which visit remote areas. The boats take about three to four hours from Iquitos but have a bathroom aboard. Recommended.
Tahuayo Lodge (www.perujungle.com; 8 days per person US$1295); USA (Amazonia Expeditions; 813-907-8475, 800-262-9669) Iquitos (Av La Marina 100) You’ll hear the phrase ‘Pacaya-Samiria’ bandied around a lot in these parts but this is only one of several reserves in the northern jungle. This lodge, 140km from Iquitos, has exclusive access to the 2500-sq-km Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo reserve, an area of pristine jungle where a record 93 species of mammal have been recorded. The 15 lodge cabins are located 65km up an Amazon tributary, built on high stilts and connected by walkways; half have private bathrooms. There is a laboratory with a library here, too. Wildlife viewing opportunities are among the best of any lodge listed: they usually include a peek at the pygmy marmosets that nest near the lodge. Visitors can also stay at the nearby Tahuayo River Research Center, which boasts an extensive trail network.
Muyuna Amazon Lodge (office 065-24-2858, 065-993-4424; www.muyuna.com; ground fl, Putumayo 163, Iquitos; 3 days & 2 nights s/d US$385/640) About 140km upriver from Iquitos on the Río Yanayacu, this intimate lodge is surrounded by 10 well-conserved lakes in a remote area less colonized than jungle downriver, which makes for a great rainforest experience. Ten stilted, thatched bungalows here each sleep between two and six people and get a private cold shower and a balcony with a hammock. All are fully screened. The helpful owners live in Iquitos and have a very hands-on approach to maintaining their lodge, ensuring that recycling occurs, staff set an ecofriendly example to visitors, and guests are happy. During high water, the river rises up to the bungalows, which are connected to the lodge’s dining building with covered, raised walkways. Lighting is by kerosene lanterns. The bilingual guides are excellent and they guarantee observation of monkeys, sloths and dolphins, as well as rich avian fauna typical of the nearby Amazonian varzea (flooded forest), including the piuri – the wattled curassow (crax globulosa), a critically endangered bird restricted to western Amazonia, which can only be seen in Peru at Muyuna.
Pacaya-Samiria Amazon Lodge (065-23-4128; www.pacayasamiria.com.pe; Raimondi 378,