Amazon in Regions @ Tucan Travel

The Amazon rainforest
Peru, Brazil and Ecuador
Visit the jungle on a group tour, independent travel package or expedition cruise

General Amazon facts
About the Amazon
 - Why is the Amazon so important?
 - Why visit the Amazon?
 - History of the Amazon
 - Amazon flora and fauna
When to visit the Amazon
About Tucan Travel group tours, Independent Travel and Expedition Cruises to the Amazon

The Facts
Official Name: Amazon basin / Amazon rainforest
Government: 54% of the Amazon basin is in Brazil, remainder in Peru and other countries. The Amazon rainforest covers the basin / parts of nine countries, 60% in Brazil, 13% in Peru, and smaller areas of Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. 
Population: Sparsely populated, scattered cities including Manaus & Belem (Brazil), Iquitos (Peru). The Amazon region contains over 300 indigenous tribes. About 70 tribes have yet to make formal contact with the outside world. Less than 200,000 indigenous people live in the rainforest.
Language: Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish widely spoken elsewhere, many languages spoken by indigenous people.
Amazon River: Second longest in the world - 6,400 km from Andes to Atlantic Ocean.
Total Land Area: 5,500,000 km² (2,123,562 sq. mi.) in the Amazon basin

 About the Amazon
The Amazon is an area of tropical evergreen broadleaf rainforest covering half a billion square kilometres over 9 countries in the northern area of South America. The forest receives a high rainfall (more than 2,000 mm or 80 inches annually) throughout the year.

The life force of the Amazon rainforest is the Amazon River, which trickles down from the Andes Mountains at the west of the Amazon basin, and covers a distance of about 6,400 km (4,000 miles) before draining into the Atlantic Ocean at Belem, Brazil. The Amazon accounts for about 20% of the total water carried to the oceans by rivers and is fed by some 1,100 tributaries, 17 of which are thousands of kilometres long, with the entire network covering some 6 million square kilometres. 

Why is the Amazon so important?
The Amazon rainforest has been described as the lungs of our planet because of its crucial role in recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. About half the world’s tropical rainforests are in Brazil and Peru, in the Amazon region. Due to deforestation, rainforests now cover less than 5% of the Earth’s land surface, and experts believe that this is a big contributor to global climate change.

The biodiversity of the Amazon rainforest is of profound importance to the wellbeing of mankind and in fact, the planet. Apart from the fact that it is responsible for global ecological services such as water filtration and carbon sequestration (locking carbon into trees, recycling the oxygen into the atmosphere), the rainforest is also a giant pharmacy with tremendous unrealised potential for treating diseases. For example, more than 120 prescription drugs sold worldwide come from plant-derived sources. Although 25% of western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients, less that 1% of these tropical trees and plants have been tested by scientists. Some of the medical problems solved with rainforest plants include malaria (the bark of the cinchona tree produces quinine), while strokes, seizure, depression and heart disease have been treated with a drug developed from the secretions of an Amazonian frog called Phyllomedusa bicolour. Meanwhile, at least 80% of the developed world’s diet derives from the rainforest, including corn, potatoes, rice, sugar, spices, vanilla, avocadoes, tomatoes and bananas.

Scientists estimate that more than half of all the world’s plant and animal species live in rainforest, with one in ten known species of the world live in the Amazon rainforest. This constitutes the largest collection of living plants and animal species in the world.

Why visit the Amazon?
A visit to the Amazon rainforest of Peru, Brazil or Ecuador with Tucan Travel offers the opportunity to breathe in some of the purest air on the planet and see some of the world’s most amazing birds and animals in their natural habitat. From bullet ants to tarantulas, jaguars to capybaras, piranhas to giant river otters, capuchins to howler monkeys and much more, this is an important destination not to be missed.

History of the Amazon
The warm, wet forests of the Americas have been in existence for 55 million years, and thrived even during glacial periods, allowing for the evolution of an unparalleled diversity of species. Radiocarbon dating has revealed trees of 10cm diameter to be more than 300 years old, and some trees over 1000 years old, indicating that untouched forests can experience incredible longevity.

The first human inhabitants are thought to have settled in the Amazon region about 11,200 years ago. European explorers arrived in the 16th century, bringing diseases which travelled faster than the colonisers themselves, killing perhaps as many as 90% of the indigenous inhabitants. By the late 17th century the Amazon basin was dominated by Portuguese and Spanish explorers. Intense deforestation began in the 20th century, with 587,000 km lost up to the year 2000. Most deforested land is used for livestock pasture, agriculture and the cultivation of crops like soy beans (Brazil). The addition of transport routes has lead to increased settlement and deforestation, and at the current rate, scientists estimate that the Amazon rainforest will be reduced by 40% in two decades.

Amazon flora and fauna
The Amazon basin region is home to about 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and some 2,000 birds and mammals. To date, at least 40,000 plant species, 3,000 fish, 1,294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles have been scientifically classified in the region. One in five of all the birds in the world live in the rainforests of the Amazon. Scientists have described between 96,660 and 128,843 invertebrate species in Brazil alone.

The diversity of plant species is the highest on Earth with some experts estimating that one square kilometre may contain over 75,000 types of trees and 150,000 species of higher plants. One square kilometer of Amazon rainforest can contain about 90,790 tonnes of living plants. An estimated 438,000 species of plants of economic and social interest have been registered in the region with many more remaining to be discovered or catalogued.


When should I go to the Amazon?
Brazil
Because of its proximity to the equator, the temperatures in the Amazonas region of Brazil are warm all year round. The most important seasonal differences are rainy/wet and dry season. In this region the rainy season runs roughly from mid December through early May, the temperature is a bit cooler than the dry season of June to early December. There is only a 5 degree difference in the average temperature between months though.

The advantage of travelling in the rainy season between January and May is that riverside plants fruit and flower during this period, attracting birds and monkeys to the water’s edge. Though it can rain slightly more in the rainy season, it usually rains most days in the dry season too.

In the dry season the water levels in most of the rivers begin to drop, revealing sandy beaches. From November through January, it’s possible to see millions of migratory fish laying their eggs in the shallower waters, and it’s this abundance of fish that attracts nesting birds like terms, Black Skinners and even turtles and caiman to take advantage of the readily available food supply.

Peru
Although it is generally easier to travel to the Peruvian Amazon during the dry season, there is very little variation in temperature throughout the year, so the best time to travel is whenever it suits your schedule best. It rains all year round so make sure you bring a rain jacket or poncho and perhaps waterproof trousers no matter when you travel.

During the dry season, generally June to September, sudden friajes (cold fronts) bring rain and cold weather to Tambopata / Madre de Dios, especially in July, so it pays to be prepared for the worst. Temperatures can drop from 32°C (90°F) to 10°C (50°F) overnight.  However, there are fewer mosquitoes and that can make the experience more comfortable.

The jungle experiences its wettest months in the period of December through May, but even then the rain rarely falls for more than a few hours at a time. However, many people prefer to visit during the wet season due to the higher water levels of jungle rivers.

How Tucan Travel travels to the Amazon
Tambopata, Peru
Discovery Tours
Some Discovery Tours to Peru include a 3 day / 2 night excursion to the Tambopata National Reserve. Officially created in 1990, the Tambopata - Candamo Reserved Zone is located east and south of Puerto Maldonado. It comprises 1.5 million hectares (3.5 millions acres) of the Madre de Dios and Puno regions.

We stay at the Explorer's Inn eco lodge approximately 3 ½ hours motorised canoe ride from Puerto Maldonado (part of this journey may be undertaken in a land vehicle, depending on the season). The eco lodge has been in operation for over 30 years and supports research into a host of projects undertaken by resident naturalists who are willing to share their vast knowledge about their projects with visitors. Activities at the lodge include free time to enjoy the jungle surrounds, a night-time nocturnal animal spotting excursion, then a trek through the jungle (or free time if preferred) on day 2, accompanied by expert naturalists. There is a fascinating museum on site, including displays describing the latest research undertaken at the lodge, plus opportunities for visitors to leave their own record of the bird and animal sightings they’ve made while at the lodge.

Belém to Manaus, Brazil
Overland Expeditions & Budget Expeditions
During certain Overland Expeditions and Budget Expeditions a cruise up the Amazon River by riverboat from Belém,1,368 kilometres into the jungle is included in the tour. At the start of this adventure the river is narrow as we travel through one of the hundreds of estuaries in the delta but then it widens to in excess of 10 kilometres and it is still around 8 kilometres wide at our destination, the city of Manaus. As we cruise upriver the boat stays fairly close to the shoreline to avoid the stronger currents coming downstream in the centre of the river, which also allows for good views of the flora and fauna along the river.

Accommodation on the riverboat is in hammocks for 5 nights (depending on the river current) and usually, each boat has a bar on board plus all meals are included. A stop is generally made at the port city of Santarem. On board the river ferry you can relax, read books and enjoy incredible sunsets, keep an eye out for the pink dolphins on the first couple of days, before eventually arriving in Manaus with new Brazilian friends and fond memories of the mighty Amazon. In Manaus there is an opportunity to join an exciting optional excursion deep into the jungle by boat or dugout canoe in search of caiman, fresh water dolphins, jaguar and other animals.

Example Overland Expeditions and Budget Expeditions which visit the Brazil Amazon
Contact us for more travel options or try our Advanced Search

Travel Style	Tour Name	Route	Duration
Overland Expeditions	Circuito	Quito to Quito	171 days / 170 nights
Overland Expeditions	Amazonia	Rio to Caracas	70 days / 69 nights
Budget Expeditions	Andes Plus Amazon	Quito to Caracas	129 days / 128 nights
Budget Expeditions	Amazon Trail	Caracas to Rio	56 days / 55 nights

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
Expedition Cruises
Our Amazon expedition cruise delves deep into the heart of the Brazilian rainforest, travelling up the Rio Negro and culminating at the Amazon River itself.

During the journey we explore three kinds of tropical forest, known as igapo, terre firme and varzea, observing diverse and fascinating plant and animal life along the way. Experience the jungle on foot, listening to the songs of colourful birds and perhaps howler monkeys call overhead, then swim off deserted beaches in water as pure as rain. We also visit the homes of deep forest settlers to learn about their culture and the important survival skills that are passed from generation to generation.

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Michualli, Ecuador
Adventure Tours, Overland Expeditions, Budget Expeditions
It is possible to visit the Amazon rainforest as an optional excursion on Budget Expeditions, Overland Expeditions and Adventure Tours which travel to Ecuador. The excursion commences in Mishualli and lasts for 3 nights and 4 days, giving you an insight into life in the Amazonian rainforest. You will have an opportunity to visit an animal rescue centre, then take a trek in the jungle through primary forest near the Arajuno River. You may see tiny frogs, giant ants, bromeliads, wood vines, giant trees, strangling figs, colourful birds, an array of insect life, balsa trees and much more. We also visit a Kichwa Indian Museum to learn about the traditions of upper Napo River communities. A truly wonderful excursion.

Health
Malaria, yellow fever, rabies and dengue fever can be a risk in the Amazon. Contact your travel health professional for a full risk assessment at least 6 weeks before you travel as you may need to obtain medications or vaccinations in advance.