Cruise the Amazon with Abercrombie and Kent

Day 1 – Arrive Iquitos
Late this afternoon arrive into Iquitos where you are met and transferred by air-conditioned vehicle to the river where your luxury cruiser awaits. Over the next three days, you will sail along the largest tributaries of the Amazon, as well as on the mighty Amazon itself. You are embarking on a spectacular adventure, to a place visited by only a few of even the most experienced world travellers. At a welcome dinner tonight sample some fine South American wine, and enjoy world-class cuisine, created by Executive Chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, whose restaurant, Malabar, is one of the best in Lima. Schiaffino’s recipes, with their imaginative use of local produce – fruits, fish, spices – make every meal a delightful adventure (D).

Day 2 – Amazon Cruise
Be up early to catch your first glimpse of the majestic Amazon River – watch the sun rise over this green world filled with wonderful wildlife. This initial contact with Amazonia is only a brief sampling of what the rest of your journey will hold. After breakfast board the comfortable excursion skiffs for your first adventure, travelling through the Huaysi short-cut canal to explore the Tahuayo black water river. As you float down the Tahuayo, occasional fishermen paddling in their dug-out canoes will give a cheerful greeting. Keep binoculars ready to spot a vast variety of wildlife: terns, orioles, blackbirds, black collared hawks, monkeys, and sloth. Upon arrival at Charo Lake, bait your hooks and try to catch one of Amazonia’s fearsome piranhas (and other fish as well). As you fish, trained guides will also tell you the story of the lake and its inhabitants. Return to the ship in time for lunch.

Late this afternoon embark on an exploration to the Yacapana Islands, the “Iguana Islands,” so named for the number of these reptiles which crawl over the ground and rest in the tree tops. You will pass by in the skiff with chances for photographs. As the sun sets, you will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see and photograph both grey and pink freshwater dolphins. Once the sun sets and the jungle is dark, begin the search for caiman, frogs and different kinds of nocturnal wildlife (B,L,D).
MV Aqua or MV Aria

Day 3 – Amazon Cruise
Today you can choose between two options:

Option 1: Full-day excursion with a Picnic Lunch at Ranger Station No. 2. Travel by skiff from Yanayacu Creek all the way to remote Yarina – Park Ranger Station No. 2. On this excursion, you may see howler and capuchin monkeys, the squirrel-sized monkeys called tamarins, pink and grey river dolphins, and a vast variety of birds. You are taken deep into the jungle, where you will encounter wildlife and learn first-hand about the important medicinal value of jungle plants. See the famous Kapok Trees (ceiba pentandra), the tallest in the Amazon Basin. Enjoy a generous picnic lunch at the Park Ranger Station No. 2, before returning to the vessel.

Option 2: Guided Jungle Walk/Siesta/Monkey and Dolphin Expedition. This morning your Park Ranger will tell you all about sustainable resource management projects in Amazonia. Visit one of the projects, where villagers are planting palms to obtain oil. Return to the boat in time for lunch.

Late this afternoon on another excursion, you are likely to see the two different kinds of freshwater dolphins-including the unusual pink ones-found in the Amazon. 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. You may catch a glimpse of tamarins and howlers, dusky titi monkeys and pigmy marmoset monkeys. Watch for alligators, and keep your binoculars at the ready, as you are likely to see more than 200 species of birds (B,L,D).
MV Aqua or MV Aria

Day 4 – Depart Iquitos
This morning, the M/V Aqua skirts the edges of the vast Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, a flooded forest covering five million acres at the headwaters of the Amazon basin. Rise early and be on your skiffs to view one of the great spectacles of the Southern Hemisphere: the sun rising over 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-nature is at its most dramatic. Your dawn excursion will be accompanied by abundant bird song, as you glide in small boats past river banks populated by large-billed terns, laughing falcons, grey tanagers, sandpipers, five kinds of parakeets, the exotic short-tailed parrot, and dozens of other birds.

We will travel by skiff to Puerto Miguel native village, where you can meet and interact with local villagers from this most remote part of the world, and can learn a bit more about their culture, traditions, and folklore. You will also have the chance to purchase local handicrafts. On the way back to the Aqua we will navigate on a small connector canal between the Ucayali and Marañon Rivers, where you will have a chance to see the world’s largest aquatic plant, the giant water lilies or “Victoria Regias.”

After lunch disembark and visit the Manatee Rescue Centre, where biologists and volunteers care for endangered Amazon manatees that conservation authorities have seized from local people and fishermen. Biologists will give a presentation about the project and its efforts to help these helpless mammals. You will also see how the manatees are cared for and are prepared for re-introduction into their natural habitat.
Check-in for the return flight* to Iquitos (B,L).

*Flight not included.

Note: 4 and 7 night cruises also available.

A&K Special Inclusions
Assistance with luggage and transportation by air-conditioned transport – all meals on board – services of English-speaking guides – daily jungle excursions on shared basis – soft drinks, water and wine with meals.