Amazon Rainforest Holidays from the UK

Amazon Rainforest Holidays

The Amazon is one of those destinations that makes the most seasoned of travellers go all misty-eyed, and our holidays to the Amazon rainforest help you make the most of this unique environment.

Whether you just want to dip into the jungle for a few days, or you want to plan an extended stay to experience everything the Amazon rainforest has to offer, we can design a tailor-made holiday just for you.

We work with a huge range of jungle lodges, tour guides and even luxury riverboats to ensure that you can plan the Amazon rainforest holiday that's right for you, whether you want to explore from a lodge, watch the rainforest drift by from the comfort of a riverboat cabin, or camp out under the jungle stars...

  • Deepest, Darkest Peru

    • Length: 9 days
    • From: £1695pp
    • Highlights: Amazon River, Pacaya Samiria

    This adventure holiday in Peru's Amazon jungle includes a night camping in the heart of the Peruvian rainforest for an amazing wildlife experience in the Pacaya-Samiria reserve ...

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  • Andes to Amazon

    • Length: 14 days
    • From: £2495pp
    • Highlights: Amazon Rainforest, Cusco & Machu Picchu

    Take in two very different sides of Peru as you travel firstly into the heart of the lush Amazon rainforest, before climbing up into the Andes to explore the Inca heartlands around Cusco and Machu Picchu...

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  • Amazon Adventure

    • Length: 10 days
    • From: £2350pp
    • Highlights: Amazon Rainforest, Manaus, Iguazu

    If you're a wildlife lover, then this holiday to Brazil's Amazon rainforest, staying in a superb jungle lodge, is the perfect way to experience the largest rainforest on earth...

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  • Lodge to Lodge

    • Length: 9 days
    • From: £2095pp
    • Highlights: Tambopata Reserve

    This in-depth tour of the Tambopata Reserve stays in two different lodges so that you can experience the different jungle ecosystems that exist within Tambopata ...

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  • Amazon Deluxe

    • Length: 6 days
    • From: £3795pp
    • Highlights: Luxury Amazon Cruise

    This has to be hands-down the most luxurious way to experience the Amazon jungle: just sit back on the balcony of your luxury cabin and watch as the wonders of the Amazon unfold around you ...

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  • Amazon Adventure

    • Length: 10 days
    • From: £1895pp
    • Highlights: Amazon Rainforest, Quito

    This holiday in Ecuador gives you the chance to enjoy an extended period of time in the incredible bio-diversity of the Amazon rainforest ...

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  • Gran Boliviano

    • Length: 16 days
    • From: £3495pp
    • Highlights: Uyuni, Lake Titicaca, Amazon, Sucre, Potosi

    Our Gran Boliviano holiday takes you through all the highlights of Bolivia, from the dizzy heights of Lake Titicaca, the historic altiplano and the bizarre Uyuni salt flats, right down into the steamy Madidi rainforest ...

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Tambopata vs the Northern Amazon

The Peruvian Amazon

Taken altogether, the Amazon rainforest covers almost two-thirds of Peru, and every inch of it is packed full of wildlife and adventure... In fact, Peru's Amazon rainforest is one of the most bio-diverse places on earth, home to nearly 1,500 unique animal species, over 800 species of birds, 2,500 classes of butterflies and 64 recognised tribes of people, including some of the last 'uncontacted' groups on earth.

Among the animals to be found in the Amazon jungle in Peru are some of the world's rarest and most endangered species, such as the pink river dolphin, the Amazonian Manatee, and the Three-toed Sloth. What's fantastic about visiting the Peruvian Amazon is that once you move away from the area of human habitation, and into areas such as the amazing Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, you are rewarded with pristine primary rainforest and the chance to get up close to jaguars, anacondas and all the other usually reclusive denizens of the Amazon...

The Northern Amazon or Tambopata?

There are two main areas of the Amazon in Peru: the northern Amazon including the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, and the southern Amazon basin, centred on the world-famous Tambopata Reserve. Both have different pros and cons, so here's a quick look at what each has to offer.

Lodge in the Peruvian Amazon

The Tambopata Reserve covers a massive 3.5 million acres and provides a refuge for some of the Amazon's most endangered wildlife. Nearly 700 bird species have been observed in Tambopata, together with 1300 butterfly species, 90 types of amphibian, and over 100 species of mammals, including many that are now almost unknown elsewhere in the Amazon. Jaguars, tapirs and spider monkeys can all be found here, as well as large numbers of other monkeys, caiman, peccarys, giant otters and sloths.

Tambopata also offers arguably the pick of Peru's jungle lodges, including the best luxury rainforest lodges in Peru. With regular flights from the town of Puerto Maldonado to both Lima and Cusco, it also fits in well to wider holidays in Peru, including sites like Machu Picchu.

The Northern Amazon from Iquitos

However, if you want your Amazon adventure to include the actual River Amazon (as opposed to 'just' the Amazon basin) then you'll need to head a little further north and fly into the city of Iquitos. This jungle metropolis has over half a million inhabitants but has no road or rail links with the outside world - you'll have to fly here from Lima (or in July and August only, from Cusco). In fact, until the advent of air travel, Iquitos had closer links with Europe than with the rest of Peru as travelling all the way down the Amazon and across the Atlantic was actually quicker than getting through the jungle and over the Andes to Lima!

From Iquitos you can visit a range of jungle lodges, take a cruise on the River Amazon, or head into the stunning Pacaya-Samiria Reserve. This is arguably the most pristine rainforest in the whole of Peru and offers unparalleled wildlife-spotting opportunities but... there aren't any lodges so you'll need to be prepared to camp or just take day trips into the Reserve.

Tamarin in the Brazilian Amazon

The Amazon in Brazil

Brazil contains over 60% of the vast Amazon rainforest, and this last untapped wilderness is a haven for wildlife as well as providing some of the greatest jungle adventures on earth... Animals outnumber humans by thousands to one in Brazil's Amazon jungle, and we'll take you to see the pink dolphins and the albino monkeys, of course, but there are also trips to visit local villages and meet members of the tribes, night excursions by canoe out onto the Amazon river, guided tours out into the forest... and then there are the piranhas! Now, depending on how you feel about this most razor-toothed of Amazon rainforest animals, you can either fish for them or... go swimming with them!

You're also perfectly placed for cruises on the River Amazon itself, and for sights like the "Meeting of the Waters", where the dark waters of the Rio Negro meet the coffee-coloured Rio Solimoes. Holidays visiting Brazil's Amazon rainforest give you an unbelievable experience - it's humbling to know that you are surrounded by an environment which hasn't changed in 10,000 years.

Map of the Amazon jungle in Ecuador

Ecuador's Amazon Jungle

With its warm equatorial location and varied geography, Ecuador is one of the most bio-diverse countries on earth. In fact, there are so many endemic species here that it has been described as a land of mega-diversity, and the Amazon jungle in Ecuador is one of the most bio-diverse places on earth...

Just to give you some idea of the incredible variety of wildlife waiting for you here in Ecuador's Amazon rainforest, you can find an estimated 25,000 species of plants (compared to only 17,000 in the whole of North America), 1600 species of birds, 350 species of reptiles and 370 species of mammals including monkeys, giant otters, giant guinea-pigs, sloths, spectacled bears, tapirs, jaguars and pumas - not bad for a country that's roughly the same size as Great Britain.

Of course, just like jungles elsewhere in the world, the Amazon jungle in Ecuador faces huge issues, with the destructive impact of oil exploration a particular problem. However, recent governments have imposed much stricter laws in this regard, so there is definitely hope for the future. Happily, where Ecuador does excel is in the sustainable nature of most of its Amazon jungle lodges. We work particularly with Amazon lodges that not only offer employment to the indigenous communities of the jungle as expert guides and trackers, but which are also completely owned and run by the community themselves, who manage tourism in a sustainable way that they are happy with, so you know that you are directly helping protect the rainforest and its people.

Amazon rainforest climate

Amazon Rainforest Climate

The Amazon rainforest climate is hot and humid throughout the year, with peak daytime temperatures rarely dropping below 30 degrees. However, the humidity is at its lowest in the dry season from June to September, and this is probably the best time to visit the Amazon rainforest.

That said, the rainy season shouldn't be dismissed if you're thinking of a trip into the Amazon - higher water levels can make it much easier to get into isolated sections of the rainforest which are otherwise inaccessible.

These seasonally-flooded areas, known as várzea forests are rich in plantlife because of the flood sediments which are deposited every year, and rich plantlife means rich wildlife: areas like the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve in northern Peru, and the Tambopata and Madidi Reserves in Peru and Bolivia, are classic examples of this.

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