PeruNorth's musings on events & destinations in Northern Peru, Amazonia ... and beyond. Detailed tour reviews.
The Roenickes from Florida took a deep dive into the Peruvian Amazon in May 2025, beginning with a 7-day visit to Tambopata Research Center, before flying to Iquitos in the north of the country for a 5-day cruise on the M/V Zafiro.
With almost two thirds of Peru being classified as being within Amazonia, there are numerous entry points to the ‘selva’. However, the two most popular starting points for a Peruvian Amazon adventure are the cities of Puerto Maldonado in Southern Peru, and Iquitos in the North.
A common question, then, is which one is ‘better’. An understandable, but very tricky, question!
A visit to Peru's Amazon is not all about adventure and adrenaline. There is nothing more pleasurable than enjoying the heat of the jungle, while relaxing in a pool. And luckily for visitors to Iquitos, there are a number of ways to do this, both in the city and the surrounding rain forest.
Anne, from Edegem in Belgium booked an itinerary with nine nights in Manu, staying at four different lodges, and descending over 2,000m, by private vehicle and motorboat, to end in the low-jungle city of Puerto Maldonado.
After a night here, Anne was then off to another lodge, Chuncho, to enjoy its nearby kollpa on three separate mornings, before a final two nights beside Lake Sandoval.
Here is a pictorial diary of her epic Amazonian experience:
Bruce and Martha, an adventurous couple in their 60s from Tennessee, put together an ambitious itinerary with PeruNorth, eschewing Machu Picchu to take in lesser-visited parts of Peru that encompassed a full range of the country’s contrasting geography: coast, desert, mountains and jungle.
Melissa & George Kaiser of Bend, Oregon made a five-week trip to Peru in February / March, 2024
Melissa had been to school in Lima in the late ‘60s, and was keen to reconnect with the country of her youth!
PeruNorth organised the middle three weeks:
first an epic two-week overland trip from Lima to Mancora, taking in many of the coastal archaeological highlights along the way
then a week spent in Arequipa and Colca Canyon.
Here are their thoughts on the experience:
Jenny & Melissa from Sheffield, S. Yorks spent two nights at Treehouse Lodge, in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, in December 2023, as part of a 3-month backpacking trip to South America.
Here are their comments on the experience:
Elaine from Los Altos Hills, CA originally planned a solo Galapagos & Peru trip for March 2022, but had to postpone on medical grounds. She was finally able to make the trip, in the company of Morriss, in February 2024
Their itinerary included Lima, Cusco and - quite unusually - time at both an Amazon lodge in Southern Peru and on an Amazon cruise in Northern Peru.
Their original visit to Machu Picchu was cancelled, but luckily they had extra time in their itinerary and were able to rearrange.
Here are her thoughts on the experience.
Multinational couple - Stephen Collins from the UK and Tammy Alvarez from the US, who are now resident in Mexico City - spent a week at Muyuna Amazon Lodge in late February, 2024.
