Reserva Nacional Pacaya Samiria — Attraction in Puinahua

I put my life in the hands of my guide Jose, to camp in the Amazon rainforest here, and it paid off handsomely. Diverse wildlife and unspoilt natural beauty at every turn, in this otherworldly National Park. It is really not an easy part of the world to get to, but that was part of the attraction for me. There are options such as river cruises and lodge stays for the travellers who don't want to rough it, but if you want to camp here, you need to abandon the modern luxuries you are accustomed to, and accept the dangers that present themselves here. I did not have a shower, brush my teeth, or have internet for 5 days, but I had one of the best times of my life. I also encountered many things that can kill you here, such as snakes, spiders, crocodiles and even lethal frogs, but my expert Amazonian guide prioritised my safety every time, and gave me an immersive educational experience, that your best nature documentary could never replicate. We brought food and camping and cooking equipment with us, but lived off of the land when we had to. We travelled by boat on the rivers to make up long distances and also stayed at an indigenous village along the way. The night walks in the jungle were exhilarating, wearing a head torch, the cacophony of nocturnal creatures ringing in your ears, with your guide ploughing the furrow while wielding his machete. One night we walked for 6 hours to get to a lagoon and back - not for the faint hearted! Everything seems giant in this place. The trees, the palm fronds, the birds and even the bugs. Real Jurassic Park stuff here. Do not attempt to explore here without an experienced local guide. It's probably more practical to jump off a high building to get the same result. This national park is one of the most uniquely beautiful places in the world and I would advise any nature lover to visit here to have some of the best memories...

Beautiful natural reserve. Loads of different kinds of birds, fishes and monkeys, crocodiles, dolphins, sloths, otters, snakes and any kind of bug. I recommend to visit the reserve through Lagunas (5h fast boat from Yurimaguas) instead of Iquitos which is much more touristy and expensive. I also recommend to do a tour of 5 days minimum to see more animals, walk in the jungle and fish with the locals. I organised the tour from the hostel Yacuruna in Yurimaguas, they're in contact with "Los delfines" agency in Lagunas. Possible to negotiate to 130 soles/pers/day. Do not include transportation to and from Lagunas and accommodation there the first and last night. In the jungle: beware of mosquitos, loads of them and they are very hungry at dawn and sunset. Wear wide (they bite through tight clothes) and long sleeve clothes (but light because it's warm) and make use of repellent (min 30% DET). During the tour mosquitos nets are installed. Before the tour discuss the kind and amount of food you want, they tend to prepare way too much (3 big meals per day where as you don't move to much all day) and to fry too much. Ask for "pescado a la plancha / bbq" and you clean it yourself from bones. Since it's a lot of work they won't propose it to often if they have to clean it...

We stayed at The Treehouse Lodge and then cruised the river within the reserve on the Zafiro. The two experiences duplicated one another, so I would not recommend doing them both. The time we spent was focused on the confluence of the Marañon and Yucalali particularly the tributary Yurapa that went up along side the Tree House Lodge. It seemed we passed through the same stretches of water at least seven or eight times which was a little disappointing. The river banks appear much the same differing only in the width of the river. We visited a couple of villages which as one might expect are becoming somewhat commercialized. Perhaps the best part of our experience in the reserve was the night walks and the cool breezes just boating along the water. Naturally it was fun to see the pink dolphins and to watch monkeys jump from tree to tree...