Delfin 500 Discovering the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve
5 days - 4 nights
Monday departure
Day 1 (Monday) Arrival to Iquitos
05:00 pm. Arrival to Iquitos City
Soon after you arrive at Francisco Secada Viñeta, Iquitos International Airport, you will be kingly assisted by our guides and transported by bus for about 1 ½ hour, taking north west direction toward Nauta City (the oldest city within the Loreto´s Department) This is a connector city between Iquitos and the Marañon River, where the DELFIN is waiting for you.
07:30 pm. Arrival to Nauta City and boarding the DELFIN
Upon arrival to Nauta City, our skiffs will be waiting for you to take you to board the “DELFIN”, where you will be personally assisted by our experienced crew. You will be set in an all wooden handmade first class cabin, furnished with comfortable orthopedic mattresses, all prime high quality pure natural cotton fibers sheets, 100% latex pillow, cotton bathrobes, silent A/C split system units at your own set-up temperature and private bathroom of fine wooden furnishings and hot shower heads Spanish type. It will become clear that you are traveling where few have gone before. In fact, you will become one of only a handful of seasoned world traveler who has ever visited the remote Pacaya Samiria Reserve, five million acre reserve, really a flooded forest, roughly the size of a Central American country. A world of flora and fauna will meet you in this wonderful experience.
08:00 pm. Happy hour
Just before dust, while the DELFIN starts its journey into the rainforest, cruising up the Amazon River, you will enjoy a breath taking Amazonian night view from the comfort of our third deck (Top Observation Deck) while our experienced barman and staff provide you with a wide variety of drinks and cocktails including the finest and most famous Peruvian traditional cocktail called “PiscoSour”, made out of Pisco, a genuinely Peruvian grape- based liquor made from more than 5 different kinds of grapes grown on the south pacific coastal valleys of Perú. Fine regional cigars will also be available.
08:30 pm. Dinner
We will calm your first night appetite, serving dinner at our cozy dining room located at the backside of the second deck of the ship. Mainly due to its wide cultural diversity, Peruvian cuisine is considered as one of the best cuisines in the world, making of Peru one of the most attractive culinary destinations. This is why, we at the DELFIN, besides taking you to your first rainforest adventure, you will also have a unique culinary experience, enjoying the best of the Amazonian Peruvian cuisine, with dishes cooked in different styles and seasoned with the widest variety of herbs and spices, as well as exotic fruits, rich in color and taste, all delicately prepared on board by our highly qualified Chef and kitchen staff who will spoil you during your whole journey. For those who are on a diet or are allergic to certain ingredients, the kitchen will also consider an especially alternative menu, always in the same gourmet style.
09:30 pm. Briefing and relax time
At the third Deck (top observation deck), with the use of charts and short videos displayed on our flat LCD screen, our guides, will conduct a brief orientation, outlining details of your journey, including references of the itinerary, places you will visit, animal wildlife as well as of the historical and geographical background of the Amazon Basin. Finally, under the beauty of an Amazonian night, filled with hundreds of stars or perhaps a full moon, the sweet gentle breeze of the rainforest, our multitalented staff would briefly entertain the rest of the evening with a little live music, while you enjoy a cool after meal drink and a fine Amazonian cigar.
Day 2 (Tuesday) Yanallpa – Dorado River (breakfast – lunch – dinner)
06:00 am. Breakfast – Buffet
Dawn and dusk are ideal times for nature observation, early rising is therefore highly recommended, so in your first morning, coffee will wake us up, and delicious panqueques will be a nice choice for this new morning of adventure and new surprises. In your first morning with us, our experience kitchen staffs will indulge you with a really Amazonian breakfast. The aroma of coffee and a hot breakfast fill the air…You will be introduced to the wonderful and exotic fruits these region offer, but also different natural juices, very flavourish meats, omelet’s, pancaques, cereal, yogurts and different kind of breads
07:00 am. Yanallpa exploration, Belluda Stream or Jungle walks
Rainy Season (dec – may) Belluda Stream exploration. Aboard the skiffs, we will explore this black water stream; we will continue learning about the rainforest and its wonderful dynamic. This is also located within the Pacaya Samiria national reserve, you will have the chance to see the amazing wildlife of this place called by scientist “gallery forest” because of the narrow vegetation, forming sometimes like a foliage tunnel, this is an easy place to find parrots, macaws and monkeys, actually fluffy monkey is also found here (its real name is monk Saki monkey)large shaggy gray and black body hair, naked face and long shaggy tail that are active only during the day, leaves in small family groups, saddle back tamarin monkey, whose high chirping notes can easily be confused with sounds of a bird flock.
Very good spot to see the beautiful morpho butterflies that flaps lazily along open corridors through forest or along river edges of lowland forest during sunny days. Different species of hawks will also be found and if we are lucky enough the noisy “laughing falcon” often gives its loud falsetto “laughing” call in the morning, while sitting solitary in secondary forest and plantations.
Dry Season (Jun – Nov) Hiking at Yanallpa Community
We will make a very interesting jungle walk inside the Yanallpa Community, we will explore the surroundings of this two different kind of ecosystems, “Flooded forest and Terra Firme Forest” first we will disembark at the native village and then we will start our morning hick, we will encounter the wild Amazonian flora and fauna, very good opportunities to find transitional species such as snail kite, black tailed ant bird, different kinds of manikins tanagers, humming birds, donacobious, woodpeckers, nun birds, orioles, blackbirds, etc.
Also, in these surrounding forests we may appreciate tropical trees, full of epiphytes, woody vines and different types of palms. After an hour walk we would get to a beautiful lagoon where two hand built-dug-out canoes will be waiting for us, you are in the midst of one of the most remote, least visited areas in the world. This lagoon is full of the endangered and unique fresh water fish, the largest in the Amazon Basin called “Paiche”, who grows to be more than 80kg. (170 lb) of the most delicious and huge fillets you have ever eaten, you will hear him breathing just next to you, while we will look for the peculiar crested hoatzin bird with olive-colored plumage who leaves in small family groups along forested swamps and cochas.
After this peculiar experience we will go back hiking to the boat, icy towels will be provided on the way back, while we will continue in search of the wild life around us. We will have good chances of finding the smallest monkey in the world the pigmy marmoset, seen only at its sap-sucking sites low on tree trunks.
11:00 am. Back to the boat
We will continue upstream towards our next destination.
12:30 pm. Lunch
Coming in from the depth of the forest, having spotted rare wild life and sitting down to a world-class gourmet meal will be the treat for this afternoon lunch. Our young and innovative chef will surprise your sophisticated palates, while introducing you to the pleasures of Peru´s haute cuisine. This unique culinary gourmet menu have been designed specially to please you, the menu will feature glorious fresh fish and other local delicacies, all prepared with an Amazonian flair and our personal touch.
03:30 pm. El Dorado River exploration
We will head for this spectacular spot, within the Pacaya Samiria Reserve also, where you will also experience an unforgettable encounter with dolphins, gray and pink. Optional for anyone who would like to swim with them, you are more than welcome to join the daring. On the river you will experience the world as it is here, were wildlife is abundant and trees grows tall, flowers blooms everywhere, also, we will be searching for the amazons river transitional forest specialties such us snail kite, festive parrots, the endangered scarlet macaw, olive spotted hummingbird, Amazonian paroled, wood creeper, among others. Pre-historic looking iguanas, like mini-dinosaurs, laze in the sun while we travel alone the shoreline searching for whatever the jungle offer us. Squirrel Monkeys are very active at this time of the day, when its large noisy troops moves at mid to upper levels of primary and secondary lowlands forest.
06:30 pm. Back to the boat
We will continue our navigation towards our next destination
07:00 pm. Happy Hour
Our bar is open and our barman is waiting to serve you a new combination of regional fruits and drinks, while lying and relaxing, the “DELFIN” will continue its journey upstream the Ucayali River towards the Puinahua River.
08:00 pm. Dinner
The service continues. Wine pairings will includes some of the best South American vintages. Desserts are also a wonderful treat on our menu, so let’s just enjoy
09:30 pm. Relaxation on board
Our staff and guides will be there to answer any question about what we have already seen and visit. While feeling the nice warm breeze of the Amazon night, fine cigars and sweet drinks will be available for you before falling asleep to the musical sounds of the jungle. Don’t forget to look up to the skies, you will find that the feast continues, with millions of shining stars on the deep black night or perhaps a full moon that light up the entire river, you never know, the jungle will continue surprising you as the days goes on.
Day 3 (Wednesday) Atun Poza Lake – Rio Pacaya (breakfast – lunch – dinner)
07:00 am. Breakfast – Buffet
As usual our dining room and kitchen staff are waiting for you; fresh ground coffee grown in the highlands of the Amazon and local fruits will be there for you to continue your jungle experience.
08:00 am. Atun Poza expedition
Rainy Season (Dec – May) Atun Poza by skiffs We will get ready for our next adventure, this morning we will be cruising alone this intricate lake called Atun Poza, we will obviously surprise several species of egrets, herons, hawks, long-legged neotropical cormorants fishing for their dinner, the unusual horned screamers.
We will also have a chance to explore other black water lagoons linked to this huge lake, were watt-led jacanas competes with a wide variety of spiders, grasshoppers, dragonflies, butterflies, moths, beetles, etc. who leaves in the grassy edges and lily pads of freshwater swamps and marshes of the lake. Very good chances to see the unique social spiders and how they embrace huge parts of a tree while needing their webs.
Dry Season (Jun – Nov) hiking at Atun Poza
This morning, we will have a hiking activity through this pristine zone, this unique ecosystem, will allow us to go through a classic tropical rainforest with emergent trees and deciduous or evergreen canopy trees reaching 40 to 55 mt in height. Tree buttresses are very common and often extend high up on trunks, palms are abundant, often stilt roots. Vines and epiphytes are usually abundant too. Biologically, this kind of forest is probably the richest habitats on earth, supporting the most species of both, plants and animal per unit area. Our target, two things, the giant Ceiba tree or Cotton Kapok tree, you will be amazed of the diameter of these huge tree, and if we are lucky enough the giant otter with its large body, dark fur with spotted throat and noisy call, that nest in a small stream inside this forest. We must be very quiet, because if they hear us they will swim away. This is also very good for spotting birds, like the bluish-fronted jacamar that are seen in pairs in middle and lower parts of forest edges, or collared trogons, red capped cardinal, etc.
11:00 am. Back to the vessel
We will continue upstream Puinahua River towards the Pacaya River, our main destination, the very heart of the Pacaya Samiria Reserve, for further exploration of the largest wetland reserve in the world.
12:30 pm. Lunch
There are more delicious combinations for you in this afternoon lunch. Our chef has selected the best, to offer you a unique meal, so you just relax and enjoy. Let yourself be pampered by our staff.
04:00 pm. Pacaya River expedition
We have achieved our main goal, the Pacaya River, the very heart of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, a five million acre reserve, is the largest protected area in Perú, with a mean annual rainfall of nearly 3mt, further the largest wetland protected reserve in the world.
This river, filled with lakes, palm swamps, streams, becomes a flooded forest in the rainy season and will be one of the most beautiful sightings you will ever have.
Aboard our comfortable skiffs, we will go in search of the magnificent views and wildlife opportunities, from ranger station # 1, we will continue towards a black water lake called Yanayacu. In this occasion we will be leaving in the afternoon to let you experience the abundant and spectacular deep rainforest wilderness, searching for different species of monkeys, we will try to spot the red howler monkey, the larger in the Amazon basin, with bright rusty color and long prehensile tail, they leave in small family groups, and sit quietly or moves slowly during the day through the upper levels of forested rivers. Capuchin monkeys are active during the day also, large noisy troops move at all levels from the ground to canopy.
While the sun is setting you will be astonished by the beautiful colors in the sky and the reflection of the jungle in this black river waters, that is why scientist call this the “Mirror Forest” you will not now were the jungle and the water ends. Once is dark enough, you will continue enjoying listening the second shift of the Amazonian symphony. Afterwards, we will start our night safari, with powerful spot light torch, to go in search of night sightings, night herons, pauraque, and spectacle owl, frogs up to a dozen species might be calling at one time at some grassy edges, fishing vats usually seen flying over water at night hunting for fish.
Huge caimans are found in this pristine area, specially two kinds of them, Spectacle caiman and black caimans, so our guides will point them to you. Stargazing at this time is unique while fireflies enlighten the jungle around us.
08:00 pm. Back to the boat
We will be docked all night in front of Ranger Station # 1 on the Puinahua River.
08:30 pm. Dinner
After this night safari we will calm your appetite with wonderful dishes, so let the heart of the jungle captivate yours. Let us continue our first class service while you enjoy the wonders of the place around us.
Day 4 (Thursday) Pacaya River – Caro Curahuayte Lagoon (breakfast – lunch – dinner)
05:30 am. Wake up call
This morning we will start very early, we will have breakfast on board the skiffs, to have the opportunity to see as much wildlife is possible, while being into one of earth´s greatest wilderness.
06:00 am. Rio Pacaya – breakfast on board
Early rising will be very rewarding, parrots, macaws, toucans, kingfishers, black collared hawks, southern swallow, white wing swallow, manikins, well a big variety of birds, whole bunch of squirrel monkeys, etc. will be the first encounters this morning, you will have the chance to find other species of wildlife that you haven´t seen the day before.
As the sun starts heating up, we will continue along the shores spotting all the biodiversity of this flooded forest. Huge ceiba trees or Cotton Kapok trees, mahogany trees, strangler figs, epiphytes as bromeliads and orchids, palm trees, woody vines, nature excursion today will be the task until we approach a dolphin feeding spot. At this point, breakfast will be served, cold fresh juice, fresh fruits, and light sandwiches with coffee and/or tee while you will be watching the two different kinds of fresh water river dolphins swimming around the skiffs.
Afterwards, if you feel like it, you can just jump to the water and have a very refreshing morning swim, this will be a once in a lifetime experience, the place is beautiful, the water dark, clean and warm, deep blue skies, a very light breeze, just a perfect moment to enjoy the wild and unique Amazon Rainforest at its best.
11:30 am. Back to the Boat
We will start navigating back downstream Puinahua River towards Iquitos City.
12:30 pm. Lunch
At this time you know all the routine, our kitchen staff wants to welcome you again surprising you with the very sophisticated haute cuisine and a well balanced menu. Time for dessert also. Coffee will be ready at the bar in the Observation deck.
03:30 pm. Fishing at Caro Curahuayte Lake or Exploring Young Islands shores
Rainy Season – Fishing at Caro Curahuayte
On board our excursion skiffs, we will head to a beautiful lake for a spectacular spot, where we expect to catch some fish; the target, will be “piranhas”. During the rainier season, river flood and low forest have more than 1 mt (3 ft) of water standing at the base of the trees. Flowering and fruiting time coincide with this flooding, fish including piranhas swim in among the base of the trees to devour the fruit or chew at their outer coverings. So the undeserved super-carnivore reputation of piranhas as a bloody thirsty fish is really exaggerated. There are 25 different species of piranha in the Amazon basin, black, white, red bellied. They are so smart and fun to catch.
Dry Season – In search of shore-birds
At this time and on board of the skiff we will continue in search of shore-birds, at this, time while the river is very low, huge white sandy beaches merges and young river islands are formed. All these creates a special ecosystem in which different species of birds are found, sand pipers, terns in buoyant flight that hovers and then dives to catch fish, black skimmers with its peculiar low flight over water´s surface with lower parts of the bill skimming the water, egrets, jabirus, wood stock’s, king fisher’s.
05:30 pm. Back to the vessel
We will continue downstream Puinahua River towards the Ucayali River.
06:30 pm. Briefing and Slide Show
At this time our guides will make a review of all we have seen and learned, with the help of videos and a slide show at our flat TV, we will have the chance to see closer the birds, monkeys, reptiles, etc. Any question, this is the time to clear up any doubt. While the “DELFIN” continue its smooth navigating skills downstream towards our next destination, we will navigate all night long.
Our barman is ready to please you with your own private choice of drinks, coffee; tee will always be available for your self- service.
08:00 pm. Farewell Dinner
Leaving behind the wildlife, you will continue enjoying our upmost service, as a world class traveler deserves. Tonight our chef and kitchen staff will go wild and will treat you for a grill night dinner, fresh salads, grilled vegetables, magical sauces, wonderful combinations of different types of meat will be the choice.
After all these treats, coffee is available upstairs.
Our talented staff will delight you with some life music before you go to a very nice sleep.
Day 5 (Friday) Amazon River – Young River Islands (breakfast – lunch)
07:30 am: Breakfast – Buffet
This will be your last breakfast with us, so dare to have that, that you wouldn´t allow yourself. Natural fresh juices, fresh fruit, cereals, fresh ground coffee, well everything for this last morning with us.
09:30 am. Exploring the shores of Young River Islands
Taking our skiff, we will go in search of shore-birds as well as islander birds along the Amazon River such us Drab water tyrant, spotted sand pipers, egrets, king fisher’s.
These Islands are covered by fast-growing plants, as the Cecropia hollow tree, a pioneer specie, five meter high grasses (cane grass) and willows, these type of vegetation on the river islands often forms the bulk of a unique habitat to which more than ten species of birds are restricted. While the DELFIN continues its navigation we will do as well.
10:30 am. Back to the vessel
We will continue downstream the Amazon River and as we cruise along the shoreline we occasionally view small villages, these are small communities were their inhabitants leaves of fishing and harvesting the shores of the river.
This is also time to get all your belongings ready. It’s time to get your bags packed.
Please look around; you will not want to leave anything behind.
12:00 pm. arriving at Iquitos City and Islacocha our disembarking Port.
Soon after arrival, our ground staff and guides will assist you to disembark, and while resting at Islacocha, our VIP lounge, with a cool drink in your hands, you can do your check-out.
12:30 pm. Lunch at “al frio y al fuego” Floating Restaurant
You will continue enjoying our service, here in our floating restaurant “al frio y al fuego”, you will try the local cuisine, even though you are already in Iquitos, you will feel as your Amazon experience have not ended yet, because you will continue in the calm waters of the Itaya River, one of the thousand tributaries of the Amazon River.
02:00 pm. Back to Iquitos City
We will transfer you in our own wooden handmade boats back to our city private Port.
02:15 pm. Guided Panoramic City Tour
Finally on a comfortable air conditioned bus, you will enjoy a guided tour of this bustling frontier city, located 4 degrees south of the Equator and 3,700 km / 2300 ml from the river’s mouth in the Atlantic Ocean making it the world’s furthest inland seaport.
This brief panoramic city tour, down Iquitos town, will get you acquainted of some of the beautiful buildings still remaining from the rubber boom time stages.
Before proceeding to the airport, we will visit the San Juan Arts and Craft local Market, so if you would like to take home some Amazon souvenirs, this is the time to do it, and beautiful wooden works, palm tree baskets and seed works are displayed here.
03:30 pm Arrival at Iquitos International Airport
Our guides will help you with you check in. Just after that they will say goodbye to you.
05:30 pm. Flight departs back to Lima
Behold
The weather in Iquitos is warm and humid with average annual maximum temperature of 33°C (95°F) and minimum of 21°C (70°C)
The dry season from May to November
The wet season from December to April
These feature particular differences in the plant and animal life as well as in the climate. All activities are subject to change due to weather conditions and time of year. River and tributaries level may vary and thus navigation times and excursions may need to be modified at the captain´s discretion. Bring comfortable soft sole shoes, light weight pants and long sleeved tops, hat, sun glasses, lightweight rain gear, sunscreen, mosquito repellant, BINOCULARS, camera and spare batteries. Don’t forget to include some items that you can give away to the locals. (T-shirts, pens and paper are especially prized)
Tipping is expected by the crew and the guides, envelopes will be provided at your cabin.
