The jungle around Iquitos can be explored in a number of ways: by visiting a jungle lodge, cruising on a riverboat, or going on a camping trip. What you see depends in large part on how far you travel from Iquitos. The riverbanks near Iquitos that were mostly wilderness in the 1960s are now wall-to-wall farms and cow pastures. Most of the jungle within 80 km of Iquitos is secondary forest, but dolphins, monkeys, and a variety of birds can still be seen.

The jungle gets more interesting the farther away from Iquitos you travel. Reserva Nacional Pacaya-Samiria (12 hours upstream) or the Reserva Comunal Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo (4–6 hours) have wildlife and pristine jungle comparable to Parque Nacional Manu in Peru’s southern Amazon.

One advantage that Iquitos has over Peru’s southern Amazon is that even during the rainy season, it typically only rains in the afternoon, so jungle lodges can be visited year-round. It’s also the only place in Peru where pink river dolphins live.

There is a high-water season, however, between January and June, when the Amazon rises 15 meters and floods much of the surrounding forest. Guides say there are more birds during these months, though mammals are easiest to see during the low-water months July–December when they hang out on the muddy riverbanks. The numbers of monkeys seems to hold steady year-round.

The land that does not become flooded is called terra firma and has a different variety of animals and birds. Typical birds in a flooded forest include flycatchers, tanagers, woodcreepers, kingfishers, finches, woodpeckers, parrots, macaws, and all species of cotingas.

Because there is more food in a nonflooded forest, there are a greater variety of mammals and reptiles and a different variety of birds, including antbirds, manakins, curassows, guans, foliage cleaners, and all species of woodcreepers and woodpeckers. To see the greatest range of wildlife and birds, choose lodges that have access to both flooded forest and terra firma.

Competition is intense among the jungle outfits in Iquitos, and discounts are sometimes handed out to those who make their reservation in town, as opposed to over the Internet.

Iquitos is teeming with con artists, thieves, and other disreputable types who do most of their business with unsuspecting travelers at the airport. If you come into town without a reservation, avoid them at all costs. Use the agencies, lodges, and guides recommended here and, when in doubt, consult the tourist office or the Ministry of Tourism.

We recommend steering clear of private guides, who rarely seem to deliver what they promise in the Iquitos area.