Amazon basin trips

maraca says on Nov 1, 2005, 04:45:

Amazon Trip A good thing is for you to contact the National Parks Office. They manage Amacayacu (among all the other national parks), which i beleive is the most popular place to visit in the Colombian Amazonia. They will let you know about the safety situation and will advise you not to go if necessary. They offer lodging and food within the reserve. In addition, if during your vacations you like to do more than just travelling, there is always the posibility to do voluntary work when staying at the reserve.

Their website:

http://www.parquesnacionales.gov.co/


have fun

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dwmte says on Nov 1, 2005, 05:13:

anja... going down into south eastern colombia is a bit on the dangerous side, i would be a bit better prepared for the journey than 'we want to go there on our first trip to colombia'...

the selva is wonderful, but rife with issues that are not fit for the faint hearted and weak.

do a shit-load of research before venturing into these areas.

peace,

dw

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umm says on Nov 1, 2005, 07:22:

In Leticia itself are a lot of agencies which allow you trips into the jungle.
Even the hotels there have often offers.
Just book a hotel there from Bogota and fly over.
Leticia is small and when you walk down to the street which is parallel/near by the river, there are a couple of agencies.

When you walk over the green border to Tabatinga, there you can even check in on a boat which takes you down the river to Manaus and so.
UMM

UMM

My Forum

Lucia Rojas says on Nov 1, 2005, 08:43:

Hi The jungle is a fantastic place and you will have a great time.
You have to fly in to leticia from Bogota using Aerorepublica whcih is the only airline that flies there.

Leticia is right on the frontier, so basically on street separates you rom Tabatinga(the brasilian sister town) and only the river separates you from the Peruvian side. You can actually have breakfast in Colombia, lunch in Peru and dinner in Brasil.

There are many hotels in Leticia for all kinds of budgets. I reccomend Hotal Los Delfines for low budget travelling. Where it is family oriented and the rooms have a fridge. If the budget is higher Decameron Hotel is a fantastic hotel and they will organize all your jungle trips.

You must visit the Parque Amacayacu and Puerto Nariño. If you decide to spend the night at Puerto Nariño look for Juan, the friar who now lives there and owns a nice rustic hotel. He will arrange for you to go on trips to lago tarapoto and see the dolphins.

Down The yabari river( on the frontier between Brasil and Peru) you will slao find nice beaches and dolphins. You can visit other brasilian towns.

Leticia and the 3 frontiers are all very accesible to tourists...

I lived in the jungle for a year, if you need any other info please PM me.

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Boatygringo says on Nov 1, 2005, 09:09:

Amazon Just got back from a trip to Laticia and Manaus in Brazil. Big diapointment,the boat trip down the river was boring with nothing to see expept a brown muddy river, all the big trees have been cut down long a go. The river was at a 40 year low. The food on the boat was bad and my cabin was never made up in 4 days. Manaus is a big dirty city a friend was robbed three days in a row, one his fault, one mugged in the street by 3 guys and one money and credit cards stolen from his luggage in the hotel. There are lots of travel agents in Laticia who will offer you trips into the junge and visits to indiginent people but I did´nt do any of those. Everyone there rides a moto so look out crossing the road. I flew out of Cartegina via Bogata, I was bumped on the flight to Laticia untill late afternoon and on return trip no plane showed up at 12.00 but one did at 17.00 hrs then had to argue with the airline in Bogata to get on a flight to Cartegina that night, they wanted me to stay over night in Bogata
I dont want to seem negative but as I said It was not what I expected you may have a diferent agenda and have a ball.

Boatygringo

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adrimm says on Nov 1, 2005, 09:58:

Organized tours I was researching this a bit myslef awhile back. A good place with lot of resources is the Lonelyplanet thorn tree. If you search the South America branch using the word Amazon, you will get lots of info.

About 1.5 years ago, a poster here called Camillo posted about a four day trip with an Eco-tour agency called Siempre Colombia. It sounds like a great trip around Leticia, but it is in Spanish. They also have a 10 day tour up to Manaus.

http://www.siempre-colombia.com/.

If you have the money and want something in English, then Gap Adventures also has a very polished-looking comfortable tour in English.

A midway cost option would be on the Rio Amazonas boat: This is a pm I recieved about it:
"I travelled from the trifrontier to Iquitos twice & nearly a 3rd time with MV Rio Amazonas, to get from Brazil to Peru. Rather than an expensive flight, MVRA supplies transport, accommodation & side trips with an English speaking guide up tributaries, lagoons etc. Paul Wright's company has been going a long time & has other boats too like La Arca" MV Rio Amazonas.

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Lucia Rojas says on Nov 1, 2005, 15:19:

Of course its boring being on the Amazon is like being on a very big highway where everything is the same. It has a lot of traffic and you can actually hitchhike on the Amazon. There's all kind of boats in al sizes. If you take the big passenger boats to Manaos in Brasil or iquitos in Peru the trip takes a long time and the view is always the same. the option for taking a more expensive express boat exists too. You get to yoyur destination faster.

That is why when you're in the jungle you want to travel inwards (always with a guide) up the smaller rivers and creeks... where you can actually still see tall trees and animals.

Colombia protects more of its forests than Brasil or Peru, but the damage is still done. A lot of illegal wood cutting goes on.
You get to see alot of different perspectives. For one youre inthe middle of the biggest most important rainforest of the world an on the othe rhand you get to see how badly its treated.

Natives protest all the time against companies that work in the jungle (foreign mostly) oils, gas, wood, etc. But of course nobody listens to them.....

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Paola50 says on Nov 1, 2005, 15:39:

Trips to the Amazon You can navigate the Amazon from Leticia right down to Iquitos in the Peruvian Amazon. You can find them on the internet or try writing to www.peruforless.com which is a travel agent specialized in tours around Peru at contained prices and to the most interesting places.
Amazon Cruises is one of the oldest and most specialized companies in this activity, it is owned by a northamerican who has been living in Iquitos for several years, Paul Wright.
http://www.greentracks.com/Rio_Amazonas_Cruise.htm
http://www.amazonadventures.com/acruise.htm

When in Iquitos you can do a lot of interesting activities, which can include staying in a lodge in the rainforest and visits and stays at shamanic healing centres like Refugio Altiplano, where you can embark on a spiritual journey or just do enjoy the noisy silence of the rainforest while you fish, trek, kayak or canoe or just rest on the hammocks.
www.refugioaltiplano.org (there is a video to watch)

In this link you have a list of lodges near Iquitos.

You can also navigate farther south and enter Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve a very big protected area where you can see abundant animal life.

Have a wonderful trip!

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Paola50 says on Nov 1, 2005, 15:40:

Trips to the Amazon http://www.enjoyperu.com/tours/espanol/paquetes/destinos/paq%20iquitos.html

You will find several lodges near Iquitos in this link.

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santiBOG says on Nov 1, 2005, 15:54:

The best guide for tours in the amazon: His name is Felipe and you should email him at elpipe80 at hotmail. He will customize an itinerary for you based on your budget and time constraints (from hours to days to months). He is form Bogota but has lived near Leticia (Tabatinga I think) for years and knows the entire area real good, including the Peruvian, Ecudorian, Brazilian and obviously Colombia (Putumayo, Nariño, Amazonas, etc.). Absolutely the best if you're into some serious trekking. Expeditioners have come from as far as Russia and used his expertise for some major expeditions.

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Sr Tertius says on Nov 1, 2005, 19:54:

Hotel and guide I stayed at the Hotel Anaconda (http://www.hotelanaconda.com.co/) in Leticia. Fantastic place, no complaints at all. I hate tourist guides (particularly those in Old Cartagena), but you REALLY need one to take you through the affluents of the Amazons. I can't remember the guy who took me, but he was awesome. I had a fantastic experience. Enjoy your trip.

"El que a hierro mata..."

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

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anja says on Nov 2, 2005, 09:27:

Thanks a lot! Wow these are a lot of great tips you all have sent to me. Thank you all!
I will check all the details and I hope I could contact some of you again if I need more information.

Kind regards
Anja

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simoneta says on Nov 4, 2005, 04:35:

Amacayacu is the first of the 5 nature reserves that has been given in concession.

I called the National Parks Office in Bogota to book my trip to the amacayacu park in February next year. they gave the telephones of AVIATUR, I called them and they sent me lot of info about prices.

unfortunately are in Spanish but it could help you to check prices.
Good luck and maybe we can see around in the amazon if you are in february :)

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Adjunto a la presente estamos enviando las tarifas del parque Amacayacu, por favor tener en cuenta que las tarifas tienen dos vigencias una que termina el 31 de Agosto y la otra inicia el 01 de Septiembre, si tienen un pasajero del 30 de Agosto al 02 de Septiembre, para cotizar deben tomar la noche del 30 y del 31 con los valores que les corresponden a esa vigencia y las del 01 con el valor de la otra vigencia. Por favor tener en cuenta en explicarle al pasajero que la acomodación es en litera o Hamacas y compartiendo con otros pasajeros- la reserva debe hacerse por el sistema Bolívar.


AMACAYACU
El Parque está ubicado en el departamento del Amazonas fue declarado como Parque Nacional Natural mediante Acuerdo No. 040 del 30 de septiembre de 1975, aprobado por la Resolución Ejecutiva No. 283 de 1975 expedida por el Ministerio de Agricultura – Presidencia de la República. Cuenta con diversos atractivos tales como, la infraestructura física del Centro de Visitantes Yewae en madera y palma que recoge la tradición indígena de la región, el Dosel de la Selva, el sendero de la Ceiba (Nainekumaw), la observación de fauna y flora, las visitas a las comunidades indígenas y el reconocimiento de su trabajo artesanal, su tradición gastronómica y mitológica entre otros-


Tarifas Ingreso al Parque
Precios por persona en $

-Extranjeros 20.000
-Nacionales 6.800
-Niños entre 5 y 12 años, Estudiantes con carnet, adultos de 60 años 3.400


Alojamiento Baja Temporada Alta Temporada
Hamaca 26.500 32.000
Litera 32.000 37.000
Vigencia: Del 01 Septiembre al 15 de Diciembre/05
Alta temporada: Todos los fines de semana ( viernes, sábado y domingo y lunes cuando es puente)

Precios por persona por noche en $
Desayuno menú 6.500
Almuerzo menú 11.000
Cena menú 11.000
Vigencia: Del 01 de Septiembre al 15 de Diciembre/05

PROGRAMA BASICO PARQUE AMACAYACU
2 NOCHES 3 DIAS

Itinerario

Día 01: Leticia-Parque Amacayacu

Traslado aeropuerto-Leticia-Muelle
2:pm traslado Leticia Parque Amacayacu
Recorrido de aproximadamente 1 hora y 45 minutos, arribo al parque, instalación en la acomodación seleccionada
Charla sobre la amazonia colombiana por parte de funcionarios de Parques nacionales naturales
Caminata sendero de interpretación Naenekumaw y Ceiba Centenaria. Cena y alojamiento

Día 02: Parque Amacayacu-Comunidad-Indigena
Desayuno
Visita a la comunidad indígena ( elegir una opción: Macedonia, Palmeras, San Martín de Amacayacu, El Vergel) Opcional talleres de artesanías y caminata por la selva incluido el almuerzo con la comunidad
Cena y alojamiento

Día 03: Parque Amacayacu-leticia
Desayuno a la hora acordada salida hacia Leticia 8:00 A.M o 3:30 P.M

El precio incluye:

Traslado aeropuerto-Leticia-Muelle
Traslado fluvial Leticia-Parque Amacayacu-Leticia
Alojamiento 2 noches 3 días según selección
Desayunos y cenas diarios
Caminata sendero Nainekumaw y Ceiba Centenaria
Canotaje por la quebrada Matamata ( Opción diurna o nocturna)
Visita Comunidad indígena ( Elegir una opción: macedonia, Palmeras, San Martín Amacayacu, El vergel).
Charla sobre La Amazonia Colombiana por parte de los funcionarios de Parques Naturales

Precios por persona en $

Días : 2 noches 3 días Noche adicional
Hamaca 276.000 26.500
Litera 289.000 32.000
Maloca Doble 379.000 75.000


Septiembre 1 a Diciembre 15 del 2005 ( Excepto puentes)
Precios por persona en $

Días 2 noches 3 días Noche adicional
Hamaca 288.000 32.000
Litera 301.000 37.000
Maloca Doble 411.000 90.000

Vigencia: Puentes
El precio no incluye:

Tiquete aéreo
Impuestos de tiquete
Impuesto de entrada a Leticia
Entrada al parque
Traslado Leticia-Aeropuerto
Gastos personales
Gastos no especificados en el plan

Nota:

Tarifas sujetas a cambio y disponibilidad en el momento de reservar
La acomodación en Hamacas y Literas es Múltiple, compartiendo el bungalow con otros pasajero
Los niños en Hamaca o Litera cancelan el mismo valor de los adultos
En las Malocas dobles los niños cancelan el 80% del valor de los adultos, máximo dos niños por habitación

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Thomguide says on Dec 9, 2005, 17:53:

Tours in Amazon Three Borders Hi!! Anja!!If you want to come to Leticia I can recommend a new tour company called AMAZON GREENFOREST TOURS, their website is www.amazongreenforest.2truth.com!! there you can visit them and booking!! Best Wishes!!!

Best Wishes to you!!

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