Voyage to the Heart of the Amazon

Take to the waterways of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest in search of its unique wildlife, including river dolphins, giant river otters, primates, caimans and a wide variety of birds.

Whilst recognised as the world's largest rainforest and one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, the Amazon does not give up its secrets easily. There's one guaranteed way to unlock its timeless mysteries, however, and that’s to get on a boat.

Starting in Manaus, the gateway of the Amazon, this voyage takes us up the Rio Negro, the Amazon tributary that tumbles out of Colombia and into undisturbed areas of a region nearly 30 times the size of the UK. Here, in sundappled patches of virgin forest, we’ll encounter some of the most iconic as well as surprising species of this celebrated biome.

Slipping gently through the quiet backwaters of the Rio Negro, toucans and kingfishers are regular sightings. Caimans nose silently into the water as they hear us approaching, while capybara – the world’s largest rodents – sit proudly in family groups along the riverbank.

We spend our time in a number of different craft – we’ll live and sleep aboard a traditional riverboat, MY Tucano, purpose built for Amazon exploration. But to access the narrowest, shallowest creeks and allow us to set foot on dry land when needed, we’ll take to motorised canoes or even pilot ourselves in small river kayaks.

We visit oxbow lakes, geological features of meandering rivers cut off from the main channel.

Here, giant river otters forage for piranhas and even the occasional caiman. In this, their natural habitat, we’ll see why they're called the Amazon’s river wolves.

Rainforest monkeys will be a regular feature in the canopy with howler, squirrel, capuchin and saki monkeys all likely to be seen.

In cecropia trees we may be fortunate enough to find a threetoed sloth ambling slowly through the branches while colourful macaws make daily flyovers. Other charismatic species are present but rarely seen - jaguars haunt the shorelines in search of prey, while Brazilian tapirs wander the dark forest interiors.

Itinerary

Day 1: Board MY Tucano & head upstream on the River Negro, visiting some of the seldom-seen corners of the Amazon Rainforest.

Days 2-5: Explore the network of forested islands, flooded varzea & dense terra firme forests of the Rio Negro catchment in motorised canoes, kayaks & on foot. Search for a wealth of birdlife, primates & of course Amazon river dolphins in the company of an expert naturalist guide. In the evenings, we enjoy night walks or boat trips for nocturnal wildlife, enjoying the magnificent starlit skies if conditions allow. Day 6: Return downstream to the confluence of the Amazon & Negro & spend the evening docked at Manaus. Day 7: Disembark in Manaus.

7 days, from £5,685 (voyage only)

Departure dates: Jun-Dec

See pages 28-29 for dates

Embark/Disembark: Manaus/ Manaus

Vessel: MY Tucano, a traditional Amazon riverboat with 9 cabins

Why book Voyage to the Heart of the Amazon?

To explore the largest tropical rainforest on Earth and visit its seasonally flooded forests and oxbow lakes.

ཀྵ Immersive rainforest experience

ཀྵ Iconic flora & fauna

ཀྵ Traditional riverboat

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Giant river otters

ཀྵ Macaws, toucans & kingfishers

ཀྵ River dolphins

ཀྵ Reptiles & amphibians

ཀྵ Amazonian monkeys

Activities

Motorised canoe trips, forest walks, kayaking, swimming, indigenous village

From Amazon river dolphins splashing next to the boat to a pair of scarlet macaws flying overhead or waking to the sound of howler monkeys, this special cruise along the spectacular Rio Negro is the perfect introduction to the world's greatest rainforest.

Ian Loyd, Wildlife Product Manager

Brazil