Our Peru honeymoon tour ends in the breathtaking and beautiful Amazon rainforest. When we found out that the Amazon river runs through not only Brazil, but through Peru and Ecuador, we were excited to add an Amazon rainforest tour on our honeymoon itinerary.
For a long time, visiting the Amazon river was definitely on the top of the bucket list for the both of us and we were super excited to finally be able to complete it in 2015.
Planning our Amazon rainforest tour
Prior to coming to Peru, we did thorough research into visiting the Amazon river. There’s a lot of information online, which can get overwhelming and often confusing to read. Many of the lodges state that they are along the amazon river, however it is important to note that this is exaggerated. The amazon river is a protected and preserved area. Therefore, there are no lodges or commercial businesses located along the Amazon river itself. Instead, there are many lodges located on other rivers that are connected to it.
When we were selecting a lodge, we made sure to review the location of the lodge beforehand to avoid any disappointment. There are three main areas were you can stay; Tambopata, Iquitos or Manu reserves. We ended up selecting Iquitos as it is located within the Amazon rainforest but is not the furthest and therefore not too expensive.
Why we choose the Curassow Lodge
We decided on the Curassow lodge for a number of reasons. The first was because of the positive reviews that were online. Although these can be fake, we also found their customer service via email to be very responsive. They answered all our questions and concerns that we had.
Also, they offered options for vegetarians. Even though we had heard from another review, when we got there they did not disappoint. We wanted to mention the amazing food that was being served to us at the lodge. Each meal was delicious and was made with fresh ingredients. The food was just so incredible. It was made fresh everyday for us by some amazing cooks at the lodge. The portions were also big and since Fufu is vegetarian, the vegetarian alternative was very important.
The cost of a 4 day tour was mid-range while still being located within the amazon rainforest enough to see wildlife and experience the Amazon river in all it’s glory. This was important to us as there were a few things on the bucket list and the tour seemed to cover them all.
The day before our tour began
We were fortunate enough to spend 4 days and 3 nights along the Amazon river at a nearby lodge in Peru. However, before we embarked on this adventure, we made our way from Machu Picchu to Iquitos.
Landing in the small town of Iquitos the night before our tour began, we noticed right away the vast difference in the weather compared to the other parts of Peru we had just traveled to. It was more hot and humid. We arranged to stay at a small hotel in Iquitos for one night before meeting up with the tour company in the lobby of the hotel to start our amazing tour of the Amazon rainforest.
Day 1: The lodge, exploring the amazon rainforest and holding the black caiman
The next day, we had a quick breakfast and left the hotel at 8am. We were pretty exhausted from traveling around Peru but our journey to the Amazon rainforest had only just began. Our guide met us at reception and we drove to the local pier. Climbing down some unstable wooden steps, we got into our little boat and strapped on some life jackets and ear plugs. The journey took over 3 hours to get to the lodge. Towards the end of the boat ride, we had to transfer to a smaller boat as the river was too narrow and shallow.
It was an amazing boat ride. To be traveling through the Amazon river, among all the wildlife, we felt content with the experience so far. When we finally arrived, we received refreshing cold fruit drinks upon arrival and were escorted to our private bungalow. Our bags were kindly carried to our room for us. Once we settled in, we had a big lunch.
The lodge itself was peaceful and well-kept. We were pleasantly surprised that we were the only guests in the lodge for the complete stay. Besides the cook, our guide and a few other staff members, the whole lodge was deserted. There was a massive dining and lounge space that separated the bungalows.
We then sat down with our guide to run through what we were going to do. Though they provide a set outline of all the activities, we were able to customize our tour. Since we were the only guests on the tour, our guide said we could focus on what we wanted to do and see. Out of all the things we could do, we personally wanted to see sloths, pink dolphins, swim in the Amazon river and explore the rainforest. If we could complete these activities in the next four days, we would be extremely happy.
Following lunch, our guide took us on our first trek around the area of the lodge. He felt that it was important for us to know the area and the surrounding wildlife. We were excited to spot a few animals including a bats, sloths, spiders and pocket monkeys to name a few.
After our walk, we made our way back to the lodge and had our dinner. We then go on the boat with our guide, equipped with two solar powered flash lights for a night canoe ride to spot the black caiman. The caiman can often be confused with baby crocodiles. Using the flash lights, we could spot the caiman in the water. Their eyes shine bright red. Our guide laid flat on the edge of the boat waiting for the caimans to appear. He grabbed one gently with his hands and taught us how to hold one. Fufu then released the caiman back in the river after we both held the little critter.
After our canoe ride, we went back to the lodge for an early night. We made plans to have an early start tomorrow for our 5 hour trek in the Amazon rainforest. It was certainly an eventful day and we were excited to see what else we would see and do in the following days.
Day 2: Rainforest walkabout, piranha fishing/feeding and watching the sunset
The next day we left bright and early for our rainforest walkabout. Our guide suggested to leave early due to the scotching heat that hits the Amazon rainforest by 11am. So we had left at 7am. We ended up having breakfast on the boat, which was a nice addition to the morning. We brought with us our backpack filled with insect repellent, water, our camera and sunscreen- all essentials when you are in the Amazon.
The trek was hard with all the bugs, heat and unmarked pathways. But it was well worth it. In order to find our way back, our guide would make markings on trees. We spotted so many animals along the way including sleepy sloths. It really felt like we were in the jungle. On the way back, we spotted more birds and sloths in trees.
We made our way back by 12pm for lunch and had a few hours of free time. This was the perfect opportunity to have a cold shower and relax in the hammocks.
In the afternoon, our guide took us piranha fishing. We were both excited about the idea of seeing piranhas but weren’t that keen on fishing. We had never fished before and didn’t plan to in the future. Instead, we really just feed the fish. When we did eventually catch one, our guide showed us the piranha’s teeth and and released it back in the river.
By the time we finished feeding the piranhas, it was perfect timing to watch the sunset. Sitting in the boat, overlooking the beautiful and scenic view, we really appreciated how peaceful it was. We were the only people there, which made the experience all the more magical.
We headed back to the lodge for our dinner and decided to skip the night activities, which included a night excursion by canoe to hear the sound of different bird species in the Amazon rainforest. We wanted to celebrate the fact that we got married with some pisco colas and a good home cooked dinner. We spent the rest of the night blasting our music and talking till the late hours of the night.
Day 3: Watching pink and grey dolphins, swimming in the Amazon river and an attempt to go canoeing
One of the most exciting moments of the trip was when we went out to watch the grey and pink dolphins. Before coming to the Amazon, we had never heard of pink dolphins. It was truly amazing to be surrounded by pink and grey dolphins in the Amazon river. Though the activity brief stated that you would be swimming with the pink dolphins, the experience was pretty amazing. Unfortunately it was very difficult to get any photos but we did manage to get video footage of them.
We then spent the next hour swimming in the Amazon river. There were small sardines in the water, playfully nibbling on us.
We then made our way back to the lodge for lunch as usual. In the afternoon, we went on the boat and started to paddle down the river for our next canoe adventure to spot more sloths. Five minutes in, the rain started to pour down and we decided to quickly headed back to the lodge for shelter.
Soaked in our last set of clothes, we dried ourselves and waited for the rain to stop. Though it eventually did stop, we ended up spending the rest of the day in the lodge, watching the sunset and enjoying each others company.
Day 4: Lilly pads and heading back
On the last day, our guide wanted to take us on another trek but this time in a different part of the Amazon rainforest. Since most of our clothes were still wet from the rain from the previous day, we ended up wearing a mesh mash of clothes in an attempt to cover ourselves from the sun and mosquitoes. We looked pretty hilarious but were happy we had something to wear that was dry.
We went to see the Victoria regia water lily. Since we’ve never seen lily pads in real life before, it was pretty amazing to see. We also were able to spot some massive butterflies, birds and monkeys along the way.
Afterwards, we headed back to the lodge to have a quick shower, lunch and made the journey back to the airport. With the heat and the unfortunate breakdown of the boat, we were left stranded on the Amazon river. Though the ride back wasn’t as pleasant, the view was pretty dam good. It took us over 6 hours to get back to the shores of the town. The staff of the lodge did their best to fix the problem, we were worried that we would not make it to our flight back to Lima and then back to Chile.
Overall our honeymoon tour in the Amazon rainforest was a once in a lifetime experience. The staff at the lodge, our guide and the food was all incredible. It was a great way to wind down from the Peru portion of our honeymoon. We were thankful that we were able to experience the amazon river and the rainforest in all it’s glory on our very relaxing and private tour. Follow us on our last part of the honeymoon tour in Easter Island here.