The Amazon Rainforest We Explore

The famous British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace explored the Amazon valley in the 1840's and wrote:

"We were in the Amazon itself, and it was with emotions of admiration and awe that we gazed upon the stream of this mighty and fan-famed river. What a grand idea it was to think that we now saw the accumulated waters of a course of three thousand miles congregated in the wide extent of ochre-coloured water spread out before us! Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil – six mighty states, spreading over a country far larger than Europe – had each contributed to form the flood which bore us so peacefully on its bosom. The most striking features of the Amazon are – its vast expanse of smooth water; its pale yellowish-olive colour; the great beds of aquatic grass which line its shore; the quantity of fruits and leaves and great trunks of trees which it carries down, and its level banks clad with unbroken forests. In places dark trunks of lofty forest trees form a living wall along the water's edge. There is much animation, too, on this great stream. Numerous flocks of parrots, and the great red and yellow macaws, fly across every morning and evening, uttering their hoarse cries".

The Amazon whirls the imagination with visions of endless tropical forests, murky swamps filled with slithery creatures, and rivers bound by walls of trees. Inside the dark undergrowth sounds of countless animals rattle one's ears and the glance of eyes peering though the bush startle even the strongest souls. The sudden rush of a lizard or snake raise the hair on one's neck, and the continual humming of insects dulls one's mind. Roars of howler monkeys portray images of monstrous beasts and the screams of macaws deafen one's thoughts.

The rivers become a refuge of light and tranquillity. The tropical sun illuminates the beauty of the forests against the glassy waters. Pink coloured dolphins lift one's emotions and the singing of birds warms one's heart. The brilliant turquoise sky mingles with colours of the lush vegetation, greens, olives, reds, and yellows. Resting under the shade of a tropical tree meditates the mind and softens the soul.

The silhouette of a canoe captures one's eyes as a lone Indian boy paddles effortlessly through the currents. He reaches for his harpoon and shoots it gracefully along the water smack into a fish. At home his family awaits their lunch, boiling manioc over a wooden fire. The smoke fills the palm thatched hut and children play happily on the stilt raised floor. Chickens peck at insects scuttling away and an old man in a hammock slowly swings back and forth as he puffs on his hand rolled tobacco.

Since the conquistadores first discovered the Amazon people have been lured to its magnificence. Missionaries search for spiritual relevance, fortune finders dream of El Dorado, and naturalists splendour in the vast variety of life. Today more than ever people seek adventure and thrill in the remoteness of the Amazon.

The forests and rivers that you discover on an Amazon Voyage are filled with tropical life, deep in the heart of the Amazon. Wildness surrounds your senses, as you venture in the tropical luxuriance of this vast evergreen forest and visit the local people who care so deeply about its wellbeing.

The Peruvian Amazon is home to some of the most diverse animal and plant communities on Earth and the Samiria River, where you voyage, abounds with these species. The Samiria is situated within the immense flooded forests of the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, an area spanning over 20,000 square kilometres, or the size of Wales. This is one of the largest expenses of protected flooded forests in the world.

Flooded forests are a unique environ where water and land have no boundary. Each year waters from the mighty Maranon and Ucayali Rivers flow through the forest inundating the reserve. The forests become aquatic and fish, caimans and dolphins swim between the trees in search of food. Terrestrial animals such as peccaries, tapir, anteaters and armadillos retreat to floodplain islands finding refuge from the floods. When the waters recede after months of flooding the terrestrial animals regain their land and the aquatic life rejoins the lakes, rivers and channels. Wading birds, such as egrets and cormorants, flock in great numbers to the muddy banks pecking out young fish that were born in the fertile waters of the flooded forest. Monkeys and birds live tranquilly in the canopy above, unconcerned about the floods below.

The Cocama Indians who live in the flooded forests of the Samiria have learnt to cope with the yearly cycles, living off the land and caring for the rivers and forests. They have changed little over the past one hundred years and still fish and hunt as their forefathers before them. Their traditional way of life depends on a healthy Amazon rainforest which they are adamant to keep.

 

The Amazon Rainforest of Peru

The Amazon whirls the imagination with visions of endless tropical forests.

 

 

 

 

The forests and rivers that you discover on an Amazon Voyage are filled with tropical life, deep in the heart of the Amazon. Bluish-fronted jacamar.