Each program begins upon arrival in Iquitos on any Saturday, on any airline flight, all year long!
Day 01 – Saturday
Upon arrival in Iquitos, you will be met and transferred to the Hotel Dorado Plaza, a 5 star hotel in the very center of Iquitos. For early arrivals there will be time to walk to the banks of the Amazon to see your first Amazonian birds. In addition to the ubiquitous Greater Kiskadee and Black Vultures you are likely to see several of the more common seed finches. In the evening both the Plaza de Armas and the "Boulevard" are great places to watch people strolling along and imagine yourself as a great rubber baron.
Lunch, Dinner (if arrival flight permits) Overnight Hotel Dorado Plaza
Day 02 – Sunday
After breakfast a short bus ride takes you to the Explorama boat docks. A voyage down the Amazon (80 KM/50 mi/1½ hrs) takes you to Explorama Lodge where you will have your first exposure to Amazonian forest birds as you search the camp grounds for the Black-fronted Nunbird and the Thrush-like Wren. Near the stream where the "La Tahuampa" Bar is located you will likely see habituated Sun Bittern. Scarlet and Blue and Gold Macaws, some of which have been coming to the feeding station near the dining room for the Lodge's 40 year existence, will provide some spectacular shots as they fly screaming along the Yanamono and Yanacaño Streams which pass through the Lodge grounds. After lunch you will hike along the "Lake Trail" looking for varzea (flood plain) specialists like the Silvered Antbird and Pale-legged Hornero.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Overnight Explorama Lodge
Day 03 – Monday
Before sunrise, take an early morning walk on the Bushmaster Trail in terra firma forest where the highest diversity of tree species of any location in the world has been discovered. With luck, a mixed flock of birds feeding over an army ant column will be found. At times these flocks have over 40 species of birds. After breakfast, you will return to the Bushmaster to hopefully observe Golden-headed and Bearded Manakins on their display leks. During the afternoon, there will be an open boat trip on the Amazon looking for river edge species like the Black-collared Hawk, Capped Heron and three species of Kingfishers. We will also search for both pink and gray freshwater river dolphins commonly found where tributaries of the river meet.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Overnight Explorama Lodge
Day 04 – Tuesday
After breakfast, you will board an Explorama boat for a trip on the Amazon and Napo Rivers (80 KM/50 mi/1½ hrs) to ExplorNapo Lodge. The trails in the 250,000-acre reserve surrounding ExplorNapo are innumerable and offer an opportunity for birdwatching in almost every rainforest habitat. This is the best location in the world to see rarities like Nocturnal Currasow and the Black-necked Red Cotinga. This evening you will enjoy an open boat ride in search of caiman and frogs while listening to the night sounds and, if it is a clear night, viewing the overwhelming number of stars of the Southern sky.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Overnight ExplorNapo Lodge
Day 05 – Wednesday
Early morning birding. Morning excursion in open boat and hiking to a black water oxbow lake formed when water from the Napo River became separated from the main flow of the river. These lakes are often covered with giant Victoria Regia water lilies and sometimes offer a glimpse of the elusive Hoatzin bird. Afternoon boating excursion along one of the Napo tributaries spotting for sloth, birding and having a try at fishing for piranha.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Overnight ExplorNapo Lodge
Day 06 – Thursday
Early morning birding walk. Morning hike to Amazon Conservatory Field Station, and the Canopy Walkway, a suspended bridge spanning 500 meters (one-third of a mile), connected by tree platforms and reaching a height of over 35 meters (115 feet) above the ground. Here there is time to observe a part of the rainforest rarely seen by man. Afternoon excursion along the Medicinal and Useful Plants Trail where your guide will explain the uses of many of the rainforest plants. In the late afternoon you will be up at canopy level when the birds return to roost and to watch the sunset from the treetops. After dark there is the opportunity to rediscover the canopy dwellers at night.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Overnight ACTS Field Station
Day 07 – Friday
Departure to the Canopy Walkway in time to welcome the day from high in the treetops, an unforgettable natural history experience, as mixed species flocks form and their morning chorus begins. Motmots, woodcreepers, antbirds, flycatchers, barbets, toucans and even Red-Throated Caracara add to the cacophony. After breakfast you hike out to the Sucusari Stream and board the boat to Ceiba Tops (120 KM/75 miles/2¼ hrs) where private air conditioned rooms and hot water showers gently ease your way back to civilization. At Ceiba Tops you may see a Great Potoo on the short walk between the boat dock and the main Ceiba Tops building. After lunch, you will visit islands that were formed at different times by the meandering Amazon River forming unique habitats where some species of birds spend their entire lives. Returning to Ceiba Tops you will travel close to the shore where both gray and pink dolphins are often seen, and, with luck, there will be a colorful sunset on the Amazon River.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Overnight Ceiba Tops
Day 08 – Saturday
Early morning birdwatching on a short walk to the huge Ceiba Tree for which the lodge is named. Many organisms spend their entire lives in this single rainforest giant. Depending on your departure flight from Iquitos, there may be time for an open boat ride on the channels of the Amazon in front of Ceiba Tops before lunch. Whatever your departure flight, a boat ride will return you to Iquitos (40 KM/25 mi/3/4 hrs) and then by bus you'll be at the airport in time for your departure flight to Lima.
Breakfast, Lunch (if departure flight permits)
Due to the ever-changing nature of the rainforest, day-by-day activities may vary due to local conditions
