If time is on your side, there is no more enriching way to experience the journey to Iquitos than going by the northern Peruvian jungle’s natural highways: the Huallaga and Marañon Rivers.
Last week, we crossed the Marañon river valley from Cajamarca to Chachapoyas. Our final destination is Iquitos, so we left the path of the river to drop down from the Andes into the Peruvian rainforest near Yurimaguas.
It is here, from the port of Yurimaguas, that we will travel 3 days downriver to Iquitos and the smaller nearby town of Nauta.
Down the Huallaga river we go until rejoining once again with the Marañon. Only now, instead of a snaking ravine, the river has become a wide mirror of water reflecting the many moods of the jungle sky.
Rain, wind, sun, and mist batter us as we travel downriver on a cargo ship, bundled in our hammocks to stay warm during the surprisingly chilly nights.
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Join us next time as a local guide takes us into the inlets and forests of Pacaya Samiria National Reserve!
