The Colombian Amazon

The Amazon region makes up over a third of Colombia's total territory. This immense area is home to a mind-blowing array of animals, plants and indigenous cultures. It is also the daily stage for amazing sights such as the sun rising from the forest canopy and the arrival of thousands of parakeets coming to roost for the night. The Colombian Amazon is the most biologically rich and diverse area in the country and is one of its most beautiful.

Everyone has a romantic idea of what an Amazon adventure involves: lots of trees and animals, time in the rainforest and on the river, interacting with tribal people, and trying exotic things. This trip has all of that and more. You'll go beyond sightseeing and experience the Amazon in fun, active and exciting ways. You’ll hike, paddle, climb, swim, fish, zip and rappel to get up close and personal to the rainforest and its features. This adventure will immerse you in the Colombian Amazon (and even a bit of the Peruvian Amazon) for a truly unforgettable experience.

Highlights and activities

• Go on night hikes in the rainforest to search for caimans and other nocturnal animals.
• Spend a night in a treehouse 12 meters (39 feet) above the forest floor.
• Hike through the rainforest to visit a Huitoto community.
• Try your hand at indigenous fishing techniques.
• Travel by boat on the Amazon river and kayak in its tributaries and lakes.
• See woolly monkeys, pink dolphins, capybaras and many other exotic animals in their natural habitat.
• Climb up a rope to the forest canopy then take zip lines to move through the trees.

• hiking / trekking
• kayaking / rafting

1. 

   Day 1: Tanimboca

   Your Amazon adventure begins at the Leticia airport where your guide meets you and takes you to the Tanimboca Natural Reserve. The reserve is home to huge trees and is teeming with animals — especially at night. You do an initial exploration of the rainforest while the sun is up but the real action happens when it gets dark. On your nocturnal hike you'll see many animals that hide during the day — don't worry, all of them are small.

   You spend the night in a treehouse at the forest canopy, 12 meters (39 feet) above the ground.

2. 

   Day 2: The Huitoto

   Today you hike about two hours through the rainforest to a Huitoto village. The Huitoto (also spelled Witoto) are an indigenous people of the Amazon and are known for their artistic handcrafts and sustainable way of life. In the village you visit a Maloka, a traditional Amazonian dwelling. There you speak with the village elder and learn about his people's culture and traditions. If you are lucky the villagers will be making mambe on the day of your visit. Mambe is a green powder made out of toasted coca leaves that people in the Colombian Amazon chew. If it is mambe making day then you'll see how the Huitoto make it and you can try chewing the powder yourself – it is perfectly legal.

   You also visit the chagras where the villagers grow their crops, and a nearby river where they catch fish. There you can try your hand at fishing and take a dip. In the afternoon you'll hike back to the Tanimboca reserve and spend the night in a forest cabin.

3. 

   Day 3: Marasha

   After breakfast you get on a boat and travel on the Amazon River and cross an invisible border to get to Marasha, a natural reserve in Peruvian territory. From the main channel of the Amazon River you either hike or canoe (depending on the water level) deep into the rainforest to get to the Marasha lodge. The lodge is fronted by a lake full of exotic fish such as arowana, pirarucu, and yes, piranha. You can go kayaking and fishing in the lake, and even take a dip to disprove piranha myths. Many wild animals visit the lodge regularly, including toucans and capybaras.

   At night you go on a hike to look for caimans before retiring to the Marasha lodge.

4. 

   Day 4: Woolly monkeys, pink dolphins and parakeets

   You say goodbye to Marasha and travel to Mocagua back in Colombia. Mocagua is just outside the Amacayacu National Park and the indigenous Ticuna people who live there were traditionally hunters. In 2004 they agreed to stop hunting endangered species. Now, working with the Maikuchiga Foundation, the Ticuna of Mocagua are stewards of their environment and protect the endangered animals in their territory. You go on a 1.5 hour hike through the rainforest of Mocagua and see woolly monkeys, a species that is especially important to that area's ecosystem.

   After visiting the woolly monkeys you will get back on the Amazon River and travel to Puerto Nariño, a riverside town that is environmentally sustainable and has no motorized vehicles. The water in the Puerto Nariño area is clean and it is a prime location for spotting wild pink dolphins.

   Near the end of the day you go to Parque Santander in Leticia to see thousands of parakeets and other birds flying into the park's trees to roost. Then you go back to the Tanimboca reserve where you spend the night.

5. 

   Day 5: The Canopy

   It's the final day but the fun isn't over. After four days in the Amazon you get a broad view of the area from a higher perspective — literally. Using ropes and ascenders you climb up to a platform in the forest canopy. A network of hanging bridges and zip lines connects four different platforms and you spend the morning walking and zipping through the canopy. After enjoying the views you rappel to get back down to the forest floor.

   At noon your Amazonian adventure comes to an end and you travel back to the Leticia airport.

This adventure is offered throughout the year. Contact us to schedule your Private Tour.

Includes

• Private land and water transfers (starting and ending at the Leticia airport).
• Accommodations.
• All meals from lunch of Day 1 to breakfast of Day 5.
• Guiding service.
• Entrance fees.

Excludes

• Flights to and from Leticia.
• Trail food and alcoholic drinks.
• Tourism fee of COP 35,000 to be paid upon arrival at Leticia airport. 

• You need to get vaccinated for yellow fever at least 10 days before you arrive in Leticia. You can get the vaccine for free at the Bogota airport.