The Wanderlust guide to the best of the Amazon
The Amazon rainforest is a dripping, squawking, seething mass of biodiversity dominating South America. Here’s your guide to planning the ultimate jungle adventure
The Amazon is vast. Covering 5,500,000 sq km, the Amazon spreads into nine countries: predominantly Brazil, but also Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
The Amazon is the world’s wildest place, home to incredible biodiversity. Within this abundant rainforest you’ll find sharp-toothed piranhas, snapping caiman, bright birds, buzzing insects, howling monkeys and – if you’re lucky – prowling jaguar.
There are also people living in this jungly domain. Many indigenous tribes still live traditional lives in the forest. Some, such as the Emberá of Brazil, are fighting to hang on to their land in the face of deforestation; others, such as the Huaorani in Ecuador, have set up acclaimed eco-lodges to provide funds for their community.
So, where to start?
Looking for inspiration?
It should come as no surprise that one of the best ways to get around the Amazon is by boat. Simply buy a hammock, hook it up and you can kick back and watch the world go by. Lars and Liane have 10 tips to make an Amazon boat trip even more amazing.
Once you get to the jungle you’ll want somewhere comfortable and environmentally friendly to stay. Sarah Gilbert has road-tested the best of Ecuador’s Amazonian eco-lodges. Down in the Bolivian Amazon Alex Robinson learned how to track jaguar, while Jessie Grimmond signed up as a volunteer on a scientific trip that measured the impact of hunting and the timber trade on pink river dolphins, otters, capybaras and manatees. Both explain how you can too.
Finally, there is no shortage of mosquitoes in the Amazon, many of them bearing malaria. Hazel Plush reveals 5 simple ways to avoid getting the disease.
More information
Ten top tips for an amazing Amazonian boat adventure – Lars and Liane
Ecuador’s Amazon eco-lodges – Sarah Gilbert
Track jaguar in the Bolivian Amazon – Alex Robinson
Volunteering afloat in the Peruvian Amazon – Jessie Grimmond
5 ways to avoid malaria – Hazel Plush
Capturing it all on film
Tropical forests are wonderful places, both to photograph and just to experience, but they can eat you and your equipment. Luckily Steve Davey is on hand with advice on the planning – and protection – it takes to get a great shot in the jungle.
If it’s inspiration you’re after, check out the photos our readers have captured on their Amazonian adventures.
More information
Shooting photographs in the jungle – Steve Davey
