Amazon
The Amazon conjures up images of explorers and adventurers old and new, venturing into a world of mystery, immensity and romance. It is the river, the rainforest, the wildlife and the people. Its towering forest and rushing waters harbour such an incomparable diversity of life that scientists are still working to classify it all.
The Amazon River Basin begins at the east of the Andes Mountains, creating the world’s largest rainforest, supported by an extremely wet climate. The Amazon River, and its myriad of tributaries, flow gently across the continent, from Colombia and Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, traversing Brazil to finally reach the Atlantic Ocean.
The Amazon is home to at least 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and some 2,000 birds and mammals and many indigenous tribes.
At its widest point the Amazon River can be 11 kilometres wide during the dry season, but during the rainy season when the river floods the surrounding plains it can span up to 40 kilometres, making it almost an inland sea.
A visit to the Amazon is truly an experience, whether it be a few days in a lodge or a cruise along the mighty river. It is a chance to try and comprehend the immensity of nature, the great jungle which is home to water lilies large enough to support the weight of a small child, to huge serpents, unusual monkeys, to pink dolphins and exotic birds.
There are several thousand kilometres of navigable waterways to be visited in programs in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Brazil. Lodges constructed in the style of local communities to blend with the environment are an ideal way to explore the jungle, as are the various riverboats and cruise vessels, which range from comfortable to luxurious.
Discover the Amazon, one of the last wild regions of our planet.