04Experiences
The east
The Amazon rainforest
Close to 60 percent of Peru is tropical forest in the Amazon basin, flat land that begins at the eastern foot of the Andes. The easiest way in is through Puerto Maldonado in the southeast, at the meeting of the Tambopata and Madre de Dios rivers. Nearby, the Tambopata National Reserve protects forest and oxbow lakes at 200 to 400 metres, with an average temperature of 26 degrees and heavy rain from December to March. The region also has clay licks where hundreds of birds, macaws among them, gather to eat the clay. To the west, Manú National Park spreads over more than 17,000 square kilometres, from lowland forest to cloud forest and Andean grassland, and has been a World Heritage Site since 1987. In the north, the city of Iquitos stands on the Amazon itself. The forest needs several days at least: travel there is by boat along the rivers, and the heat and rain barely change through the year, so pack light clothes that dry quickly.
- About 60%
- Share of Peru
- About 17,163 km²
- Manú National Park
- 0 °C
- Average temperature in Tambopata