5 Day Zafiro Amazon Cruise

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Note: This itinerary is subject to change according to climatic conditions at certain times of the year. The excursions can be modified at the discretion of the Zafiro crew.

Day 1 (Sat): Iquitos-Amazon River.

Flight from Lima and arrival to Iquitos (1h 25m).  Our guides will be waiting at the Iquitos airport to transfer you by private vehicle to our main pier, where we will board the Zafiro.

Get accommodated in the rooms, accompanied by our staff.  The ship begins navigating the Amazon.

Discover the facilities aboard Zafiro. Enjoy a cocktail in our bar or enjoy the breathtaking view from our indoor and outdoor lounge.

Meet with the guides. This meeting will explain the program of the trip, the activities, and routes that will be taken, the important moments in the expedition and the particularities of the life and landscape of the area, as well as other curiosities.

Safety drill. Safety on board is essential, that is why a safety drill will be conducted to get to know and understand the ship’s protocols.

Meeting with the cruise director. You will meet the director of the cruise, who will present the first summary of the activities.

Welcome dinner **. The welcome dinner will be served at 8:00pm.  Overnight aboard the ship.  (D)

** Our team is prepared to attend any special nutritional needs.  Notify your crew about preferences in advance so that we can offer you the best alternative.

Day 2 (Sun): Amazon River-Yanayacu de Yacapana-Headway of the Amazon-Piraña Caño-Nauta Laguna-Marañon River.

Exploration of Yanayacu de Yacapana. We will travel, on board our skiffs, to Yukama, a native reserve with around 17 black water lakes, abundant wildlife and home to the indigenous communities Ayacucho and San Juan.  There we will see different species of birds and monkeys and learn more about nature.

Breakfast. Our daily buffet offers a wide selection of traditional dishes, Peruvian specialties, homemade baked goods, and freshly prepared fresh juices.

Tour bordering the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve. We will discover a flooded forest that covers five million acres at the headway of the Amazon.

Expedition to the confluence of the Marañón and Ucayali rivers. We will travel in our skiffs to the place where the rivers meet—forming the Amazon.  The diversity of species that inhabit this area is immense: long beak swallows, laughing hawks, gray tangaras, correlimos, parakeets, short-tailed parrots and many more species of birds.  We will explore the first river in the reserve of Pacaya-Samiria, the Lake of Pirañas, in search of wild life.

Return to Zafiro for lunch. Upon boarding the ship, the food will be served.

Conference on Amazonian philosophy. Our guides will introduce us to the idiosyncrasy, beliefs, and profound thinking of the Amazonian population.

Excursion to the Nauta lagoon inside the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve. We will discover the ¨jungle of mirrors¨ and sharpen our senses on how to locate toucans, parrots, macaws, iguanas, sloths, and monkeys in the treetops.

Return to the Zafiro and live music. We will enjoy the colors of the sunset over the waters on the way back to the Zafiro.  Upon boarding, we will be able to enjoy a concert of live music by our local band.  The Peruvian culinary scene will once again be the protagonist in our dinner on board.

Night boat ride. As the night falls, we will take an optional boat ride that will allow us to enjoy the constellations while we simultaneously look for caimans, tarantulas and boas.  Overnight aboard the ship.  (B,L,D)

Day 3 (Mon): Yanayacu de Pucate-Yanayaquillo-San Regis (Amazon Natural Park)-Tiger River-Nahuapa.

Expedition to Yanayacu de Pucate and Yanayaquillo. We will visit several lakes and lagoons on board our skiffs, where we will have breakfast later; enjoying one of the best preserved and protected areas of the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve.  This area is also popular for dolphin watching.

Return to Zafiro for lunch. We will reenergize on board the cruise ship with a full lunch.  Afterwards, we will enjoy time for rest ad relaxation.

Kayaking. We will become one with the waters of the Amazon and end up swimming next to the pink dolphins.

Conference on geographic positioning. Our guides will explain more about the hydrography of the rivers.

Expedition to the Amazon Natural Park. Excursion at sunset where we will take a short walk through the forest and walk on the hanging bridges at this park while observing its abundance of colorful birds.

Tree planting ceremony. After embarking on an incredible experience with the shaman, we will participate in the tree planting ceremony in the Amazon Natural Park.

Return to Zafiro for dinner. We will recuperate our strength with a dinner aboard the Zafiro.

Night excursion on the Tiger River towards Nahuapa. The Tiger River is one of the most important ramifications that flows towards the river Marañón.  It has hundreds of small rivers flowing towards it.  We will explore the Nahuapa, one of those small rivers, in search of alligators, snakes, tarantulas, nocturnal monkeys and birds.  Overnight aboard the ship.  (B,L,D)

Day 4 (Tue): Marañon River-Samiria River-San Martin de Tipishca Kukama.

Expedition to the Samiria River. We will have breakfast on board the skiffs, and then we will go down the Samiria River and its distributaries into the deep jungle to discover the abundant wildlife that inhabits it (yellow and blue macaws, toucans, parasol birds, monkeys, capybaras).

Return to Zafiro for lunch. Lunch will be the best time to recharge batteries and prepare to continue discovering the Amazon rainforest.

Conference on the Amazon. Discover, from the hand of our guides, where the name ¨Amazonas¨ comes from and learn more about the flora and fauna that inhabit it.

Visit to the San Martin community of Tipishca Kukama on the banks of the river. We will meet the genuine and welcoming inhabitants of this Amazonian community through our guides, who will act as interpreters.  We will have the opportunity to buy handicrafts made by these same inhabitants and to exchange smiles with the children of the zone.

Visit to Tipishca Lake. We will discover this century-old lake that houses a large supply of good fish, including piranha and catfish.  Birds in the lake are abundant, the lake attracts many species such as yellow and blue macaws chiricotes, tiger herons, black wattles, Pygmy and Amazonian pejerreyes.  We may even see hoatzins, red-capped cardinals and ringed pejerreyes.

Concert of live music aboard the Zafiro and dinner. We will finish the day by recuperating with a typical Peruvian dinner.  Overnight aboard the ship.  (B,L,D)

Day 5 (Wed): Marañon River-Pampa Lake-Shiryacu-Check Out-Disembark in Nauta-Manatee Rescue Center-Airport.

Expedition to Lake Pampa. Before breakfast we will go bird watching.  We will follow the coastline to surprise the many species of monkeys and birds, including terns, neotropical cormorants, garzetas, herons, hawks and, our favorite, the hoatzin.

Return to the Zafiro for breakfast. Time to gather energy to continue discovering.

Fishing for piranhas and meeting with the local shaman. We will begin our expedition with piranha fishing in the Shiriyacu stream.  We will then walk in the jungle to find the local shaman and learn about the complementary medicine of the Amazon and the ancestral traditions.  We will have the opportunity to ask questions to the shaman.

Return to Zafiro for an early lunch. We will share the last lunch on board and bid farewell to this four day tour.

Disembark and travel from Nauta to Iquitos, passing through the Manatee Rescue Center.  We will have the opportunity to meet baby manatees and learn about these wonderful and docile creatures and why they are on the list of endangered species.

Check-in at Iquitos Airport. Our staff will be waiting for you at the airport to your boarding passes and help you with the departure formalities.

Return flight to Lima. We hope you enjoyed your stay and Amazonian experience with us.  (B,L)

B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner