Peru - The Amazon

Itinerary: Amazon by Road & River

TWO WEEKS/CHICLAYO TO IQUITOS

This route crosses the Northern Highlands by road and ends at Amazonian Iquitos, the world's largest city that cannot be reached by road.

Leaving Chiclayo (see the North Coast route), head for Chachapoyas, the base for visiting the untouristed fortress of Kuelap, dating from AD 1000, and many other remote, barely known, archaeological sites. Chachapoyas is easily reached in 10 hours from Chiclayo via the highland jungle town of Jaen. Hardier travelers will take a longer route to first visit Cajamarca, a lovely, highland provincial town where the Inca, Atahualpa, was imprisoned by the conquistadors. Continue on the slow, spectacular route to Celendin on the scenic but kidney-busting drive to Chachapoyas. Your choice.

From Chachapoyas, take the scenic unpaved road to Pedro Ruiz where transport is readily available to Tarapoto. A break here provides opportunities to hike to high jungle waterfalls. The last road section to Yurimaguas is a six-hour, unpaved, gut-wrencher. Cargo boats leave here most days on the two-day trip via Lagunas, a good entry village for the Pacaya Samiria Reserve, to Iquitos; hammock or cabin space is readily available. Don't expect comfort but enjoy watching how people live on the world's greatest river. At Iquitos you can arrange boat trips that go deep into the Amazon basin or Brazil.

From Chiclayo, choose the easier, quicker, paved northern road or tough it out on the wild, unpaved track through Celendin. Hurrying locals get from Chiclayo to Iquitos in three days, without visiting Chachapoyas. Curious travelers might take weeks or months.