Delfin I: An Intimate Peruvian Relais & Chateaux Riverboat Experience

Day 1     Thursday     Arrive to Iquitos / Begin the Cruise

Upon arrival to the Iquitos International Airport, you will be met by the Delfin I’s guides and transported by bus to the city of Nauta, where you will board the ship to start your cruise. After check-in, you will have dinner, meet the crew and your fellow passengers, and have time to relax and enjoy the scenery.

Day 2     Friday     Belluda Caño / Dorado River

Today will start with an early gourmet breakfast, after which you will prepare for your first excursion in the Pacaya Simiria National Reserve. During the wet season (Dec – May), you will explore Belluda Stream by skiff, from which you are likely to spot parrots, macaws and monkeys. You may also see Morpho butterflies, and various species of hawks, including the noisy “laughing falcon,” named for its loud falsetto call. During the dry Season (Jun – Nov), you will have the chance to do some hiking at Belluda Caño, where you can explore two different kinds of ecosystems: “flooded forest” and “terra firme” forest. Here you may see snail kites, black-tailed ant birds, manikins, tanagers, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, nun birds, orioles, blackbirds, and pygmy marmosets. Your hike will take you to a lagoon filled with endangered and unique fresh water fish, where you will explore the waters in a dugout canoe. After your excursion you will return to the Delfin I for lunch. In the afternoon you will head to Dorado River in the skiffs, with a good chance of seeing gray and pink river dolphins and possibly swimming with them. You may also spot snail kites, festive parrots, endangered scarlet macaws, olive-spotted hummingbirds, Amazonian parrotlets, iguanas, squirrel monkeys, and wood creepers.

Day 3     Saturday     Atun Poza Lake / Rio Pacaya

After breakfast you will head out for your morning excursion. During the wet season (Dec – May), you will explore Atun Poza by skiff, where you are likely to see egrets, herons, hawks, long-legged neo-tropical cormorants, loud horned screamers. You will also have a chance to explore other black water lagoons linked to this huge lake, where wattled jacanas can be found along with a variety of spiders, grasshoppers, dragonflies, butterflies, moths, and beetles living along the freshwater swamps and marshes. You may also see social spiders and how their webs embrace huge parts of a tree. During the dry Season (Jun – Nov), you will go hiking at Atun Poza, passing through tropical rainforest with emergent trees and canopy trees reaching up to 55 meters in height. You may see giant otters, and this is an excellent location for spotting birds such as the bluish-fronted jacamar, collared trogons, and red capped cardinals. After lunch back aboard the Delfin I, you will continue up the Puinahua River towards the Pacaya River, in the heart of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, for further exploration of the largest protected wetland reserve in the world. Aboard the skiffs, you will explore the spectacular rainforest wilderness while searching for different species of monkeys, such as small family groups of red howler monkeys. You will be able to watch the sunset over the river, and once darkness falls you will start your night safari in search of night herons, pauraques, spectacled owls, fish bats, and the spectacled and black caimans that live in the water.

Day 4     Sunday     Caro Curahuayte Lagoon / Jungle Hike

This morning you will board the skiffs and head to Caro Curahuayte Lake. During the wet season you will be able to do some fishing, mainly for piranhas. During the rainy season the forest is flooded and many trees flower and bear fruit, tempting the piranhas and other fish to enter and eat. During the dry season you will explore in the skiffs and search for shore-birds. When the river is very low, broad white sandy beaches emerge and river islands form, creating a special ecosystem that harbors sandpipers, terns, black skimmers, egrets, jabirus, wood storks, and kingfishers. During lunch back aboard the ship, the Delfin I will navigate back down the Puinahua River toward Iquitos. In the afternoon your will visit the Yanallpa Community, a chance to interact with local villagers, observe their unique way of life, and learn about the local fruit trees and how they are harvested. Back aboard the ship in the late afternoon, you will continue down the Puinahua River toward the Ucayali River. Tonight you will have a farewell dinner and live music performed by the Delfin I staff and crew.

Day 5     Monday     Puerto Miguel Community / Manatee Rescue Center / Return to Lima

This morning after breakfast you will board the skiffs and head to the village of Puerto Miguel to meet local villagers and learn about their culture, traditions and folklore. After lunch back aboard the ship, you will disembark at Nauta, where a bus will be waiting to take you back to Iquitos. En route you will stop at the Manatee Rescue Center for a brief visit before continuing on to the airport for your flight back to Lima.

Day 1     Monday     Arrive to Iquitos / Begin the Cruise

Upon arrival to the Iquitos International Airport, you will be met by the Delfin I’s guides and transported by bus to the city of Nauta, where you will board the ship to start your cruise. After check-in, you will have dinner, meet the crew and your fellow passengers, and have time to relax and enjoy the scenery.

Day 2     Tuesday     San Isidro Flooded Forest Hike / Yanayacu & Pucate River

This morning you will have the option of participating in an early-morning bird-watching experience to see the Amazonian sunrise before breakfast. After your gourmet breakfast, you will go hiking through San Isidro’s pristine and unique flooded ecosystem, passing through tropical rainforest with emergent trees and canopy trees reaching up to 55 meters in height. You will encounter and identify local medicinal plants while hiking, and you are likely to spot a variety of tropical birds such as the bluish-fronted jacamar, collared trogons, and red capped cardinals. After your excursion you will return to the Delfin I for lunch. In the afternoon you will have a chance to explore some of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, known for its outstanding biodiversity. Onboard your skiff, you will be able to explore the area’s fantastic flora and fauna. You are likely to see myriad bird species, butterflies and other diverse insects, monkey troops, and pink and grey river dolphins.

Day 3     Wednesday     Canopy Walk / Tawampa Lake / Nauta Caño Exploration

This morning you will head to the only canopy walkway in this area. At a height of over 85 feet and extending for a third of a mile, the canopy walkway provides a view of the rainforest from the treetops, the best vantage point for observing Amazon wildlife and vegetation. The canopy walkway is accessible to all and requires no special skills or equipment. The suspended walkway is spread between 14 of the area’s largest rainforest trees and is one of the longest canopy walkways in the world. Afterward you will canoe back through the Tawampa Lake, where you may see giant Arapaima, the largest freshwater fish in the world. After lunch back aboard the Delfin I, you will head out to explore Nauta Caño’s beautiful creek and lagoons from your skiff, cruising quietly near the shore in search of wildlife. You will have a chance to do some fishing for the Amazon’s 25 species of piranha, who swim among the base of the submerged trees in search of fruit. You will be able to watch the sunset over the river, and once darkness falls you will begin your night safari in search of night herons, pauraques, spectacled owls, fish bats, and the spectacled and black caimans that live in the water.

Day 4     Thursday     San Francisco Village / Manatee Rescue Center

This morning you will wake up at the place where the Ucayali & Marañon Rivers merge and give birth to the mighty Amazon River. Here, you will search for the elusive freshwater pink river dolphin before heading to shore to visit San Francisco Village, a small community where you can explore the village, observe the villagers’ way of life, see a local schoolhouse, and visit the arts and craft market. After lunch back aboard the ship, you will disembark at Nauta, where a bus will be waiting to take you back to Iquitos. En route you will stop at the Manatee Rescue Center for a brief visit before continuing on to the airport for your flight back to Lima.