Where to stay in the Amazon Rainforest

So, where to stay in the Amazon Rainforest? There are many recommended places to stay in the Amazon Rainforest, but there are also a lot of places best avoided.

The urban areas on the Amazon River are, from east to west, Iquitos in northern Peru, Leticia in southern Colombia, Manaus and Belem in Brazil.

Starting from Iquitos, the Tahuayo Lodge in northern Peru is the only tourist lodge in the biologically rich Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Reserve. The Tahuayo Lodge provides a comfortable place to stay in the Amazon Rainforest. The lodge is owned by a local family who founded a charity named Angels of the Amazon to improve the quality of life for indigenous people.

Located near the lodge is an Amazon research center known as the ARC, where scientists conduct research on the Tahuayo Reserve’s diverse assemblage of primates.

There is a grid behind the ARC accessible to tourists visiting the Tahuayo Lodge where you can observe many species of monkey in their natural habitat. Because the primates are familiar with people, catching a glimpse of these animals is a lot easier than in other parts of Amazonia.

If you venture down the Amazon River to visit the small and charming Leticia in the Colombian Amazon Rainforest, a recommended place to stay is the affordable and rustic Alto del Águila in Puerto Narino, accessed by a short boat ride from Leticia. You can read a little more about the Alto del Águila in our article on Amazon Rainforest Attractions.

Manaus in Brazil is the largest city in the Amazon Rainforest. A recommended place to stay in Manaus for Amazon river cruises is the Hotel Tropical. From the Hotel Tropical you can embark on an 8 day Tucano Amazon Cruise or a 5 day Tucano Jungle Cruise. Both cruises take you to areas of the Amazon Rainforest out of reach by most other tour operators.

The largest and reportedly most pristine reserve in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest is Manu National Park located near Cusco, Peru. This large area of protected land includes Andean cloud forest that you can visit as part of a Cock of the Rock tour. The cloud forest is worth seeing, as the animals and plants are very different to those in lowland rainforest.

While in Manu, you can also visit lowland tropical rainforest as part of the Manu Wildlife Center experience. A unique attraction of the Manu Wildlife Center is the tapir lick, where tapir come to eat nutrient rich clay. This creates fantastic photo opportunities of the largest Amazonian land mammal.

Further south, a six hour boat ride from Puerto Maldonado will take you to the Tambopata reserve where you can stay at the Heath River Wildlife Center. From here you can embark on guided tours into the surrounding Tambopata Reserve, home to one of the world’s largest macaw clay licks. The animals of the reserve include jaguars, black caiman, giant river otters, anaconda, and the harpy eagle.

The reserve also includes Lake Sandoval where you can see giant river otters as part of a stay at the Sandoval Lake Lodge.

These options give some ideas of where to stay in the Amazon Rainforest, but for some other fantastic wildlife sighting opportunities in South America, including the best place to see wild jaguar and anaconda, you can consider the Pantanal wetlands in Brazil.

What to wear in the Amazon Rainforest

What to wear in the amazon rainforest will depend largely on your own personal preference. As a general guide for the majority of people on Amazon jungle tours, we recommend to take loose-fitting, cotton clothing. This not only keeps you cool but will make it harder for mosquitoes to bite.

As mentioned in what is the Amazon Rainforest like, you should also take some warm clothes as the nights are about 15 degrees colder than day.

In terms of what’s appropriate for daytime, there’s a photo at the Tahuayo Lodge office highlighting what to wear in the Amazon Rainforest: One person in the photo is wearing flip-flops, shorts and a tank top. And the person next to him has jungle boots, socks, long camouflaged pants that tie around the ankles, long sleeved shirt, gloves, and a hat with a mosquito net draped over the brim. Both of these people are prepared for the rainforest, but the differences reflect their personalities.

My outfit consisted of loose, long-sleeved shirts and trousers made of quick dry material. I didn’t enjoy wet clothing and sacrificed the breathability offered by cotton for drying out a bit quicker.
In terms of footwear, it depends on where you are going. I was comfortable in a pair of rubber boots (most tours distribute these to guests on arrival). Rubber boots dry quicker when they get wet and are more waterproof.

If you’re going on hikes, boots are preferable to shoes, as around 60% of all snake bites could have been prevented by wearing boots that cover the ankle. Snake bites are very unlikely if you are walking with a professional guide, however; but you can never be too careful.

Sandals still have their place, as you will be in your boots most of the time. Sandals let your feet breathe when at the lodge or back at camp. They also mean you can comfortably walk into shallow water to wash without hurting yourself on jagged rocks or sticks.

For rain gear, again there is a lot of diversity on the market. My own preference is a simple and durable poncho. In the middle of a hike, I find a poncho is easily stored in a backpack and quickly put on during a sudden downpour.

If you’re like me and get distracted easily by all the wildlife, a brimmed hat helps protect your head when you walk into a vine or fallen tree (speaking from personal experience). The best one I found was made of kangaroo leather as it folded over your face offering additional protection. If you’re in the open (as opposed to the forest) it will also protect against the harsh mid-day sun.