Hello wild people!

It’s been a long time without an update, with the latest being on 2019, and a lot of things have happened ever since!

First things first, of course we were hit by the pandemic and that was totally uncharted territory for us in how to sustain a business without many customers (due to lockdowns and fear of travel, which happily seem to be a thing of the past right now).

We persevered, made a commitment to refund more than 40 bookings by people who saw their 2020 travel plans cancelled due to the global circunstances, and went through with our promise. That’s something we are very proud until this day.

Also, we wanna thank everyone who supported us one way or another during challenging times. Every one of your encouraging messages made a difference for us.

Moving forward, with the world slowly opening up we started to see increasing demand for exploring and touring the Amazon again, and that made us tremendously happy because it showed that our conviction to continue pursuing our dreams was well worth it.

So, what we’ve been up lately? Mostly we’ve been head-down hard-at-work aiming to deliver the best possible experience and the highest quality of services/care for those that choose us as their partners to explore the Amazon jungle.

And how is this being reflected in the current state of Amazon Experience? Let’s explore it in the next section!

News and updates

Amazon Experience positive reviews and happy customers

We wanted to start with this one because it really makes us feel super happy about what we do, while also giving us useful information about the areas of development we need to focus on.

On Tripadvisor we crossed the 300+ reviews mark with the majority of those being 5-star reviews.

And on Google reviews we’ve accumulated more than 120 reviews so far, with an average score of 4.6 (out of 5).

We feel very grateful for the opportunity to keep delivering quality experiences for those who decide to explore the Amazon with us, and we also wanna publicly thanks everyone who after taking a tour with us, has taken the time to write about your trip with the Amazon Experience crew.

You rock people, you rock!

Amazon Experience gets Tripadvisor 2022 Traveller’s Choice Award

When we received the email from Tripadvisor stating that Amazon Experience just won the Traveller’s Choice Award for 2022 we were ecstatic!

This is the third time we receive a Tripadvisor award and we are ready to go for more!

Thanks to everyone who chose us!

We are getting new boats!

At Amazon Experience we are always looking for ways to improve our service, so this is why we’ve already started to slowly transition from traditional wooden boats into aluminium boats.

So far, we’ve replaced 2 out of 6 boats, but the plan is to continue this trend as aluminum boats last longer, so there’s no need to obtain local wood for making or repairing them.

Amazon Experience aluminium boat

But that’s not the only update regarding boats. We are not only getting better boats but also faster boats!

We’ve managed to install 40 HP motors (from 15 HP) in half of our boats for faster commuting between the stops in the itineraries of the different tours. Our aim in the short to mid-term is to have all of our boats with 40 HP motors and we are confident we’ll be able to do it.

Permit to conduct eco-tourism activities in Pacaya Samiria has been renovated until 2026

As the headline indicates, we’ve renovated our permit with the SERNANP (Servicio Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas) until 2026 so we can conduct eco-tourism activities inside Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.

Obtaining a permit is hugely important because of two main reasons:

  1. It helps the SERNANP monitor the activities inside the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve so their ecosystem has the less impact possible in regards to tourism activities
  2. It helps visitors know they are visiting the real Pacaya Samiria National Reserve (and part of their money is going into the conservation of this protected area), as until this day there are still shady tour companies who offer Pacaya Samiria tours in their website only to take unsuspecting people to other parts of the jungle. Please don’t fall for these!

If you are thinking of visiting Pacaya Samiria with an authorized tour operator (that would be us!) we recommend you check these tour options and also read this guide with lots of information about Pacaya Samiria (and what makes it so special!)

Cryptocurrencies accepted as payment now

We are moving ahead with the times, so now besides accepting payments with PayPal, credit cards and cash (USD, EUR, or PEN) we are ready to accept payments in:

  • Bitcoin
  • Ethereum
  • USDC (Stablecoin on Ethereum network)

In fact, just a few weeks ago we received payment for a tour in USDC and the process was very smooth, lasting only a few minutes. The future is bright!

If you would like to purchase a tour using cryptocurrencies please contact us at booking@amazonexperience.net to coordinate it.

Social Impact v2.0

When we started Amazon Experience our aim was not only to deliver the best quality of tours and experience for visitors, but also to potentiate the local economy and its communities.

Pre-pandemic we conducted lots of social activities, from Chocolatadas (local Christmas parties for kids and adults) in far-away towns to donating soccer uniforms and equipment to a local club.

And our idea is to get back into these kind of social events once again, now that global travel seems to be on the uprise.

Price adjustements

We’ve always been transparent with our customers and visitors, so this won’t be the exception: Our prices are going up.

We’ve maintained our prices without changes for 5 years but as our operational costs have gone up significantly during these last years, in part due to rampant inflation affecting goods and services that are essential for us to deliver you a quality experience, we took the decision to adjust accordingly.

The costs for the entrances to the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, imposed by the SERNANP, has also gone up during the last years, so that was a factor we also needed to take into consideration.

So, to continue growing and giving you the best experience (in regards to food, accommodation, equipment, transport, and service) we need to make this change.

We want to give you, and everyone who visits Amazon Experience, the chance to book tours at our “old” prices before these are officially changed. This is why we are going to maintain our old prices until the end of May (May 30th included, to be specific).

Another thing to mention is that we’ll maintain discounts for big groups ( 5% off for groups of 4 or more people booking together) or those who choose a vegetarian/vegan menu (also 5%).

The 5% discount for big groups is automatically applied when booking through our website. To obtain the 5% discount for vegetarian/vegan food choices please contact us at booking@amazonexperience.net to apply this discount to your booking.

Final Words

We are very (very!) grateful to be able to continue working in what we love and happy to put the pandemic years behind us.

We are also full of excitement to continue developing this business into a force of positive impact for the Amazon, its people, and communities.

Thanks a ton for your support and for letting us do what we love the most… sharing the beauty of the Amazon jungle with the world!

Gracias!

Hello, wild people! How are you?

Lately, we’ve been very busy organizing tours, improving on logistics, consolidating partnerships and overall improving as much as we can Amazon Experience for you.

We are very happy with the feedback we are getting, the friendships we have formed and the smiles that people give us after exploring the Jungle. All of this wouldn’t be possible without you, the visitors, so please accept a big Thank You from our team. *standing ovation*

To be able to welcome visitors from all over the world to Iquitos, and show them the beauty and magic of the Amazon Rainforest, it’s truly a blessing for us.

Here you can see from where people visit our website:

Visitors of all over the world for Amazonexperience.net
Map of visitors – amazonexperience.net

And the Top 5 countries with more visitors (up to this date):

Peru, United States of America, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and Chile
Peru, United States of America, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and Chile

Big news and updates

We wanted to share with you some important news and milestones we have reached:

Solar panel and solar battery in the Amazon Jungle

Since the end of 2016, we are equipped with a solar panel and a solar battery for our expeditions. This is a starting point for us in our journey towards more sustainable tourism practices in the Amazon. It also facilitates things for our visitors, making for them easier to charge their cell phones, cameras or video cameras while in the jungle.

Solar panel and solar battery in Amazon jungle tours
Solar power!

All our permits are up to date

When you book a tour or an expedition that goes into a Natural Reserve (Pacaya Samiria for example) in Peru, it is wise to check if the agency you are going to trust has its SERNANP permit up to date. You can check authorized agencies for entering Pacaya Samiria National Reserve here

Pacaya Samiria entry permit by SERNANP, Peru
Pacaya Samiria entry permit by SERNANP, Peru

We started supporting Rainforest Trust and being part of their Roots program

We strongly believe in supporting organizations that are committed to the environment. That’s why we decided to be part of the Roots program and support the work that Rainforest Trust does protecting areas around the world for endangered species.
If you wanna join too, you can do so in this link

Roots - Rainforest Trust
Roots program – Rainforest Trust

We have received over 50 reviews on TripAdvisor

We are super happy with your feedback! As of today, we have over 55 reviews in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Greek. We believe in taking an active part when it comes to seeking feedback from our visitors, and we really appreciate the time everyone that gave us their honest opinion put into it. We will keep adapting, learning and optimizing along the way so we can offer you the best experience in the Amazon jungle. That’s our commitment.

You can check our TripAdvisor profile here.

Our Facebook community keeps growing, more than 11.000 friends!

Not long ago we celebrated our 10.000 friends in Facebook with a giveaway. Thanks to all of you who participated.

Amazon Experience reaches over 10000 Facebook fans
10.000 Facebook friends!

If you wanna see some pictures of Amazon adventures, see what we are up to or engage with us just jump in!

Partnering with Santa Maria de Fatima.

At the end of March of this year, we started working together with the Santa Maria de Fatima community. This community, composed of around 65 families, started developing an ecotourism project in conjunction with NGO “Naturaleza y Cultura Internacional” to protect the biodiversity of the area while at the same time create jobs for the local community.

Amazon Experience and Santa Maria de Fatima representatives
Amazon Experience and representatives of Santa Maria de Fatima in March 2017

They have built a massive 3-floor wooden tower in the heronry (Garzal) to look for wildlife and enjoy the landscape.

Impressive 3 floor wooden tower in the Amazon jungle
Santa Maria de Fatima’s wooden tower

View from the wooden tower in Santa Maria de Fatima
This view only gets better when you are standing there.

Recently, on August 22nd, we were part of an extraordinary meeting in Santa Maria de Fatima, along with representatives of public institutions like Maynas tourism division and local municipalities of Belen and Indiana, to discuss and engage in the future development of this community. The local newspaper “Diario La Region” made an article about this. You can read it here (Spanish)

If you wanna visit them you can do so in our 3d/2n, 4d/3n or our new 5d/4n tour for the Amazon river itineraries.

Awarded LTG Service Excellence 2017

This year we received the LTG “Service Excellence” 2017 award. We felt great! *high fives*. You can find more details in this post along with our own definition of luxury and luxury travel here.

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies accepted here

We started accepting payments for any of our tours using Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Litecoin, DASH, Lisk, Ark, PIVX, among others. If you wanna see a list of all cryptocurrencies supported please check our FAQs or contact us directly.

Pay your Amazon Jungle tour with Bitcoin
Pay your Amazon tour with Bitcoin!

Web updates

We’ve been adding some common questions we receive from people wanting to visit Iquitos and the Amazon Jungle. Here you can check the FAQs (Frequently asked questions).
Also, we added our new tour 5 days/4 nights on the Amazon lodge, with one more day focused on deep Amazon jungle trekking and survivor skills.

Final words

All in all, we are delighted! Stay tuned for more posts, we have a couple of interviews in the oven, like the one we did with Don Julio and some exciting things coming up later this year.

Thanks again for all your support, you really make us love our work.
Peace out and…

Stay Wild

Peru tourism has been growing steadily over the years, welcoming millions of visitors each year.

Wanna know why?

Short answer: Peru is awesome.

It has three different areas to visit: Coastal, Andes, and Amazon, each one with its own unique landscapes, wildlife, cultural backgrounds, gastronomy, etc.

Peru tourism is based mainly on Cultural tourism and Ecotourism.

Having the third largest extent of tropical rainforest in the world (after Brasil and the Democratic Republic of Congo) makes Peru a paradise for those looking out for wildlife spotting and flora appreciation because of its biological diversity.

Amazon river Victoria Regia
Victoria Amazonica, biggest water lily on Earth.

Peru tourism: How many people visited Peru in the last few years?

One image speak for a thousand words.

Peru Tourism Arrivals
Peru tourism arrivals trend (yes, is going up)

Over 4.500.000 visitors to Peru in 2016. That’s around half the population of Austria or Sweden, for making a comparison.

From which countries visitors came to Peru in 2016?

We receive visitors from all over the world. They come mainly for vacations, holidays and to explore all the hidden treasures that Peru has to offer.

In 2016 the main top 15 countries from where visitors came to Peru were:

CountryNumber of visitors in 2016
1Chile1.075.079
2United States572.595
3Ecuador288.930
4Colombia179.260
5Argentina176.638
6Brasil146.947
7Spain140.705
8Bolivia133.603
9France97.889
10Mexico83.009
11Germany75.915
12United Kingdom70.808
13Canada69.330
14Italy65.333
15Japan54.878

Where do visitors go in Peru?

Most of the visitors coming to Peru arrive at Lima (or visit it during their stay), being around 90% of the total. The second most visited city is Cusco, with over 80% of the total.

Can you guess how many tourists visit Iquitos, located in the Amazon rainforest? You are in for a surprise:

Visitors Peru by City

Places visited in Peru by country (Graph)
Places visited in Peru by country (Graph)

The answer is around 5%. That’s right, only 5 out of 100 tourists visit Iquitos. Being visitors from Italy the lowest (2%) and from the United Kingdom the highest with 7% (Thanks for coming guys!)

Taking a look at these images and with the above information in mind… Where would you go if you wanna get away from the crowds and explore some off the beaten path destinations?

Visiting Iquitos as a gateway to exploring the Amazon Jungle can be an excellent option for those looking out for adventure, boat rides, and wildlife viewing.

Are visitors satisfied after coming to Peru?

The definitive answer is Yes.

A satisfaction rate of 94% has been reported for visitors after their stay in Peru.

Peru Tourism Satisfaction
This is how Satisfaction looks like in the Amazon Jungle.

Summary

The growing number of visitors coming each day to Peru, being highly satisfied with their choice, is a reflection of all the things this country has to offer. There are many different areas to explore (with varied geography, weather, flora, and fauna), many activities to do and many things to learn. It doesn’t matter what kind of traveler you are: Backpacker, businessman, honeymooner or part of a big family. You will surely find something for your taste.
In short: Come to Peru, you will not be disappointed.

Ready for Adventure?

Amazon Rainforest Tours


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Photo attributions:
(1) Vianney Lhoumeau
(2) Observatorio Turistico del Peru
(3) Observatorio Turistico del Peru
(4) Vianney Lhoumeau

Source:
INEI Peru
Observatorio Turistico de Peru
Peru.info
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