from: Dilwyn Jenkins: The
rough guide to Peru; Rough Guides, New York, London,
Delhi; 6th edition September 2006; www.roughguides.com
Jungle permits
The permits from the
Instituto Nacional de Recursos Naturales (INRENA)
To enter certain areas, such as the Pacaya Samiria National
Reserve, or the Manu and Tambopata-Candamo reserved zones,
you'll need to obtain permission first. This is often done
for you if you're on an organized tour; otherwise, contact
the
Instituto Nacional de Recursos Naturales (INRENA, National
Institute for Natural Resources]), Calle 17, 355 Urb. El
Palomar, San Isidro,Lima, T. 01-224-3298, e-mail
comunicaciones@inrena.gob.pe, www.inrena.gob.pe,
or
[Calle] C Ricardo Palma 113, fourth floor, Iquitos, T.
065-232980, e-mail mps-zrg@meganet.com.pe.
It's not usually difficult to get a permit unless there's a
good reason, such as for specially restricted areas (e.g..
in Manu Biosphere Reserve) or suspected hostility from
indigenous locals (in 1980, for example, a German-led
wildlife expedition was attacked by Indians - the first
thing they knew about it was a sheet of arrows flying
towards their canoe) (p.507).
Getting into the jungle
Flight - bus - jungle lodges - camping - canoing etc.
Given the breadth and quality of options, it's never easy to
decide which bit of the jungle to head for. Your three main
criteria will probably be budget, ease of access, and the
depth and nature of jungle experience you're after.
Flying to any of the
main jungle towns is surprisingly cheap [for tourists of the
western industrialized and poisoned countries] and can save
an arduous few days' journey overland [by bus], and once
you've arrived, a number of
excursions can be made easily and cheaply,
though the best experience comprises a few nights at one of
the better
jungle lodges.
For a more intimate (but often tougher) experience,it's easy
enough to arrange a
camping
expedition and a guide, traveling in canoes or
speedboats into the deeper parts of the wilderness.
River cruise with Iquitos
operators - individual routes - common and alternative
tourism
A costlier option is to take a
river cruise on a larger boat, with one a
few operators based in Iquitos. This offers two significant
advantages: firstly, the boats are comfortable, with good
service and food; and secondly, the programs take you to
remote areas in style, and can then penetrate the deeper
forest (such as the rarely visited Pacaya Samiria National
Reserve) in well-equipped speedboats. Unlike lodge-based
operations, both canoe expeditions and cruises aren't fixed
to specific locations, so they can customize programs and
routes.
[When you go by local cruise boat with Peruvian people the
standard is not the same on the cruise. You have to bring
with your dishes, your spoon, your hammocks, and danger of
theft is not low etc.].
Hotels and tours tend to work out cheaper while there is
less demand due to the annual cycle of US and European
holiday seasons, though growing trends in
ecological tourism and,
more recently, psychedelic or jungle
mystic experiences, are
bringing groups throughout the year.
Entering the selva by boat
from Yurimaguas or from Pucallpa to Iquitos
Most easily accessed by air from Lima or by boat from
Brazil, the
northern selva
can also be reached from the northern Peruvian coast via an
increasingly popular but still very adventurous route that
takes the Río Huallaga from Yurimaguas [north from
Tarapoto], a four- to
five-day boat journey that can be broken by a visit to the
immense
Pacaya Samiria
National Reserve at the heart of the upper Amazon.
Capital of the remote and massive frontier (p.503)
region of Loreto,
Iquitos
is one of Peru's most welcoming cities, despite the presence
of oil wells, cocaine traffickers and the US Drug
Enforcement Agency. It's also the most organized and
established of the Peruvian Amazon's tourist destinations,
and has many reputable companies offering a range of jungle
visits, from luxury lodges and cruises to rugged survival
expeditions. From Iquitos you can catch a
ferry upstream to the
growing town of
Requena,
similar to how Iquitos was around fifty years ago, and even
further upriver to
Pucallpa,
where you'll find the first possible direct road link to
Lima.
Pucallpa with
"industrialization"
Pucallpa is the largest port and a rapidly growing
industrialized [and poisoned] jungle town in the
Central Selva, best
reached by scheduled air flights or the largely paved road
from Lima. Nearby is
Lago
Yarinacocha, a laid-back lake resort with limited
amenities that has declined in popularity as a major
destination over the past few decades, mainly due to a
combination of terrorist infiltration,
over-industrialization and the improvement of facilities in
other competing (p.504)
jungle regions. However, it remains a good introduction to
the rainforest and is reached by a relatively easy overland
trip from Lima.
Chanchamayo jungle: Satipo,
La Merced, Pozuzo
Another sector of this central jungle region -
Chanchamayo - can be
reached by road in eight to twelve hours from Lima. Winding
fast but precariously down from the Andean heights of Tarma,
the Carretera Central [Central main road] is now paved all
the way to
Satipo,
a jungle frontier town, relatively close to the
Río Ene, the name given
to the Amazon's major headwater after the Río Apurimac
merges with a major tributary, the Río Mantaro, as it pours
down from the Huancayo area of the sierra. En route to
Satipo the road passes through the cloud forest via
La Merced, from where
there are bus connections to the fascinating and unique
Tirolean settlement of
Pozuzo.
Peruvian Southern jungle
around Cusco and Puerto Maldonado - parks and reserves
The jungles of southeastern Peru are bursting with
biodiversity and are now excellently supplied in terms of
lodges, guides, boats and flights to enable budget travelers
and those with more money and less time to get deep into the
jungle for the full experience. Cusco is the best base for
trips (p. 505)
into the
southern selva,
with road access to the frontier town of
Puerto Maldonado, itself
a good base for budget travelers. The nearby forests of
Madre de Dios boast the
Tambopata-Candamo Reserved
Zone and the
Bahuaja-Sonene
National Park, an enormous tract of virgin
rainforest close to the Bolivian border. Many naturalists
argue that this region is the most biodiverse on Earth, and
thus the best place to head for wildlife (p.506)
An expedition into the
Manu
Reserved Zone (part of the larger
Manu National Biosphere Reserve)
will also bring you into one of the more exciting wildlife
regions in South America. For a quicker and cheaper taste of
the jungle, you can go by bus from Cusco via Ollantaytambo
to to
Quillabamba,
on the
Río Urubamba,
which flows north along the foot to the Andes, through the
dangerous and unforgettable whitewater rapids of the
Pongo de Mainique.
Getting around the jungle:
Boat classes
The tree most common forms of river transport are canoes (
canoas), speed-boats (
deslizadoras), and
larger riverboats (
lanchas).
Whichever you choose, it's a good idea to make sure you can
get along with the boatman (
piloto) or captain and that he really does
know the rivers.
Canoes can be
anything from a small dugout with a paddle, useful for
moving along small creeks and rivers, to a large
eighteen-meter canoe with paneled sides and a
peque-peque (on-board
engine) or a more powerful outboard motor.
Speedboats tend to
have light-weight metal hulls and are obviously faster and
more manoeuverable, but also more expensive.
Different riverboats -
Pucallpa-Iquitos and Tabatinga-Iquitos
Riverboats come in a
range of sizes and vary considerably in their
river-worthiness, and you should always have a good look at
the boat before buying a ticket or embarking on a journey -
note that the smaller one - or two-deck riverboats are
frequently in worse condition (and noisier) than larger
ones. The best are the Iquitos-based tour boats, with cabins
for up to thirty passengers, dining rooms, bars, sun lounges
and even Jacuzzis on board. Next best are the larger vessels
with up to three decks that can carry two hundred
passengers, with hammock spaces and a few cabins (for which
you pay two to three times as much); if you're over 1,8m
tall, it's best to take a hammock as the bunks may be too
small. Always try to get a berth as close as possible to the
front of the boat, away from the noise of the motor. On the
larger riverboats (especially between Pucallpa and Iquitos,
or Tabatinga and Iquitos) you can save money on hostels by
hanging around in your hammock, as most captains allow
passengers to sling one up and sleep on board for a few days
before departure. Riverboats traveling upstream tend to stay
close to the bank, away from the fast central flow, and
while this means longer journeys, they're much more visually
interesting than traveling up the middle of the river,
particularly on the larger ones where it can be hard to make
out even huts on the banks.
[Mosquitos are on the river banks and hardly in the middle
of the river].
River tours - fuel stations
- fuel canisters - rapids and the danger to get lost in
the jungle
Anyone who intends
hitching
along the river system should remember that the further you
are away from a town, the harder it is to lay your hands on
fuel (p. 507)
(even if you should come across a multinational company
drilling in the middle of the forest). You'll always be
expected to contribute financially, but however much you
offer, no one will take you upriver if they are short on
fuel - and most people are usually. Taking your own supply
(a 55-gallon container, for example) is a little difficult
but isn't a bad idea if you're going somewhere remote.
As a last resort it's possible to get hold of a
balsa raft and paddle
(downstream) from village to village, but this has obvious
dangers and is certainly not an option if there are any
rapids [chutes, riffles] to negotiate ie, mortal danger
awaits anyone who would be foolish enough to attempt to go
through the Pongo de Mainque on the Río Urubamba by raft.
[There are death victims every year there].
In addition to the obvious dangers of rapids, traveling
alone by river places you in severe risk of getting lost, or
simply stuck on an unpopulated riverbank for the night (or
even a week or more in many remote areas) before finding a
passing boat or local settlement. It certainly isn't
advisable to travel these rivers without the help of
reliable local expertise; this inevitably means a good tour
company with professional guides, or reliable local Indian
guides.
Find and hire a native
guide - and assimilation to the nature - and no machos -
exchange products
A basic rule of thumb is to always try to be with a reliable
local guide. They
don't need to have official status but they should be
experienced in the region and willing to help out (remember
that natives are often the best guides). There are several
ways of enlisting this kind of help:
-- by paying significant sums for a commercially operated
jungle tour
-- by going to the port of a jungle town and hiring someone
and his boat
-- or by hopping along the rivers from one village to the
next with someone who is going that way anyway and who will
be able to introduce you to the villagers at the next stage.
This last and most adventurous option will normally involve
long waits in remote settlements, but the jungle is an
essentially laid-back place, and if there's one thing
certain to get a
selvatico
(jungle dweller) mad, it's a gringo [white man, allegedly
from the expression of the "Americans" in green uniforms:
green go] with a loud voice and pushy manner [macho habit].
If you choose to travel this way, remember that you are
imposing yourself on the hospitality of the locals and that
you are dependent on them: be sensitive to their needs,
their privacy and their possessions and take
goods and cash to offer
them in return for any help. Fishing hooks, nylon fishing
line, tins of fish, trade cloth, clothes, fresh batteries
and even shotgun cartridges are usually appreciated (p.
508); petrol for boats, useful for bargaining for rides
(p.506).
Jungle hazards: Risks you have to know about
Snakes, jaguars and
mosquitoes
Going even a little off the beaten track in the jungle
involves arduous traveling, through an intense mesh of
plant, insect and animal life. It's an environment that's
not to be taken lightly: apart from the real chance of
getting lost, the popular image of poisonous snakes, jaguars
and mosquitoes is based on fact, though these dangers don't
actually come hunting for you. Always consult your doctor on
how to prevent diseases before departing for Peru if you are
planning to spend any time in the rainforest regions.
Dengue fever by mosquitoes
There is no inoculation [vaccination] against dengue fever,
a mosquito-transmitted viral infection that occurs mainly in
urban Amazonia. The best prevention is by avoiding bites
(see "Malaria" below, though note that the dengue mosquito
is primarily diurnal). Symptoms include high fevers,
headache, severe pains in muscles and joints, vomiting and a
red skin rash after the first few days. The illness usually
lasts around ten days and can be treated with paracetamol.
If hemorrhaging [bleeding] occurs (in this, as well as in
any other case, of course), see a doctor immediately.
Recovery is usually complete within a few weeks.
Jiggers (beach fleas)
causing itching
Small insects that live in cut grass, jiggers [fleas] can
also be a very irritating problem; they stick to and bury
their heads in your ankles before slowly making their way up
your legs to the groin [hips], causing you to itch
furiously. You can either pick them out one by one as the
natives do, or apply sulfur cream (ask for the best ointment
[unguent] from a farmacia [pharmacy] in any jungle town).
Leishmaniasis by sandfly
bites - deformed faces
Endemic to certain zones, leishmaniasis (known in Pru as
uta) is transmitted by
sandfly bites and is rarely contracted by short-term
visitors to the jungle. Symptoms start with skin sores that
begin to ulcerate, followed by fever and swelling of the
spleen. There is no prophylactic and if untreated it can
lead to severe degeneration of the skin and facial tissue
[nose, lips, ears], usually around the upper lip and lower
nose areas. there is treatment available, but many untreated
cases among relatively malnourished Peruvian peasants and
Indians have resulted in permanent and quite horrific
disfigurement.
Malaria by mosquitoes - and
the repellents
The most significant disease in the Amazon, malaria has two
common forms in South America:
Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum.
The letter is the most common, but both are found in the
Peruvian Amazon and thought to be fast adapting to modern
medicines. Of the prophylactics, many have side-effects
(some psychological, others physiological), so do some
independent research as well as consulting your doctor.
Mosquitoes are mainly, but not exclusively nocturnal coming
out at dusk and disappearing at sunrise; the best protection
is to use roll-on (p.504)
DEET (diethyltoluamide) repellents, to wear clothing that's
treated with diluted DEET repellent and covers exposed skin,
and to sleep under mosquito nets [and the best is when also
the mosquito nets have repellent]. Note that DEET harms
plastics, Even with the best effort possible, you can't be
sure of avoiding bites, especially when camping in the
rainforest or on night walks, so always take what your GP
[general practitioner, family doctor] prescribes.
Malaria starts three or four weeks after contact, usually
with a combination of severe nausea, high fevers, delirium
and chills; get medical help as soon as possible if you have
these symptoms - it's easier to treat in the early stages.
Parasites by water or by
mud
Parasites are quite common, so it's best to boil drinking
water and use sterilizing tablets or crystals. Around human
settlements, including the muddier parts of larger towns,
you can pick up parasites through the soles of your feet;
the best precaution is to wear shoes rather than flip-flops
[beach sandals] or sandals. Also, get a medical check-up at
a center that specializes in tropical diseases when you
return home.
River sickness without hat
The most likely hazard you'll encounter is river sickness, a
general term for the effect of the sun's strong rays
reflected off the water. After several hours on the river,
particularly at midday and without a hat, you may get the
first symptom - the runs [diarrhea] - sometimes followed by
nausea [sick feeling] or shaking fever; in extreme cases
these can last for a day or two. Anti-diarrhea medicine
should help (Lomotil, Imodium, or something similar);
otherwise drink plenty of fluids and take rehydration salts
dissolved in water.
Snakes in the vegetation
It's unlikely that you will encounter any snakes. If you do,
nearly all of them will disappear as quickly as they can -
only the poisonous
shushupe
(a bushmaster) is fearless. The fer-de-lance, or
jergon, is also quite
common; it's smaller and packs less venom than the
bushmaster, but can still be deadly. Most bites occur by
stepping on a sleeping snake or picking it up with a handful
of vegetation; be constantly aware of this possibility. If
anyone does get bitten, the first thing to remember is to
keep calm - most deaths result from shock, not venom. Try to
kill the snake for identification, but, more importantly,
apply a temporary tourniquet above the bite and find medical
help
immediately.
Some natives have remedies even for a potentially deadly
shushupe bite.
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is simple to prevent by a shot [injection] that
covers you for ten years. Consult your doctor to find the
nearest inoculation [vaccination] center, and remember to
obtain a certificate of inoculation, which you are sometimes
required to show on entry into many of Peru's jungle
regions. If you can't, you run the risk of being subject to
on-the-spot inoculation, wherever you may be (p.505).
Jungle essentials
For all visits
-- certificate of inoculation [vaccination] against yellow
fever (check with your embassy for prevailing health
requirements)
-- malaria pills (start course in advance as directed by
prescribing doctor)
-- roll-on insect repellent containing DEET [against malaria
and dengue fever mosquitoes]
-- suitable clothing (wear socks, trousers and long sleeves
in the evenings)
-- toilet paper
-- waterproof poncho [pullover], cagoule (hooded nylon
pack-away raincoat) or overclothes
[natives never have raincoat] (p.506).
3-5 days at a lodge or
basic facility
Above plus...
-- anti-diarrhea medicine (e.g.. Lomotil or Imodium)
-- blanket or thick cotton sheet for sleeping
-- mosquito net for sleeping under [the best is when the
mosquito net is also with insecticide]
-- multipurpose knife (with can and bottle opener)
-- plastic bags for packing and lining your bags (a
watertight box is best for camera equipment and other
delicate valuables). Note that cardboard [paper] boxes
dissolve on contact with the Rio Amazonas or rain shower
-- sun-hat (especially for river travel)
-- torch and spare batteries
-- water proof matches and a back-up gas lighter (p.506).
5 days or more away from
facilities
Above plus...
-- candles
-- compass and a whistle (in case you get lost)
-- cooking pots, stove (or the ability to cook over a fire
and a supply of dry wood) and eating utensils
-- filled water container (allow for a gallon a day)
first-aid box or medical kit (including tweezers, needles,
scissors, plasters, bandages, adhesive tape, sterile
dressings, antiseptic cream, antibiotics and painkillers)
-- fishing line and hooks (unsalted meat makes good bait)
-- food supplies (mainly rice, beans, cans of fish,
crackers, noodles and fruit; chocolate is impractical, as it
melts)
gifts for people you might encounter (batteries, knives,
fish-hooks and line, camera film, and so on)
-- a hammock or mat, plus a couple of blankets
-- insect-bite ointment (antihistamines, tiger balm, or
mentol china;
toothpaste as a last resort)
-- a good knife and machete
-- quick-dry clothing
-- petrol for boats, useful for bargaining for rides
-- rope
-- running shoes, sandals (ideally plastic or rubber)
[natives never have shoes, their feet have incredible horny
skin]; rubber boots or strong walking boots if you're going
hiking
-- water sterilizers (good tablets, crystals or a decent
filter) (p.506).
Getting lost and found again
No way - similar trails -
whistle, shouting, banging at the buttress-root trees -
following the brooks to the river
Getting lost is a real danger, even for local people, and
it's no fun. By straying less than a hundred meters from
camp, the river or your guide, you can find yourself
completely surrounded by a seemingly impenetrable canopy
[roof] of plant life. It's almost impossible to walk in a
straight line through the undergrowth, and one trail looks
very much like the next to the unaccustomed eye. Your best
bet, apart from using a whistle (always advisable to carry
one with you in the forest) and shouting as loud as you can
or banging the base of big buttress-root trees as Indians do
when they get lost on hunting forages [searches], is to
find moving water and
follow it downstream to the main river, where someone will
eventually find you waiting on the bank.
If you get caught out overnight, the best places to sleep
are:
-- besides a fire on the river bank
-- in a nest you could make yourself in between the buttress
roots of a large tree
-- higher up in a tree that isn't crawling with biting ants
-- or in a hammock (p.508).
A brief jungle glossary
While you're here it might be useful to know a few local
jungle words, some Spanish and others from local Indian
languages:
Jungle
glossary
|
aguajina
[aguaxína]
|
a refreshing
palm-fruit drink
|
bauda
|
a curve in the
river
|
inchicapi [int ikapi] |
appetizing local
soup made from chicken, peanuts, manioc (yuca) and
fresh coriander herb
|
masato
|
manioc beer
|
el monte
|
the forest
|
| paiche [paite] |
the world's largest
freshwater fish, often found on jungle menus
|
| pakucho [pakuto] |
the local form of
"gringo" [white man, allegedly from: "Green
(uniforms) go"]
|
peque-peque
|
the onomatopoeic
word used for small boat motor engines (usually a
4 or 9 horsepower with the propeller on a long
shaft which helps to steer the canoe and can be
lifted easily out of the water in shallows)
|
pongo [ponxo]
|
whitewater rapids
[chutes, riffles]
|
remolino
|
whirlpool
|
restinga
|
an area of forest
that lies above the river flood level on a
permanent basis
|
| shushupero [uupero] |
a "drunk" or
inebriated individual, from the deadly shushupe
snake
|
siete raices [siete
raises]
|
a strong medicinal
drink, mixed from seven jungle plants and
aguardiente [alcohol]
|
| tipishca [tipika] |
an oxbow lake [old
river arm from when the river was flowing in
another direction]
|
varzea
|
forest which does
get regularly flooded
|
|
(p.509)
|
