Travel Guide Reserva Nacional Pacaya Samiria

The Pacaya Samiria reserve (the largest in Peru and the fourth largest in South America) is located 183 km southeast of Iquitos. You can get there from the port of Nauta, 1h30 by car from Iquitos. Then, it takes another 2 hours by boat to reach the PV1, the first checkpoint of the reserve. It is without question the jewel of Iquitos. It protects about 130 species of mammals, 330 species of birds, 150 species of reptiles and 250 species of fish (including the paiche, the largest freshwater fish in the world). The reserve's greatest achievement has been to save the small taricaya turtle from extinction. Local communities protect the eggs on artificial beaches and every October-November you can see the baby turtles being released back into the wild. Very few lodges have been built in the interior. We recommend a community lodge. A single day in the reserve involves a lot of transportation for little wildlife. The dream jungle is more inland and requires time, giving itself away over its 2 million hectares. It is a lacustrine jungle, that is to say floodable. Between December and April, the water rises and you can travel through the jungle in a dugout canoe: many birds, dolphins, sloths and iguanas perched in the trees come to light. From April onwards, when the rivers go down, you can do some trekking with a good pair of boots (provided) and see the terrestrial wildlife. A good option for small budgets can be to enter from Lagunas by pirogue (access by boat from Yurimaguas).