To pytanie zadaje sobie każdy, kto podróżuje po Ameryce Południowej. Gdzie i jak najlepiej pojechać, żeby zobaczyć prawdziwą dżunglę i zwierzęta. Jest mnóstwo wycieczek, lodgów w dżungli w Peru, Boliwii i Brazylii. Ale jak wybrać  to miejsce, które da niezapomniane przeżycia. My sami wiele godzin spędziliśmy na forach dyskusyjnych. Chcieliśmy uniknąć tłumów, ekskluzywnych obozów dla turystów.

I znaleźliśmy, pojechaliśmy, a teraz namawiamy wszystkich, bo miejsce naprawdę świetne – Pacaya Samiria w Peru. Całą niezapomnianą wycieczkę opisujemy na końcu części III w naszej książce „Goniąc marzenia, czyli podróż poślubna dookoła świata” wydawanej przez Zysk, która ukaże się za miesiąc. Ale tam nie ma szczegółów jak taką wycieczkę zorganizować.

Oto szczegóły, przepraszam, że po angielsku, ale ten tekst pisałem na forum anglojęzyczne, żeby wiele osób mogło skorzystać. I wiem, że kilka osób dzięki tym wskazówkom już tam pojechało.

Pacaya Samiria:
There are only 250 tourists a year in this part of Pacaya Samiria belonging to Lagunas. there are no native people living there since they set a National Park there. We saw the following animals when we were there: pink and grey dolphins for hours around kanu, caymans, sloths, big 3 meters anaconda just near us, tarantulas and many other spiders, many birds including toucan, many turtles, piranhas, different monkeys and so on We travelled all the way in 2 canoes.

Guides:
We called from Tarapoto the Estpel guides organisation that is mentioned in LP. They picked us up from the ferry in the middle of the night and took us to the hostel (20soles per person, it was ok). Our guides were: Klever and Abram and we can recomend them very much! They are both very experienced and Klever used to live in Pacaya Samiria many years before the NP was created. But we think that you could go with any of their guides. It is not just a travel agency. It is more like a association and the guides rotate to have the same income. They try organize toursim there and we think they make it very responsible.
You can call their organization and you would probably talk to Gamaniel Valles, the boss, 065 40 1005 or you can talk to Klever directly 065 40 1009.
We advise to call ahead but since there are not many tourists (last ones who entered the park before us were 3 weeks earlier) it is not necessary. Without calling them it will be hard to find them because Lagunas is very spread. From the port to the center is 15 minutes walking in a mud street.. Others will approach you but you will not know if you can trust them, besides you arrive in the middle of the night.

Time:
the best time to go is June-August, as the water is the lowest. But then the biggest number of people goes. We believe any moment is good. May was great

Food:
Food was great and was all prepaired by the guides. They were catching fish for us every day and then cooking it. But we also had fruit salads every day and even an omelette for the breakfast. So dont take any food with you.
Cost:
We paid 80 soles per day per person and you pay another 20 soles per day at the entrance to the park.

How to get to Lagunas where we started the trip:
We started from Lagunas, which is a little remote town of around 7000 inhabitants (LP says 300, we do not think that anyone from LP has been there) with electricity only 6pm-12pm and 4am-7am. Great experience to spend there a day or two. There are lots of hospedaje, standard is not too good but is ok. We stayed in hospedaje Samiria close to the market, we were told it’s the best (10 soles per night per person).

First we took the bus Tarapoto and then a colectivo to Yurimaguaz. This is a gorgeous rute and it is great to do it during the day, which is only possible now during the day on Sundays as there are some works on the road, other days of the week it is possible to go this road only during the night (which is said to be dangerous). Then we took a ferry Eduardo for 40soles per person to Lagunas, where we arrived around midnight. Eduardos leave Yurmaguas around noon and it takes 12 hors. We know also that if it is requested, Klever can go to Yurimaguas or Iquitos to pick you up. Eduardos should leave every day (Sundays too even though LP says it does not) but when there is no cargo it just does not go, so have a day or two more just in case.

You can get there from Iquitos on Eduardo but that would probably take 2-3 days.

From Lagunas to Iquitos is only 30 hours, much faster than LP says.

Accomodation:
It was a camping in our case and every time it was prepared by the guides, including moscitoe nets. We felt safe and comfortable. Guides were sleeping just next to us. But we didn’t use any tents. It is very basic but they do their best to make it comfortable.
Language:
We were speaking Spanish with them, but some of the guides might know basic English.
If you had any questions, please PM us. This was a really unique experience and if we had more time, we would have stayed there longer and do another trip to see the native tribes (that is outside the park, we were told that they still wear traditional cloths and live like before but it seems that 5 days is minimum). 4 days and 3 nights is minimum to see wildlife in the park, the more the better as you go deeper in the jungle.

There is no malaria and dengue in this area!!!!!! And in fact there were almost no mosquitos at all. But the guides say that sometimes there are a lot and sometimes none. So better be prepared.