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Planning

When to come.

There is no closed season and no bad month. What changes through the year is the height of the river, and that changes the trip far more than the weather does.

The river rises about ten metres, and then it falls.

That is the whole story. Rain in the Andes feeds the Amazon basin for half the year, the water comes up, and the forest around the Yarapa floods. Then it drains away and the banks reappear. Both are worth seeing. They are simply two different trips.

Roughly November to May

High water

The water peaks around April and May. The forest floods and you travel through the trees rather than past them, which is why people call it the jungle of mirrors.

  • You are closer to the canopy, which is where most of the animals actually are
  • More channels open up, so the boat gets further into quiet water
  • Less walking. Much of the forest floor is under water
  • The reflections everyone photographs

Roughly June to October

Low water

Lowest around August and September. The river pulls back, sand beaches appear along the banks, and the forest floor is walkable again.

  • Long walks inland become the heart of the trip
  • Fishing is better. Fish concentrate as the lagoons shrink
  • Beaches on the river bends, which do not exist the rest of the year
  • Fewer channels, so you cover less water and more ground

The changeover is not a date on a calendar. It drifts by a few weeks each year, and the months above are the pattern rather than a promise. If you are booked for the edge of a season, Ruber will tell you what the water is actually doing that week.

What actually decides what you see

Not the month. Sloths, monkeys, caiman, pink and grey dolphins and most of the birds are there all year. What changes is how close you can get to them and whether you are on foot or in the boat.

After that it is the guide, and then it is luck. Anyone who promises you a specific animal on a specific day is selling you something. These are our own photographs, all taken on these trips.

Rain, heat and mosquitoes

It rains in both seasons. More in high water, but a day without rain is unusual at any time of year. It usually comes as a heavy hour in the afternoon rather than a grey all-day drizzle, and nothing stops for it. You get wet, then you dry off.

It is hot and humid all year, generally somewhere in the high twenties to low thirties Celsius, and it does not vary much by month. Nights are cooler on the water.

Mosquitoes are real in both seasons, worse at dawn and dusk than in the middle of the day. Long sleeves, long trousers, repellent, and a net over every bed. What to bring is here.

So which should you pick?

You want the flooded forest and the reflections

Come between December and May. This is the one most people have in their heads when they picture the Amazon.

You want to walk, and to fish

Come between June and October. More ground under your boots, and the best fishing of the year.

You are choosing by weather

Do not bother. It is hot, humid and rainy whenever you come. Pick by what you want to do instead.

You only have one window and it is fixed

Then come in it. There is no month in which this trip is not worth doing.

How far ahead to book

There are no fixed departures and no minimum group, so you are not fitting into anyone else's schedule. You do not need to book months out.

What is worth doing early is asking. Message with the rough dates you are thinking about and Ruber will tell you straight away whether they are free and what the river is likely to be doing. Since there is no deposit, asking costs you nothing and commits you to nothing.

One date that does matter: pick-up is at 8:30 in the morning, so you need to be in Iquitos the night before. Do not book a flight that lands the same morning.

Not sure your dates work?

Send the rough window you are thinking about. You will get a straight answer about the water and what is free.

Ask on WhatsApp Or email hello@amazonwildlifeexpeditions.com · See the trips and prices