Amazon Canopy Expeditions Ecolodge

My daughter and I did a two day, one night tour from Iquitos in early October. Manager, Carlos, met us at the office to welcome us and introduce us to our guide Julio. Julio fitted us up with wellington boots and organised Motorkars to the docks. The boat took us up the Amazon for a couple of hours before dropping us off for our first walk through the jungle. Julio was keen to tailor the experience to things that we wanted to do - swimming, fishing, animal spotting etc. I am interested in good so he showed us safe sources of food and gave us tasters. We crossed the river to the lodge on the other bank for lunch and a rest. Accommodation was basic but comfortable. Food very good. Staff welcoming and attentive. We did a late afternoon/early evening tour to see the jungle after dark. Accommodation is basic but comfortable. Limited electricity so need a torch. We had a very early night and slept well. Off at 5am on another walk to catch sunrise over the Amazon and then back to the lodge for breakfast. Then headed to the other bank and to Monkey Island - a refuge for rescued animals - and a walk around some local communities. River level was low so some of the more exotic animals were a bit elusive. We did manage to see parrots, frogs, spiders, monkeys, bats, leaf cutter ants, termites, anteaters, vultures, egrets, Then back to the lodge for lunch and a rest before the boat ride back to Iquitos. Carlos was keen to hear how it went and to get feedback on how to improve things. He is very focussed on making sure his guests leave happy. Julio was the perfect host and very happy to share his extensive knowledge of the area. We were the only English speaking tourists on the trip so we’re lucky to have him to ourselves. We would like to go back to Iquitos and do a longer trip with Julio and Canopy Tours one day.

A buddy and I visited Peru in late August, and we could only fit a 3 day/2 night stay in Iquitos. We had a lot that we wanted to do in such a short amount of time. We thought we were going to have to miss out on some of our desired activities, but Carlos with Canopy Tours did an amazing job coordinating around our tight schedule. They arranged for a cab to pick us up from the Airport to take us to their office for some quick paperwork, and then another one to take us to our Hostel afterwards. In the morning they picked us up from our hostel, and we were on the Amazon river by 10am. We veered away from the other tour groups and started our own personal venture with their guide named Claus. Very knowledgeable guy who just had some great vibes the entire time. He made the experience fun and enjoyable. We boated to a small village upstream, and met with another guide named Leonardo that took us further into the jungle on his personal boat. We trekked through the jungle for a couple hours before stopping at a lake. We sat down and ate a nice traditional jungle lunch (better than the food we got at any restaurant in town). As we ate, Leonardo caught us some bait so we could fish for piranha. Between me and my buddy, we caught about 10 fish before packing up and trekking back through the jungle to the boat. When we got back to the small village, we stopped by a Monkey sanctuary on our way out. This was honestly one of the highlights of our entire vacation in Peru. We fed and hung out with monkeys for an hour or so before nightfall, and then Claus arranged for another boat to take us back to the cabins. They were nice quaint little cabins in the jungle, that had hot water with good pressure. And a pool that made for a refreshing late night dip. There was dinner prepared for us when we got back that smelled amazing, but my buddy and I had to sit out bc we were partaking in a ceremony with the shaman later that night. I won’t go into much detail about that part, but I will say that after hearing of so many other peoples group ceremony experiences from other retreats, I really appreciated the 1 on 1 personal experience that we were allowed to have with Maestro David and Carlos. Their connection to each other and mother Aya was truly inspiring. The next morning we took a boat back to Iquitos, where Claus took us on a tour of the Belen Market. Having a local guide was definitely the way to navigate the market. He was able to answer all of our questions about the produce and products, helped us haggle with the vendors, and allowed us to venture further in than we would be comfortable with if we were alone. 10/10 would recommend these guys if you are looking for a more personal interaction with the people and jungle of Peru. P.S. - After paying they take care of everything, no hidden costs or fees. Not to mention a great price compared to what I heard other people were paying with other guide services. And they even bought us a nice lunch before arranging