Hotels

Puerto Maldonado and Iquitos have plenty of small hotels. Iquitos also has a few nicer hotels geared to business travelers. Beyond those urban centers lie the region's jungle lodges, which are reachable only by boat and vary in degree of rusticness and remoteness. They range from tented camps, where rooms consist of a bed inside a screened enclosure under a roof, to upscale eco-lodges with swimming pools and Wi-Fi. Most have limited electricity, however, and only one offers air-conditioning. Showers are often refreshingly cool.

All nature lodges offer fully escorted tours, with packages from one to eight nights including guided wildlife-viewing excursions. They all provide mosquito nets and three meals. Most lodges quote rates per person, based on double occupancy, that include meals and transportation plus most tours, and many take so long to reach that the minimum stay is two nights. All lodges accept soles and U.S. dollars for drinks and souvenirs.