Amazon River Cruise Destinations

The Amazon is explored from two great gateways. Here is what each region and stop offers.

Iquitos, Peru

The largest city unreachable by road — the jumping-off point for luxury upper-Amazon cruises and a colorful blend of jungle and rubber-boom history.

Pacaya-Samiria Reserve

Peru’s vast “jungle of mirrors” — five million acres of protected flooded forest with the region’s richest, most pristine wildlife.

The Marñón & Ucayali

The two headwater rivers that join to form the Amazon proper — quiet channels perfect for skiff exploration and pink-dolphin spotting.

Manaus, Brazil

The Amazon’s biggest city, famed for its opera house from the rubber boom — the base for Brazilian Amazon cruises.

The Meeting of the Waters

Where the dark Rio Negro flows side by side with the sandy Solímoes for miles without mixing — an unforgettable Brazilian sight.

The Rio Negro & Anavilhanas

The world’s largest river archipelago — a maze of forested islands and igapó flooded forest rich in birds and dolphins.

Flights into the jungle rarely line up perfectly with embarkation, so a night in town is wise — see Iquitos hotels in Peru or hotels in Manaus in Brazil.

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