If you’re heading to the jungle region of Peru, what time of year should you go? When is the best time to go to Peru if you’re heading for the Amazon region?
In most destinations, there’s a high season and a low season, which may or may not correspond to the months with the best weather. There are some destinations, however, where it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference in terms of temperatures. In many tropical climates, the choices are either “wet” or “dry.” Sometimes it’s just “wet” and “wetter.”
Unlike with the highland areas, there’s not a four- or five-month window that’s ideal. You can come to the Amazon River region of Peru and explore the jungle at any time of the year, with a narrow range of temperatures. But our friends at Rainforest Expeditions say that the worst season for Cusco and the Sacred Valley is actually the best time for exploring the jungle: the first few months of the year.
Visiting the Amazon in the Rainy Season
The rainy season starts in November and then really kicks in the first few months of the year, with February being the wettest. It is generally done by June. These rains bring cooler temperatures than the dry season, however, plus there are plenty of reasons to come in the first half of the year in terms of nature. According to Rainforest Expeditions, here are some of the advantages:
– Most of the birds are actively nesting or have already welcomed their chicks into the world. This means that birdwatching opportunities are at their peak, with an abundance of species to observe and marvel at.
– This is the time when most trees in the Amazon are fruiting and in full bloom.
– All types of monkeys are having babies at this time of year. The lush canopy of the Amazon comes alive with playful, young monkeys exploring their environment.
– The wetter weather brings out the amphibians, so you’re likely to see the widest possible variety of colorful frogs that live in the rainforest.
The other reason to come to the Amazon at this time of year is the water level of the mighty river, along with all its tributaries. Since much of the getting around in this region is by boat, you can navigate more areas when the water is high than you can when the water levels drop and some streams start to dry up.
The Amazon itself rises around 20 feet from its dry season level, which puts you that much closer to the tree canopy where the birds and animals are living too. With fewer dry land islands in the waterways, the ones that remain have a higher concentration of birds and animals seeking dry land or basking in the sun.
How to Explore the Peruvian Amazon
You have two general choices of how to explore the Peruvian Amazon: sleeping on the river or sleeping on land. If you’re more interested in the river itself and the romantic notion of watching the banks go by from your deck, then an Amazon river cruise might be your best bet.
If you’re more interested in seeing wildlife at all hours of the day and being close to the rainforest, however, staying at a well-placed jungle lodge puts you in the heart of nature. You can walk out your door to join a guide for a morning birdwatching trip to a night hike when the jungle comes alive, all walking distance from the lodge.
A quick canoe trip or boat ride will lead to other options, like a parakeet salt link or a place to fish for pirhanas. You can climb an observation tower that extends up 60 meters (180 feet) to get to the same level as the birds and monkeys and see the jungle stretched out around you.
Then when the activities are done, you’ve got far more room to stretch out than you would on a river ship, with a spacious room of your own to move around in and grounds with hammocks, sitting areas, and decks.
To find out more reasons to go to Peru then, see this article on the best time to travel to the Peruvian Amazon.
Check rates here to book your stay in the heart of the jungle at Posadas Amazonas Lodge.
Article by Timothy
Timothy Scott is the founder and editor of Luxury Latin America and has been covering the region as a travel journalist since the mid-2000s. He has visited each country we cover multiple times and is based in a UNESCO World Heritage city in central Mexico, where he owns a home. See contact information here.
