This summer we took advantage of the fact that we were visiting my grand parents in Colombia to travel to the Amazonian forest. The area we were in is called “Tres Fronteras”, it’s part of the Amazon rainforest un the upper part where three different countries meet : Colombia, Peru, and Brasil.
I think It was one of the most lively and abundant “wild” nature I’ve seen, putting wild in quotation marks since the paths we walked in were arranged by the locals. But it was the closest I’ve ever been to the authentic Amazonian forest !
+ LETICIA, COLOMBIA
We were staying in a Decameron Hotel in Leticia, Colombia, it was easier that way since we all had colombian pesos to begin with. The hotel was very good, from there we had access to all the visits and tours we could do in the area, including the ones from Peru and Brasil. You can also meet Kapax there, a famous local who is considered as the Amazonian Tarzan. He swam into wild Magdalena rivers for days with only a knife, if that doesn’t say badass I don’t know what does ! The only downside of this hotel is that the wifi isn’t free, nor stable since you’re in the middle of the Amazonian area, but hey you didn’t come all the way here to netflix & chill anyway.
The city itself has also some spots to visit, such as the docks where you can wander around, the church, or the Santander Park full of thousands of parrots
The famous Kapax :
+ TABATINGA, BRASIL
The first day, I got to go to Brasil for the first time ! We went to Tabatinga, the closest city to the border. We actually went there to officially cross the three borders, but the city itself isn’t actually worth visiting. It’s not a beautiful place, everything is grey and squared (except two buildings that were bright colored such as the cathedral). We enjoyed the food though, and the very touristic shop near the border was cool. If you also want to cross the border for the sake of it, stay near to it where you can sit outside with a yummy caïpirinha 🍹
+ THE ISLANDS OF THE AMAZONIAN RIVER
On the second day, we went on a boat trip to visit various islands on the Amazon River !
ISLA DE FLORES :
We started with Isla de Flores, a very peaceful island with a wooden hostel where everyone can stay in. The hostel has several macaw parrots as pets here, that can actually jump on you !
ISLA DE LOS MICOS
The second island was Isla de los Micos, which translates to Monkey Island, but I think it should be called Monkey Paradise. We were literally drowning in monkeys, and they were so soft ! Many animal attractions for tourists don’t treat their animals well, but the locals of the Amazon area are very committed in being eco friendly and cruelty free. The tourists are not allowed to actively pet or touch the monkeys, they’re the ones who jump and crawl on you, and we can’t make loud noises to not scare or bother them. They also live into their own homes in the forest, but like to come visit the humans to get some free bananas. For the record, squirrel monkeys smell like cats somehow 🐒
A real fashion icon right there :
MALOCA BARU
Next stop was the Maloca Baru, an island with native Tikuna locals who performed traditional dances and songs, and told some stories about their legends or customs. They also sold many handicrafts that they made with resources from the forest.
PUERTO NARIÑO
Puerto Nariño, the last stop, is the most ecological city of Colombia. They have solar panels, no cars, humble houses. Its people are part of the Tikuna clan too, but they chose to live in an urban environnement rather than in the forest, contrary to other more traditional Tikuna groups. Their clan is divided in two major groups : Earth and Air, and they can only marry into the other group. To show their belonging to one of the two sides, they paint their homes with “earth” or “air” animals such as leopards or birds, I love their creativity !
+ MARASHA, PERU
The last day, we went to Peru ! Fortunately on the peruvian side of the Amazon, there were many things to do. We chose to walk through a small part of the Amazonian forest with a local guide to show us all of its hidden mysteries. And we weren’t disappointed, there are so many particularities specific to this area ! We got to see cute cats, gigantic roots, butterflies, one of the smallest frogs on earth, a lion monkey (but not a golden tamarin), an army ant that doctors used in the past to make stitches… The path ends in another hostel called Marasha, built next to a lake where we could go on a little boat ride 🚤
Just chilling in ma hammock :
That was it, we spent three days in total, we were tired at the end of each one but it was so worth it ! It’s really an awesome destination. I was very happy to see their ecological implication and their concern about the fauna and flora 🌿
Click here to read my other travel posts ! 🙂
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