3-Day Pacaya Samiria Tour: Pink Dolphins & Night Jungle

Reserve boat tour with base camp stay, spotting pink dolphins and nocturnal wildlife at night

A 3-day tour from Iquitos into Pacaya Samiria National Reserve on the Marañón River, with two nights at a base camp, a guide in English or Spanish, boat transport, and daily excursions to spot dolphins, fish for piranhas using traditional methods, swim in the river, walk medicinal plants with a guide, and navigate by canoe at night. Pickup from your hotel or airport is included. The return transfer to Iquitos depends on which option you choose at checkout.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: Arrival and jungle introduction

• Pick-up and transfer to Nauta
• Boat navigation on Marañón River
• Lunch on board
• Arrive and enter Pacaya Samiria Reserve
• Briefing and visit base camp Buenos Aires
• Dinner
• Night excursion in the jungle

Day 2: Wildlife and cultural activities

• Amazonian sunrise and birdwatching
• Breakfast at camp
• Pink and grey dolphin sighting
• Piranha fishing with local techniques
• Swim in Marañón River
• Lunch
• Botanical walk learning medicinal plants
• Wildlife sighting and dinner
• Night navigation to spot caimans

Day 3: Return and local crafts

• Breakfast
• Return to Buenos Aires base camp
• Attend craft fair
• Lunch
• Return to Nauta and then Iquitos

The experience

The tour starts with a pickup from your hotel or airport in Iquitos, then a three-hour boat ride up the Marañón River aboard a traditional wooden vessel. The river crossing itself is part of the experience: pink and grey dolphins ("bufeos") surface along the way, and you'll see various bird species feeding on the banks. Lunch happens on board before you arrive at the reserve entrance to collect your entry passes.

You stay at Buenos Aires, a base camp inside the reserve where the guide explains the sustainability rules that keep the site intact. Day 1 includes a night excursion through the jungle to observe insects, tarantulas, frogs, scorpions, monkeys and nocturnal birds. Day 2 is the full working day: an early morning bird watch at sunrise, a piranha fishing session where the guide teaches you the local subsistence techniques (and you can cook and eat what you catch), a swim in the Marañón River near the dolphins, a botanical walk to learn which trees have medicinal or mystical properties, and a night canoe navigation on the Pucate River to search for caimans and fireflies. Day 3 includes breakfast, a return to base camp, a brief craft fair where you can buy from local artisans, lunch, and the boat ride back to Nauta and then Iquitos.

Two nights of lodging, all meals, the reserve entrance fee, and a guide fluent in English and Spanish are included. The tour suits travelers with any fitness level who want to move beyond a day trip and spend real time inside the reserve rather than passing through it.

What’s included

• Two nights lodging at the base camp.
• entrance fee to Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.
• all meals during the tour.
• boat transport on the Marañón River and excursions within the reserve.
• a guide in English or Spanish.
• hotel or airport pickup in Iquitos.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 09:00

GroupUp to 12

Live guideEnglish and Spanish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated yesterday

Good to know

Low physical effortNot recommended during pregnancy

Operated by IZI PERU

Is this one for you?Book this tour if you're staying in Iquitos and don't have your own transport: the pickup from your hotel or airport means you don't need to arrange a separate ride to the departure point. The 3-day format lets you spend two full working days inside the reserve instead of rushing through a single afternoon, so you can do the fishing, the botanical walk, and the night canoe trip without cutting any of them short.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

What's the difference between a 3-day tour and the shorter versions of this route?

The 3-day tour gives you two full days inside the reserve instead of one, which means you can do the piranha fishing, the botanical walk, and the night canoe excursion all in the same trip. A shorter tour would skip one or more of those activities or rush through them.

Do I need to arrange my own transfer back to Iquitos at the end, or is it included?

The return transfer to Iquitos is included in some options and not in others. You choose at checkout which one suits your schedule and budget.

What happens during the night excursions, and is it safe to be in the jungle after dark?

Night excursions are guided walks and canoe trips designed to observe nocturnal wildlife like caimans, fireflies, insects and night birds. The guide leads you and carries a light. The animals you're watching are far more interested in avoiding you than approaching you, and the guide knows the terrain and the wildlife behavior.

Can I actually eat the piranhas I catch, or is that just a gimmick?

Yes, you can cook and eat them. The guide teaches you the local fishing techniques using the same materials jungle inhabitants use for subsistence, so the catch is real food, not a photo op.

What's the base camp like, and will I be comfortable sleeping there?

Buenos Aires is a camp inside the reserve with basic lodging for two nights. It's not a hotel, but it's set up for tourists and includes meals and a guide. The trade-off is that you're actually inside the reserve rather than commuting in and out each day.