Although Peru is known the world over for its Andean scenery and the legacy of the Incas, it is also one of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries. The total number of species within Peru’s borders – including birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and plants - represents approximately 15% of the world’s entire biodiversity.

The Amazon River originates in Peru, in the highland region of Arequipa, and further along its course its basin is covered by tropical rainforest that comprises over 60% of the nation’s territory. The Peruvian Amazon is the sixth largest forest of its type in the world and contributes to the stabilisation of global climate. It accounts for 12.5% of the whole Amazon region and amounts to 7.3% of the planet’s remaining tropical rainforest. It is also home to 42 ethnic groups who have lived in harmony with nature for centuries.

Some of Peru’s most accessible pristine rainforest destinations can be accessed from Cusco. The two principal areas of protected tropical forest are the Manu National Park and the Tambopata National Reserve.

Manu is widely considered the most biodiverse ecosystem in the world, with over 1000 species of birds, 13 species of monkeys, 1200 species of butterfly and 15,000 different flowering plants, as well as rare and endangered mammals such as the jaguar and the giant river otter.

Manu covers an area of 19,000 square km, ranging from the twilit, mist-enshrouded cloud forest at over 3000 m above sea level to the teeming lowland forests of the Amazon basin.

The tropical forests of the Tambopata National Reserve, a remote corner of the world rich in fauna and flora, can be reached via a short scheduled flight from Cusco and a three-hour boat ride up the Tambopata River.

Tambopata is one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet; a place where one can breathe pure air and be in contact with nature. Situated in southeastern Peru, nestled below the foothills of the towering Andes, Tambopata is visited all year round by nature lovers, scientists, researchers and journalists, all of whom marvel at its countless natural wonders. Aside from the remarkable ecosystems of its ox-bow lakes – inhabited by innumerable bird species as well as giant river otters – one of the marvels of Tambopata is the remote macaw lick where scores of parrots and macaws congregate every morning, flying great distances through the rainforest to feed on the mineral deposits in the mud walls of the riverbank.

In the heart of Peru’s northern forests, the city of Iquitos is an island of 500,000 inhabitants over 3000 kilometres from the mouth of the Amazon and only accessible by air or river from the rest of the country. The city retains an air of elegance born of the days when the wealth generated by the local rubber boom built mansions with glazed tiles from Italy and Portugal and ironwork from England, and filled the cellars with fine wines and the pantries with caviar.