12-Day Matses Indigenous Amazon Trek

• Epic, 12-day Amazon adventure visiting remote Matses National Reserve.

• A rare chance to interact with the reclusive, but friendly, inhabitants.

• Includes all transport within Loreto, guides, meals & entrance fees. 

Hardy travellers now have the opportunity to witness the unique lifestyle of the private Matses indigenous people, as well as enjoy bountiful Amazon flora and fauna during this remarkable 12-day journey to the remote and biologically-important Matses National Reserve, which is to be found along Peru's northern border with Brazil. 

After a long time being uncontacted, the Matses are slowly opening their territory to curious and adventurous visitors keen to discover a universe where Man lives in harmony with his environment, while keeping alive centuries' old customs.

To access this remote jungle region, we take a vehicle and motorboat from Iquitos to the Matses National Reserve’s Ranger Station at Curinga, with a night at Requena along the way.

From Curinga, we begin hiking into the Reserve, spending nights wild camping and in Matses’ villages, which gives an intimate insight into their way of life.

After nine days’ of hiking and boat travel, we arrive at Colonia Angamos, which has a small airstrip from which a propellor plane takes us back to Iquitos

Owing to the remoteness of the Matses National Reserve, tours are infrequent. Ask us about departure dates. 

Below prices are per person, with the price varying according to group size.

Matses Trek Day-by-day Itinerary:

Day 1: Iquitos - Requena

We pick you up from your Iquitos hotel early this morning, and drive to the riverside town of Nauta.

Here, we then transfer to speedboat, to arrive in Requena, in the early afternoon. This gives us time to explore the town, before our night in a simple hotel. 

Day 2: Requena - Curinga

Departure from Requena after breakfast, to travel up the Tapiche and Blanco rivers in a private motorboat.

We reach Curinga in the late afternoon.

We will meet our Matses escort at the SERNAMP ranger station.

SERNAMP is the government body charged with managing Peru's protected areas, and once the paperwork formalities are out of the way, the rangers give us a description of what this entails. 

We spend the night in a tent at the ranger station.

Days 3 - 5: 1st - 3rd Day of Matses Trek

After breakfast, we begin our hike across the Amazonian jungle territory of the Matses tribe.

We will be hiking for six or seven hours a day. Along the way, we will discover the full diversity of the Amazon rainforest, and her numerous rivers and creeks. There is the chance to swim in some of these. 

Meals are provided by our Matses guides, with the staples supplemented by anything they have managed to hunt or fish along the way.

Accommodation is in tents.

And once the sun has set, this is the time to gather round the campfire, and listen to the guides tell us tales of life in the jungle. 

Day 6: 4th Day of Matses Trek: Buenas Lomas

Our hike today ends in the village of Buenas Lomas, on the Choboyacu River, arriving in the early afternoon.

This is the first human habitation we will have seen in several days, and the first Matses settlement: they will welcome us with traditional chapo, a banana-based beverage, that is drunk by the Matses on a daily basis.

We spend the night in the village.

Day 7: 5th Day of Matses Trek: Buenas Lomas

We spend the day exploring Buenas Lomas.

We will be presented to the community and also to their handicrafts, that are produced by the local women. 

This day allows us to communicate with the Matse families to get a better understanding of their universe, at a crossroad between tradition and modernity.

Night in Buenas Lomas.

Day 8: 6th Day of Matses Trek: Hike to Puerto Alegre

After breakfast, we hike for the morning in order to reach the village of Puerto Alegre, on the banks of the Yaquerana River, which forms a natural border between Peru and Brazil.

We spend the night in Puerto Alegre.

Day 9: 7th Day of Matses Trek: Puerto Alegre

Today is dedicated to the discovery of Puerto Alegre. Once again, we will be presented to the community and their handicrafts. 

The stay in Puerto Alegre will give us the opportunity to deepen our knowledge of the Matses, who adopted a sedentary life only half a century ago.

Night in Puerto Alegre.

Day 10: 8th Day of Matses Trek: Puerto Alegre - Santa Rosa

After breakfast we take a traditional boat to travel down the Yaquerana River.

There are numerous species of birds to spot, such as Aras and Toucans, which are abundant in this region.

We have lunch along the way.

We arrive in the village of Santa Rosa, located near the mouth of the Yaquerana, in the late afternoon.

Night in Santa Rosa.

Day 11: 9th Day of Matses Trek: Santa Rosa - Angamos

We leave Santa Rosa after breakfast, continuing down the Yaquerana River to Colonia Angamos, a little multi-ethnic town, that lies ideologically between the Matses' world and today's Peru.

Lunch along the way.

Night in Angamos.

Day 12: 10th Day of Matses Trek: Angamos - Iquitos

Leaving Angamos in the morning, we take a private aeroplane to Iquitos.

On arrival in Iquitos, we transfer you to your hotel, where the tour ends.

Please note that this itinerary is in a true wilderness area, with very little in the way of modern comforts, so is only for the experienced and prepared trekker.