Adventures in the Amazon: The Future of Travel in the Amazon

by Kraig Becker on

The Amazon River and the jungle that surrounds it, has always been one of those places that holds a certain sway over the imaginations of people the world over. It is a vast and unexplored wilderness that has yet to reveal all of its secrets and mysteries.We’re fascinated with tales of lost jungle tribes that have yet to be contacted by the outside world. We’re entranced by stories of giant anacondas, killer piranhas, and a ecosystem so large and powerful that it effects weather patterns across the globe.

Because of this global fascination with the region, adventure travelers have long made the Amazon one of their “must see” places, but it still remains under the radar for most travelers, even those going to South America. Tourism to the Amazon does not have a major impact on the economy there, with the exception of Manaus, Brazil, and to a lesser extent, Iquitos, Peru.

The Amazon Jungle touches parts of nine countries, most of which still have emerging economies that look to tourism to help spur their growth. As such, these countries are looking at ways to exploit the Amazon to lure in more visitors and enhance their appeal as a travel destination. That starts with building a better travel infrastructure and getting information out about what the Amazon has to offer. One of the biggest reasons there are so few visitors to the rainforest is because of the lack of reliable information and challenges toward planning a trip there.

%Gallery-63881%As we’ve become more aware of global climate change and the impact that man has had on the environment, we’ve come to recognize the importance of the Amazon basin to the Earth’s atmosphere. The jungle continues to be threatened by deforestation, losing an average of more than 14,000 square miles per year, mainly to loggers and farmers.

Fortunately, in the age of ecotourism and sustainable travel, the future of tourism in the Amazon looks bright. The various Amazon countries, eco-lodges, and tour operators now have a better understanding of what it takes to ensure that they not only protect the environments there, but also work more in harmony with them. They offer unique experiences to travelers, giving them the opportunity to immerse themselves in an incredibly diverse biosphere like none other on Earth, and they do it while leaving as small of a footprint on the environment as possible.

This commitment to the environment was evident in my own journey through the Amazon, as we were continually reminded to gather our refuse and to make sure we left no trace of our passing. But on our last day of trekking in through the rainforest, my companions and I each planted a tree in the jungle, and took a vow to defend the rainforest. That vow may sound like a grand display for the tourists, but it was very clear that our guides took it seriously and had a deep concern for health of the Amazon as a whole.

One of the key elements of sustainable travel is that some of the money that we spend to visit these remote places goes directly to preserving those places as well. This concept has been highly successful in a number of countries and regions the world over, and it is becoming part of the process in the Amazon as well. As tourism ramps up, our dollars go to employ local guides and their support staff, as well as provide countries with incentive to designate large sections of the Amazon as protected areas, preserving it from deforestation and protecting the flora and fauna there as well.

With an established track record for being eco-conscious, and an existing plan for utilizing travel as a means for sustaining the environment, it seems that the future of travel to the Amazon is not only bright, but assured to be around for future generations to enjoy as well. The region has a lot of growth potential and while it will continue to be an adventure destination for the foreseeable future, it is becoming more accessible for travelers looking for a more relaxed travel experience as well.

Read more Adventures in the Amazon posts HERE.

Adventure Destination: Roraima

by Kraig Becker on

Here’s a tip for an out of the way adventure travel destination that isn’t on the radar for many travelers yet, and remains a remote escape for those looking to get away from the tourist crowds.

There is a region in the Amazon Basin known as Roraima that sits where Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana come together. The area is dominated by rainforest, as you might expect, but there is a small patch of savannah as well. But the most awe inspiring aspect of the landscape is the towering tepuis, or flat topped mountains, that rise up from the jungle and dominate the horizon.

Roraima is incredibly remote. So much so that it was the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s book The Lost World in which dinosaurs are found roaming the jungle. It is a tropical destination with a warm, wet climate, at least at the lower altitudes. When you scale the tepuis, the altitude changes the climate dramatically, bring gusting winds, cooler tempertures and thick clouds.
The highest of those table-top mountains is Mount Roriama, which reaches 9,219 feet in height, and is generally the destination of choice for trekkers and backpackers to the region. The steep walls seem daunting when viewed from a distance, but there is a natural ramp carved into the side of the rock that makes for a non-technical, but physically demanding hike to the top.

And when you reach the top, you’ll find an eerie lanscape carved by the constant winds and often wrapped in thick clouds. The experience is made all the more unique by the fact that the mountain is large and flat, and unlike most other mountains on Earth. In fact, the tepuis in the Roraima area are considered to be amongst the oldest geological structures on the planet, and seem oddly out of place in the jungle setting.

Treks through Roraima can be organized in any of the three bordering countries, but it is most easy to get access in Venezuela. The hike, which includes a trip to the summit of Mount Roriama, generally takes about four to five days, and will lead the adventurous traveler through remote and relatively untouched areas.

Talking travel with David Grann

by Brenda Yun on

David Grann, author of the now New York Times Bestselling book “The Lost City of Z” and contributor to various publications such as The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, and Boston Globe, was gracious enough to set aside some precious time to correspond with me via email to talk travel and his latest travel and writing endeavors. This correspondence took place a few weeks ago, but I’ve only just now had the opportunity to post this Q&A.

BY: Thanks for taking time away from your busy book tour to correspond with Gadling. Where are you now, and what are your travel plans (both book and non-book related) for the coming year?
DG: I’ve been working on an article for The New Yorker that has led me to Texas and Oklahoma, two places I’ve never spent much time. I don’t yet know where my next destination will be, as I tend go wherever each new story leads me.


BY: Can you briefly describe for our Gadling readers the kind of traveler you are? How often do you travel? Where is your dream destination? What is your preferred mode of travel?

DG: As I describe in “The Lost City of Z,” I’m not an explorer or an adventurer. I don’t climb mountains or like to camp. But while I’m working on stories, I tend to go places and do things I never would otherwise. I’ve chased giant squid in a violent storm off the coast of New Zealand, crawled through tunnels thousands of feet beneath the street of Manhattan, and searched for a lost city in the middle of the Amazon. I never think of any of these places as my dream destination, but perhaps that is partly why I’m so drawn to them: they transport me into an unfamiliar world.
BY: Based on all of the failed missions to the Amazon to uncover the truth behind the Lost City of Z, why did you feel so compelled to embark on an expedition of your own?
DG: When I first started researching what has been described as “the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century,” I never thought that I would venture into the jungle. My intention was simply to write about Fawcett and the countless numbers who had perished trying to find evidence of his missing party and the City of Z. But one day, in the house of a Fawcett descendent, I uncovered a hidden trove of Fawcett’s diaries and logbooks. These held new clues about his fate and the whereabouts of Z. It was only then that I decided to do something totally out of character and head into the jungle.

BY: How would you qualify “The Lost City of Z” as a traveler’s tale?

DG: The book is partly a travelogue about a little known part of the world; it is also a biography of a once legendary explorer who has since been largely forgotten, and a guide to some of the archeological research that is exploding our perceptions about what the Americas really looked like before the arrival of Christopher Columbus.

BY: What did you learn about yourself as a writer/traveler? Would you do anything differently if you had another opportunity to travel in a similar fashion?
DG: I learned a lot about the nature of obsession. I had read about biographers who had been driven slightly mad by their subjects, and that’s how I sometimes felt chasing the specter of Fawcett. And if I could go back in time, the one thing I know I would do differently is make sure that I never became separated from my guide and got lost in the wilderness.


BY: The opening of your book describes an experience you had in the jungle when you felt you were in over your head. You asked yourself, “What am I doing here?” This is something nearly every traveler thinks at least once in their lives. Despite the fears and anxieties one might feel abroad, do you feel traveling is an essential part of the human experience? How so?

DG: I think that the desire to venture to distant places, and to hear stories about such journeys, are deeply ingrained in us. There is a reason why quests are so central to ancient myths and fairy tales, and why people for centuries have made journeys even at the risk of their own lives.

BY: What do you hope readers and travelers will learn from reading “The Lost City of Z”?

DG: I hope that they will learn not only about Fawcett, who was one of most daring and eccentric explorers ever to set foot in the Americas, but also about the Amazon-a wilderness area virtually the size of the continental United States. Even today, the Brazilian government estimates that there are more than sixty Amazonian tribes that have never been contacted by outsiders. Sydney Possuelo, who was in charge of the Brazilian department set up to protect Indian tribes, has said of these groups, “No one knows for sure who they are, where they are, how many they are, and what languages they speak.” In recent years, archeologists, using satellite imagery and ground penetrating radars to pinpoint buried artifacts, have begun to make discoveries that are overturning virtually everything that was once believed about the Amazon and its early inhabitants.

BY: What will be your next project? Has this book made you more or less ambitious to explore other parts or histories in the world?

DG: I’m still not sure what will be my next book. As with “The City of Z,” I often don’t realize I’m fully in the grip of a story, until I’m doing something I never thought I would, like following in the footsteps of an explorer who disappeared in the jungle some eighty years earlier. Yet researching the book-including studying the Victorian era and staying with many of the same Amazonian tribes that Fawcett had on his fateful journey–has only deepened my curiosity about the world.

Mr. Grann’s latest news and events can be found HERE. You can read my review of “The Lost City of Z” HERE. I would like to thank Mr. Grann taking time from his busy book tour and writing schedule to correspond with me, and look forward to his next installment.

Tourism’s Impact on the Amazon

by Kraig Becker on

Ecotourism has become quite a buzz word over the past few years, and with an increased awareness of global climate change, many of us are more acutely aware of the impact of our travels then ever before. This is especially true when we journey to remote, fragile ecosystems, such as Antarctica or the Amazon, the latter of which is the subject of an article in the The Guardian today.

In the story, travel writer John O’Mahoney travels to Brazil to experience the greatest ecosystem on the planet, but in doing so, he’s also came face to face with the various threats (deforestation, encroachment by man, pollution, etc) that have put the health of the rain forest in jeopardy. He also can’t help but wonder if by visiting these places, we are contributing to their demise.

O’Mahoney visited the Mamirauá Preserve in Brazil, and got a chance to see some of the eco-friendly tourist options that are available there now, such as floating lodges that work hard to ensure that they have as little of an impact on the region as possible. The author makes it clear that now all the lodges in the region are eco-friendly, and encourages travelers to do their research, but the gist of his story is that it is indeed possible to now visit these locations, and have little impact on the environment and the species that live there.

The story was especially timely for me, as I leave Friday for the Amazon myself. I will not be staying in one of these lodges however, but will instead be living aboard an Amazon river boat for my stay. I’ll also be much further upstream, as I’ll be in the Peruvian Amazon, but I’m already looking forward to investigating this issue as well. Stay tuned for an update on my return.

Photo of the Day (3.28.09)

by Brenda Yun on


Talk about a gorgeous night skyline. The red hues of Skye Bar at the Hotel Unique in Sao Paulo are set perfectly against the looming gray urban night. There’s something very alive about this photo, from the reflection of red lights in the pool to friends lingering under glowing umbrellas.

Our Photo of the Day comes to us from wesleyrosenblum, who has some pretty awesome shots of sites all over South America.

If you have some great travel shots you’d like to share, be sure to upload them to the Gadling pool on Flickr. We might just pick one as our Photo of the Day!