• Zip-lining combines adrenaline, nature & views.

• Peru’s Amazonia offers ideal & varied selection of experience.

• Speed through jungle canopy, beside rivers & over valleys.

• We give you the options: Iquitos, Tambopata, Tarapoto, Chachapoyas & Machu Picchu.

Those of a certain age may remember the 1992 film “Medicine Man”, starring Sean Connery as a scientist looking for a cure for cancer amongst the flora and fauna of the Amazon Rainforest. 

The movie was not a critical or commercial success, but the system of wire lines Connery’s character set up in order to travel with ease around the jungle canopy did leave a strong impression … and inspired imitators in Peru’s Amazonia. 

Travelling through the canopy is not only an adrenaline rush; it also offers fantastic views, and an appreciation of a part of the rainforest that few visitors experience … yet which contains a high proportion of the Amazon jungle’s biomass.

Moreover, the zip-lines are often combined with other high-level attractions, such as suspension bridges of various types, and rappel lines. 

Below is a list of some of the best places to have a zip-lining experience, within Peru’s vast and varied Amazon region: 

1. Tahuayo Lodge, Tahuayo-Tamshiyacu: 

Located beside the Tahuayo-Tamshiyacu National Reserve, near Iquitos in Northern Peru, this is the original and longest zip-lining system in the low Amazon. 

Completely refurbished in 2019, the Canopy Experience features six platforms built in the trees and connected by four zip-lines and a ‘canoe bridge’ over igapo forest (which is flooded for part of the year). It can be included - at no extra cost - in any Tahuayo Lodge itinerary. 

To get to the start of the zip-line system involves a short hike or boat ride from the lodge, and then guests have the choice of how to ascend the 28 m (90 ft) into the canopy: 

1. You can clamber up the ‘Monkey Ladder’ (while clipped to a safety rope). 

2. You can pull yourself up using climbing ascenders. NB. This is a good work-out! 

3. You can be hoisted up by the lodge team using a pulley system.

2. Avatar Amazon Lodge, Iquitos:

Also accessed from Iquitos, Avatar Lodge has a canopy circuit with 10 attractions starting 25 m (82 ft) above ground level: 

• Five zip-lines ranging from 40 to 150 m (131 to 492 ft) in length.

• Two suspension bridges.

• The ‘Vine of Tarzan’ Pendulum.

• The ‘Tarantula’ Stairmaster Mesh.

• Descent rappel.

3. Maniti Eco-Lodge, Loreto:

Located 70 km (43 miles) downstream from Iquitos, on the banks of the Amazon River, Maniti Eco-Lodge has constructed a 26 m (85 ft) high canopy tower. From here, one can descend three zip-lines of 150, 70 and 50 m (492, 230 & 164 ft) in length, and/or rappel to the ground.

There is also the option of camping overnight at the top of the tower, so as to experience the jungle canopy between sunset and dawn.

4. Wasai Tambopata Lodge, Puerto Maldonado:

This well-respected Amazon lodge, located in Madre de Dios in Southern Peru, has a small ‘canopy circuit’ that consists of two different types of suspension bridge and a zip-line that covers 250 m (820 ft), at a maximum height of 20 m (66 ft) above the level of the Tambopata River.

5. Mayo River Valley, Tarapoto:

Consisting of just two lines, measuring 150 m (492 ft) each, in the montane rainforest of San Martin Department, this is a short introduction to the thrills of zip-lining.

It is often included in the half-day Mayo River Rafting trip, as it is located close to the village of Churuyacu, which is the launch point for the rafts.

6. Santa Teresa, Cusco:

Most visitors to Santa Teresa come as part of an ‘Alternative Inca Trail’ to Machu Picchu, such as the Salkantay Trek or the Inka Jungle Trail.

This high-jungle town, located at an elevation of 1,550 m (5,090 ft), is often used by hikers as an overnight stop, prior to continuing to Aguas Calientes, the feeder town for Machu Picchu.

Three rivers converge here - the Salkantay, the Saqsara, and the Vilkanota (which is the continuation of the Urubamba River) - and the deep valleys make a good setting for some spectacular zip lines.

At time of writing, there are two zip-lining systems in operation in Santa Teresa:

• Vertikal:

  • 12 platforms.

  • 6 zip-line cables between 500 m and 1,000 m (1,640 - 3,281 ft) in length - totalling more than 3 km (1.9 miles).

  • Suspended up to 250 m (820 ft) above the valley.

  • 110 m (361 ft) ‘Tibetan’ suspension bridge.

  • 25 m (82 ft) Rock Climbing section

  • Hiking trails.

• Cola de Mono:

  • 7 zip-line cables totalling 2,500 m (8,200 ft) in length.

  • Cross two valleys.

  • Highest is 150 m (492 ft) above the valley floor.

  • Reach speeds of 60 km/h (37 mph)!

  • Tour takes two to three hours.

7. Chachapoyas, Amazonas:

A 20-minute drive from Chachapoyas city, in the village of Taquia, is a high-level course that takes advantage of the area’s spectacular cloud forest topography.

It consists of:

• A 200 m (656 ft) zip line.

• An ‘extreme swing’.

• A 70 m (230 ft) ‘Tibetan’ suspension bridge.