The Nanay River in the Amazon basin is an exciting place to collect fish. New species are described almost yearly, and enthusiasts are guaranteed to make exciting finds and see species that are rarely or never found in the hobby. We work with a licensed Peruvian exporter and a licensed US importer to legally bring back fish that are permitted for export from Peru (this excludes some [mostly boring] food fishes, as well as CITES listed species).
Our base for the trip is the comfortable riverboat M/F Esperanza with cabin space for 16 passengers, but we limit participation to 8-10 persons. A dedicated “fish room” with an aeration system and bins, shelving, and coolers to hold fish allows participants to care for their fish while on board. We make 2 to 4 collecting stops every day (and frequently at night too!), and anywhere we pull up to shore or put down anchor can become a fishing stop. Sports fishers will want to bring a rod and reel and accessories. There are some excellent eating fish and the kitchen is always ready to cook them up for you.
The Rio Nanay is a blackwater river which has the advantage of having very few biting insects. and the Amazon proper and tributaries. The Nanay is also the only readily accessible habitat of discus in Peru, and produces some spectacular red-spotted green specimens. New moon (on 12/13 August, is the prime time for collecting discus. Amazon sandbars, in contrast, are the place to find the ever popular Amazon puffer fish and fairy coradoras (and the occasional stingray).
Participants should plan on arriving in Iquitos on the afternoon/evening of Saturday 8 August 2026 (hotel is included), or on one of the first flights on Sunday 9 August. After breakfast in town, we’ll board our riverboat at the mouth of the Nanay River. The return to Iquitos will be late morning on Friday, 14 August. We’ll get the fish to the exporters (you’ll have opportunity to browse all the tanks and make any purchases you might wish to make). That evening, we’ll have a final group dinner on the Iquitos waterfront. On Saturday morning, there will be opportunity to visit other exporters and/or the Belen market. Outgoing flights can be booked for anytime from mid-to-late afternoon or later.
Cost: $1685/person ($1485 for repeat clients). If you extend for the following week’s trip, you’ll automatically receive the repeat-client rate for both trips.