This trip is taking advantage of the pre-placement of our live-aboard boat some 250 km south of Iquitos at the town of Requena, at the mouth of the Tapiche River. From there, we travel down the Ucayali River to its junction with the Marañon River, and enter the the Amazon River itself (formed by the union of the two previous rivers). This gives us the opportunity to visit a more remote area that is rarely collected. 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 Tapiche is a blackwater river which has the advantage of having very few biting insects unlike white-water rivers like the Ucayali (which is still not that bad!). Along the route and in addition to the Tapiche River, we’ll be looking for floodplain lakes, upland streams, temporary pools, and of course, river sandbars which are the best place to find the ever popular Amazon puffer fish (and the occasional stingray).
Participants MUST arrive in Iquitos by the afternoon/evening of Saturday 8 August 2026 (hotel is included), as our departure to Requena and the Tapiche River will be on Sunday 9 August at 5 AM sharp! 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: $1735/person ($1535 for repeat clients). If you extend for the following week’s trip, you’ll automatically receive the repeat-client rate for both trips.