Into the Peruvian Amazon: ‘I’m going to show you good things. Let’s start with an anaconda’
On the third leg of his South American trip, our writer heads to the remote city of Iquitos and braves a swim in the Amazon – despite the fearsome reputation of the local fish
June 2024
The lost temples of Lake Titicaca: exploring the less developed Bolivian shore
The alternative Machu Picchu: a hike to find the ‘real’ lost world of the Incas
October 2017
From Andes to Amazon: trekking through the Bolivian jungle
The real-life hero of adventure film Jungle helped set up an ecolodge in Bolivia’s Madidi national park – a wild destination for trekkers, and a ray of light for a hunter-gatherer community under threat
October 2016
Ecuador’s Yasuni park: where oil vies with tourism for the rainforest
The Sani people face a choice between encouraging ecotourism to their rainforest – one of the world’s most biodiverse – and allowing in the oil companies
August 2016
Rainforest wonder and remote villages in northern Brazil
An Amazon trip by boat and on foot offers the chance to meet the hidden communities and enjoy the natural splendour of a region still shrouded in mystery – and in need of preservation
June 2016
Peru’s ayahuasca industry booms as westerners search for alternative healing
Every year, thousands of tourists head to the Peruvian Amazon to take the plant medicine ayahuasca. But what does the powerful drink actually do, and what do local shamans think of the rise in its popularity?
March 2016
Why I love …
‘I’m passionate about the ocean’: Céline Cousteau on diving off the Americas
The film-maker and conservationist is as determined to protect the marine world and indigenous peoples, in places like Mexico and the Amazon, as her famous forebears
December 2015
From the Guardian archive
Back from the Amazon with tropical birds
The Guardian, 8 December 1960: A trip to the Amazon, not the local pet shop, for one exotic bird owner
April 2015
Grub's up… BBC wildlife producers on the weirdest food they've eaten
Would you eat porcupine, sago grubs or raw pig’s intestine? These BBC wildlife producers all have while filming in remote corners of the world. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve eaten on your travels?
March 2015
'They come, they photograph, but don’t help': how ecotourism in the Amazon shortchanges the locals
The Huaorani Ecolodge promises a unique and immersive cultural experience – but at the expense of the people who struggle to maintain a life in the rainforest
February 2015
Social impact
Utopia or reality: can South America lead a fossil-free future?
Proponents of the South American philosophy of Buen Vivir have proposed an action plan for moving towards a more sustainable, more balanced economy
January 2015
Field posts
Amazon field post: 'I'm so envious of men's ability to pee standing up'
The dangers of too much Imodium, the Shewee and other rainforest perils – all tackled in Kitty Jenkin’s blogpost Adventuring with a vagina
June 2014
10 of the best things to do in the Brazilian Amazon
David Beckham a 'wimp' after Amazon 'scares', says Michael Palin
May 2014
Spotting river dolphins in Bolivia
The bufeo (river dolphin) is a creature of myth, but you're pretty much guaranteed a sighting on a river cruise in Bolivia's north-eastern wetlands
February 2014
Survival holidays: package trips where you learn to live in the wilderness
Learn skills to survive in the jungles of Guyana, the frozen wilderness of northern Sweden – and the forests of England, writes Doug McKinlay
December 2013
A tour of Brazil - in pictures
Those travelling to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup will only scratch the surface of what this vast country has to offer. This striking selection of images spans the Amazon, the beaches, the tribes, the geological phenomena and the mega cities
August 2013
Brazil's star chef Alex Atala visits the Amazon – gallery