Essential Amazon Rain Forest

Forests and wildlife by the Cristalino River

The Amazon forest territory is a tropical rainforest that is located in the north side of the South American continent and is shared by 9 countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname, French Guiana and Guiana.

The largest part of the great Amazon Basin lies in Brazil (about 60%) and covers almost half of the country.

It contains by far the world's biggest continuous tropical forest, it is the last largest space covered with tropical plants and tropical wildlife and it holds the world's largest river as well as at least six others of the top 20 worldwide.

The "Rain" forest is a nickname that describes the humidity that you find in tropical and equatorial forests, but it doesn't rain all the time. Tropical rain forests are always located near the equator, and are very hot. All this heat associated with great portions of water spreads a lot of evaporation into the air. The forest also helps to retain water in their branches, roots and soil. All of this makes these forests very humid. There's a well-defined rainy season that works towards the establishment of this nickname for tropical and equatorial forests.

All this heat, rain and humidity make these forests a very rich habitat for many organisms.

Botanical experts say that in 2.5 acres of the forest you can find 700 different species of trees and twice that number of plants.

One of the most awesome things you will notice is that the forest has a high density of trees and they are very tall.

Many trees reach 130 meters high and the intricate vegetation’s development forms a shadowed place where at times it is hard to see the sun.

The high canopy of the Amazon rainforest is a very unknown place even for most botanists and it is also the home of thousands of still undiscovered species of insects and birds.

The bio diversity here is unparalleled.

And the most amazing part is that all this apparent chaos is actually a very balanced system, a product of million of years of evolution and natural selection. Most of this region remains biologically unexplored.

The number of known bird, primate, bat and rodent species living here is astounding, and we can only guess as to how many million insect species occur.

According to the National Academy of Sciences, a typical four square mile patch of rainforest contains as many as 125 mammal species, 400 species of birds, 100 of reptiles, 60 of amphibians, and 150 different species of butterflies.

In one study, one square meter of leaf litter, when analyzed, turned up 50 species of ants alone.

Said that, it’s amazing that some indigenous people can differentiate among plant species that botanists can't tell apart until they get them in a laboratory.

In spite of all this, the first time visitor to the Amazon often sees little more than lush vegetation.

In most of the well-visited areas even this is second growth. Man's impact on the basin has been substantial.

The region along the Cristalino River is without doubt one of the richest areas of the Brazilian Amazon, yet remains relatively unexplored.

The lodge where we will stay is nestled in the middle of a Private Rainforest Reserve laying for 7,000 hectares just beyond the borders of the Cristalino State Park.

There is a 30 km (19 miles) trail system, including three new trails opened in 2009 that will be a great opportunity of hiking into different habitats.

We'll be looking for the very rare and endangered White-nosed Bearded Saki Monkey and the Brown Titi Monkey.

Other primate possibilities include Southern Red-necked Night Monkeys, White-fronted Capuchin, Common Woolly Monkey, White-whiskered Spider Monkey, Red-handed and Black-and-Gold Howlers and Bare-ear Marmoset.

Tapirs are often seen swimming across the river in front of the lodge. They are the largest herbivore (350-600 pounds) in the Amazon rainforest. Tapir eats all day and much of what a tapir eats leaves its body undigested. Because of this the Tapir became a major player in the dissemination of plants in the Amazon rainforest region.

Taking the private boat trip along the upstream the Cristalino River most tours see the endangered Giant River Otter as well as the Anaconda, 
one of the longer snakes in the world, and the heaviest, often weighing more than a horse. The anaconda is not poisonous. The snake hunts by ambushing the victim and coiling itself around it, crushing it. The anaconda can swallow, slowly, an entire cow. Anacondas' are not easily seen (as any snake) but they can be seen when they are eating a big prey since it can take days to digest and they are pretty much immovable in the process. The anaconda is one of the highlights of the Amazon rainforest fauna.

Three-toed Sloth occurs in the trees in the immediate vicinity.

The area along the Cristalino River is considered by world’s leading ornithologists as one of the richest destinations for birding in the entire amazon Rainforest.

The avifauna has approximately 600 species.

At least five species of macaws occur: Hyacinth, Blue-and-Yellow, Scarlet, Red-and-Green, and Chestnut-fronted. Rare and colorful parrots such as the White-bellied, Vulturine, Yellow-crowned, Mealy, and Orange-winged Parrot are here, along with Paradise Jacamar, Red-necked, Lettered, Curl-crested and Chestnut-eared Araçaris. Other specialties include Dark-winged Trumpeter, Rufous-capped Nunlet, Black-girdled Barbet, Gould's Toucanet, Sclater's Antwren, Bare-eyed Antbird, Striolated Puffbird, Chestnut-throated Spinetail, Manu Antbird, Purple-throated Cotinga, White-winged Shrike-Tanager and many more.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for our tour information!