On my small group tours to Peru and Machu Picchu, we always visit Cusco, Machu Picchu and in the last few years we have added the Peruvian Amazon jungle.
At first, I was like you: Who would want to go to the jungle? Is it dangerous? Are there lots of bugs? Is it really hot? It must be real third world accommodations.
Well, let me give you the real story:
A trip to the Amazon jungle is an adventure. It is fun, interesting, and nothing like you have probably ever done. We start with a flight into Puerto Maldonado from Cusco. From there, we take a motorized boat down the Madre de Dios river, about 15 or 20 kilometers. Then we arrive at the Inkaterra Amazonica lodge. On our Traveling Professor tours, we stay in many different hotels in Europe, but the Inkaterra Amazonica lodge is by far, the most luxurious. Great food, wonderful service, clean, and modern. If there is a place I could stay for 2 weeks and love it every day, it is the Inkaterra Amazonica.
Usually the weather is in the 70's or '80's. If a cool breeze is blowing up from Patagonia, you might even need a light jacket. Bugs? What bugs?
The Inkaterra offers a wide variety of activities in the jungle from walks, evening river cruises, a canopy walk high above the jungle, medicinal plant walks, river fishing expeditions, and even visits to bird sanctuaries.
The Peruvian Amazon jungle is truly a travel, not a tourist adventure. All with the comforts, and more, of home.