Introducing Amazon Basin
When you step out of an air-conditioned plane and a blast of hot, muggy tropical air hits your face, you will know immediately that you have arrived in the Peruvian Amazon Basin. This at least is what most travelers experience when they come to the Amazonas – as it is known in Spanish – for few roads and just a few rivers connect this vast tract of jungle territory with the rest of Peru.
The Amazonas comprises approximately 50% of the nation yet only 5% of Peruvians live here. It is nonetheless a fast-growing tourist destination. Judicious protection of the Peruvian jungle has meant that the biosphere of the eastern flank of the Andes preserves some of the most diverse fauna and flora reserves in the whole world. Unlike neighboring Brazil, where ecotourism is almost a dirty word, Peru has managed to look after its natural heritage for future generations.
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