Amazon Rainforest Tours and Travel | The Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon is the world's largest river basin, covering an area larger than three-fourths of the continental United States. Starting at the Continental Divide and ending at the Atlantic Ocean, the basin spans some 2.3 million square miles from five degrees north to twenty degrees south of the equator. Two-thirds of this area is filled with the world's largest and oldest tropical rainforest. The Amazon Rainforest covers parts of nine countries of South America, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname and Venezuela. Sixty percent of the rainforest is located in Brazil.
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The Amazon Rainforest contains four different ecosystems. The forest floor receives very little sunlight so is not a prolific growing area, consisting mostly of decaying plant and animal matter. Neither does much sunlight reach the under-story which is comprised mostly of sun-absorbing broadleaf plants with large leaves. Above it, the canopy contains plants with very dense foliage, many of which are fruit and flower-bearing. Some retain water, providing habitat for small organisms. The emergent layer above the canopy gets plenty of sun, allowing massive trees to grow that are home to many animal species.
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Visitors are almost never cold on Amazon tours, although a cold wind blowing from Patagonia can occur during the dry season, dropping night temperatures into the fifties or below. While the Amazon is a year-round destination, most travelers find the dry season more to their liking. Daytime temperatures in the Amazon average 79 degrees, and evenings are slightly cooler but still usually in the 70s. Areas of the Amazon nearest the equator experience the least fluctuation in temperature.
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In some parts of the Amazon Rainforest, it rains nine feet a year. Because the roots of Amazon tree species go so deep and the rainforest receives more sunlight during the dry season, the dense and undisturbed areas of the rainforest stay greener during this period of year. The wet and dry seasons vary by region. The seasons become more distinct, and the dry seasons longer, in the areas most distant from the equator.
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In the northern Peru Amazon, the rainy season occurs from November to April with the heaviest rains in January and February. You'll find the driest weather in July and August. The rains in the Manu region are more or less constant, though you can expect the hottest temperatures in October and the coldest in June. Manu's rainy season occurs from October to April, and in the Tambopata area, the wet season occurs between November and April. In the Ecuador Amazon, the rainy season stretches from September to April with the heaviest rains starting in February.
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In northern Brazil, the rainy season is from January to May and longer in southern Brazil from mid-October to May with the wettest weather occurring from December to February. The hottest weather occurs during the dry season, starting in June. The lower rainfall makes July through September a popular period to visit the Brazil Amazon.
