Peru Guide
The Jungle
The Central Selva
Directly east of Lima and easily accessible by road, the Central Selva region is endowed with a variety of rainforest eco-niches. Its close proximity to the highlands allows a unique appreciation of the changing scenery, from high Andean to high and then low jungle. Three main circuits or routes can be followed by crossing the Andes at Tarma or Tingo Maria. From either of these crossings, largely asphalted roads lead on to the modern jungle city of Pucallpa, one of Peru's fastest-growing settlements with a population of over 300,000.
Closer to Lima yet less explored by tourists, the Chanchamayo region – famous for its fantastic coffee – offers the usual attractions of the cloud forest. A stupendous and very steep road descends from Tarma down to the jungle gateway towns of San Ramon and La Merced, separated by a fifteen-minute drive. From here it's possible to travel north, visiting the unique Austro-German settlements of Pozuzo and Oxapampa, both rich agricultural centres located within a mosaic of little-visited protected areas, including the stunningly beautiful Parque Nacional Yanachaga Chemillen. From these towns, rough roads now connect overland to Pucallpa via Ciudad Constitución and Puerto Inca.
An easier paved road heads east from Chanchamayo and the twin towns of San Ramon and La Merced towards the lower forest region focused around the frontier town of Satipo, where Ashaninka tribespeople often come to town in traditional robes and barefeet to sell produce and buy basic foodstuffs, machetes and other tools.