The Amazon rainforest is a unique area of South America where you can find an incredible diversity of endemic animals and plants. It is the world’s largest tropical forest, home to about 30% of all animals and plants ever discovered in the world. There are still indigenous tribes here whose way of life has not changed for thousands of years. Unfortunately, since the 1970s, more than 1.4 million hectares of forest have been cut down for construction and agriculture. In the 2010s, this process was brought under control, and the area of protected areas increased by 17%. A trip to the Amazon is a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the lives of indigenous South American tribes and see hundreds of rare species of animals and plants. What do you need to know before going on a trip to the prehistoric forests?
Where is Amazonia
The Amazon rainforests stretch across nine South American countries: Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Venezuela, Suriname, and French Guiana. This is one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet, occupying 5.5 million m². There are about 40,000 species of plants, 3,000 species of fish, 1,200 species of birds, 130,000 species of mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates. But these jungles also hide many threats. Large predators, poisonous insects, reptiles, and dangerous plants live here.
The entire territory is penetrated by the deepest river in the world, the Amazon and its tributaries. Flowing into the Atlantic Ocean, it forms one of the largest deltas in the world.
There are still about 450 tribes of indigenous people living in the Amazon jungle. About 75 of them have no contact with the outside world or any signs of civilization. They hunt, farm, fish and gather, just as they did thousands of years ago.
