Leticia

Jutting its way out into the edge of the Amazon basin to form an unusual tristate join between Brazil, Peru and Columbia, the little town of Leticia sits shrouded by the waxy boughs of palm trees and blooming magnolias. Beneath this blanket of verdant greenery, a haphazard conglomeration of tin-shack huts and timber homes is joined together by rickety wooden walkways on stilts, while winding river channels of silt-filled water from the Andes weave their way past jetties and clusters of carved canoes.

Given the wild location, it’s hardly surprising that Leticia tour guides are now touting this one as one of the country’s ecotourist hotspots, and recent years have seen the addition of oodles of backpacker-orientated coffee bars, adventure lodges and the like. That means intrepid travellers here will be in their element, with the dense rainforests of the Amacayacu National Park at hand, water sports aplenty on the Tarapoto and Yahuarcaca Lakes, cultural immersion on offer from the local tribal villages, memorable monkey encounters on the Micos Island and wild swimming in the company of tropical fliers awaiting at the Flor Lagoon.