Puerto Narino and Lake Tarapoto

Puerto Narino is the second town of the Colombian Amazon and has no cars: rubbish is collected by handcart, the paths are swept, and the only engines are on the river. It sits above the junction of the Loretoyacu with the Amazon, and a short boat ride away is Lake Tarapoto, a system of connected lakes and channels where both pink and grey river dolphins live year round. Guides take you out at dawn, cut the motor and wait; the dolphins surface without ceremony a few metres from the boat. At high water the giant Victoria water lilies open in the side channels and manatees are occasionally seen.

What you actually see

• Pink and grey dolphins - both species surfacing in the lake channels.
• The car-free town - swept paths, handcarts and no engines on land.
• Victoria water lilies - giant floating leaves in the side channels.
• The lookout tower - a climb above the town for the view over the rivers.

When to go

Dolphins are present all year. High water from December to May opens the channels and the lilies; low water from June to October concentrates fish and makes sightings easier while exposing river beaches. Go out at first light or in the last hour of daylight, when the water is calm and the animals are feeding.

Honest expectations

The dolphins do not perform: you sit in a boat and wait, and some trips give you a few grey backs and nothing more. Swimming with them is offered in places and is best declined. Boats from Leticia leave early and sell out, and there is no road alternative. The town is hot, very quiet and short on food options after dark.

Nearby

Amacayacu park lies downstream; Leticia and the Brazilian and Peruvian borders are two hours away.