Birthplace of the Amazon

A few kilometres above Nauta the Marañón, coming down from the northern Andes, meets the Ucayali, which drains the southern half of Peru, and by convention the river below the junction is the Amazon. Peru marks the spot as the nacimiento del Amazonas, and boats run out from Nauta so people can sit in the middle of a body of water several kilometres wide where two brown rivers of slightly different shades run alongside each other before mixing. The claim is a naming convention rather than a hydrological fact - the most distant source of the Amazon system is far upstream in the Arequipa highlands, and Brazil applies the name differently, calling this stretch the Solimões until the Rio Negro joins at Manaus. Pink and grey river dolphins are often seen at the confluence, and the boat trip usually includes them. Nauta is reached by a paved road from Iquitos, which is otherwise cut off from the national road network.

What you actually see

• The confluence - the Marañón and Ucayali meeting in a channel kilometres wide.
• The colour line - two brown waters of different shades running together before mixing.
• The dolphins - pink and grey river dolphins frequently present here.
• The naming - a convention, not a source; Brazil calls the same water the Solimões.

When to go

June to October in lower water, though the confluence is navigable all year. Morning for calmer water and dolphins. Half a day from Nauta, a full day from Iquitos.

Honest expectations

Visually it is two wide brown rivers meeting - the colour contrast is subtle and disappoints people expecting the sharp line seen at Manaus. Dolphin sightings are brief surfacings, not displays. Sun exposure on open water is severe.

Nearby

Nauta is the boat base; Pacaya Samiria lies west along the Marañón.