American Holiday Highlights
Beautiful America Holidays
Nicaragua has plenty of rainforest for you to explore
There are accessible rainforests along the Panama Canal
Argentina'sThe Great Chaco and Yungas Rainforests are worth exploring
The Bolivian city of Santa Cruz, on the banks of the Amazon, is a lively destination
The Pacific Rim National Park in Canada is a great place to go if you fancy seeing a rainforest but aren't tremendously keen on tropical levels of heat and humidity. There are three separate regions. The branch-covered Long Beach is the most accessible and most visited area of the park. The West Coast Trail was originally constructed to help stranded sailors but is now used by hikers – it will take you around a week to complete, and goes through rainforest and over beaches. The Broken Islands group are made of numerous small islands; a popular way to reach them is by kayak.
Costa Rica's Corcovado National Park is the best in the country. The rainforest meets the sea here, so you can enjoy hiking in the woods and kayaking on the water. Hire a guide to increase your chances of seeing animals – species that you might encounter include the elusive jaguars, pumas, tapirs, macaws and various types of monkey, as well as many other tropical species. Stay in a self-catering villa, a lodge or a campsite.
Olympic National Park in Washington is made up of four regions, one of which comprises several rainforests. The Hoh Rainforest is the best known, and you can see elk here, as well as several varieties of trees. The roads into the forest are not always well-maintained, and you may need a 4x4 if you intend on using some of the smaller routes. The Hall of Moss Trail is around two miles long and takes you to some of the oldest trees in the forest – there are longer and more challenging trails too.
Brazil's Amazonas region is one of the best place to see the mighty river making its journey to the Atlantic. Maunas is the main jumping-off point for Amazon adventures – it's an interesting city in its own right, with museums and an opera house. Amazon tours are available for various durations. A three night tour up and down the Rio Negro will give you the chance to see some wildlife and some sparsely inhabited regions that the river passes through. A longer trip will give you a good chance of escaping from civilization entirely. Trips on regular boats are available, as well as houseboat and kayak tours.
The Peruvian city of Iquitos is regarded as the largest city in the world that you cannot reach by road. Most visitors come by boat, although you can also fly there. Depending on where you set off from, it will take between two and eight days sailing to arrive. Once you're here, it's a great place to see wildlife. There's a manatee orphanage, an orphanage for endangered species, an alligator farm, and several museums. Iquitos is a jumping-off point to remoter reaches of the river, some of which are rarely visited by humans. There are also jungle lodges, eco tours and camps that teach you about jungle survival techniques.
