Big cats lurking in the vegetation, wild rivers gushing under thick canopies and strange tribal villages dotted in the clearings… despite the difficulties, there’s always something magnetically alluring about heading into the rainforest. Luckily there are adventures across the world that can make even the biggest city slicker feel like the King or Queen of the Jungle.
Jungle holidays | 4WD through the Australian rainforest
For a varied jungle experience, Cape York in the far north of Australia is the place to go. It’s home to remote Aboriginal settlements, ancient rock art and great beaches with the jungle going right up to the shore. Oh yes, and there are plenty of deadly creatures, from saltwater crocs and giant pythons to tetchy cassowaries and stingers in the sea. They’re all best seen from a 4WD vehicle, which is necessary to get along the dirt tracks.
Contact: Tag Along 4WD offers a 20 day epic drive around Cape York.
Jungle holidays | Canoe Apocalypse Now! country in the Philippines
For a nervy descent into darkness, flanked by monkeys swinging through the trees and all manner of buzzy insects, it’s tough to beat the Pagsanjan River in the Phillipines. Skilled local boatmen with nerves of steel row down 14 sets of rapids in rudimentary canoes, tourists biting nails and whooping in the back. The scenery as the craft heads towards the giant Pagsanjan Falls may seem familiar – it was where the classic jungle jitters film Apocalypse Now! was filmed.
Contact: Bridges Travel offers a day trip down the river.
Jungle holidays | Stay with indigenous tribes in Venezuela
The Amazon rainforest is so vast and inaccessible that there are some tribes hidden away that Western civilisation has not yet made contact with. Others have been found, though, and have managed to blend their traditional lifestyles with modern ways. Some have managed to strike this balance by allowing tourists to stay amongst them in simple hammocks for the night, such as the Yanomami and Baré Indians in Venezuela.
Contact: Backpacker Tours offers the chance to stay with both tribes on a two week Amazon and Orinoco trip.
Jungle holidays | Trek the Kokoda Track
With torturous climbs, torrential rainfall and rampant tropical diseases like malaria, there can be fewer tougher propositions than the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea. Fought over bitterly in World War II, it is now something of a pilgrimage for Australians, who regard taking on the 5-12 day hike as the ultimate challenge. They’re not far wrong either – it’s arguably the toughest 96km in the world. That said, some mentalists have managed to run it in less than a day.
Contact: Kokoda Trekking run expeditions across the track.
Jungle holidays | Go horse riding in Belize
If being confronted by all manner of rainforest nasties, such as leeches and snakes, isn’t all that appealing, then it’s good to have noble stooge which such critters will go for first. That’s what horses are for, and it’s very hard not to feel like a pioneering explorer hacking through the jungles of Belize on horseback. Amongst the thick vegetation, there are also plenty of rivers to trot alongside and Mayan ruins to discover deep in the forests.
Contact: Green Dragon Adventure Travel offers a seven day saddle-bound mission.
This article was originally written for AOL UK.
Copyright David Whitley
