Leticia · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
Colombia's Amazon port, where Peru and Brazil start at the end of the street and boats replace roads.
Centre, near Parque Santander
Cheap beds sit within a few blocks of the park and the port; Tabatinga, over the unmarked Brazilian border, is cheaper again if you have the paperwork.
What a day costs
Around 90,000–170,000 pesos, roughly $22–42: a dorm 40,000–70,000, a set lunch 15,000–25,000, mototaxis a couple of thousand. Guides cost far more.
Rápidos and mototaxis
Fast collective boats leave the muelle for Puerto Nariño twice a day, taking about two hours. Mototaxis handle everything within town for pocket change.
Free by day
Thousands of parakeets pour into the trees of Parque Santander at dusk, the malecón is free to walk, and you can stroll into Brazil.
Malecón and the muelle
The riverfront bars and the port steps are where travellers compare guide prices and assemble groups for trips upriver — cheaper shared than alone.