For those looking for a profoundly “real” Amazon experience, Bolivia's Madidi National Park offers everything available in the more well-traveled areas...and more. This region has been described as the archetype of what the Amazon used to be like and it has it all; dense rain-forest, vast open savannas, winding tropical rivers, large numbers of birds and mammals, and the seldom seen indigenous people of the tropical rainforest.
Bolivia's tropical Amazonia begins on the eastern ramparts of the Andes mountains. It's characteristically steep jungle terrain with whitewater rivers that drain green mountain slopes. Gradually, it levels out into lowlands spreading north, east and south. Within this region is one of the most impressive National Parks in the Americas: Madidi. This is a true wilderness area. Human encroachment is in many parts non-existent.
More information on Madidi National Park
Anyone who has spent time in the rainforests of Latin America will be quick to tell you that the rulers there are not the jaguars, the piranhas, or the anacondas. The rulers are the insects, most especially those that bite or sting. We once took a group of wildlife enthusiasts on an expedition trip to the headwaters of a seldom traveled river. They were interested in any and everything, but one fellow in particular, a forester from Mississippi, really felt at home. All week he noticed things usually only the guides could spot. He was having the time of his life, and his interest really spiked when we found an abandoned Bell Wasp nest while we worked our way through flooded forest.
Bell Wasps make distinctive paper nests that look like huge cylindrical white cakes suspended from tree branches along river courses. Up to five feet in height, the white color makes them easily visible. 
The nest we found was in a dead tree right at deck height. Typically, Bell Wasps crawl around on the outside of their nests and this one had none in evidence. We tapped on the nest, marveling at the thickness and durability of the paper. Then the gentleman from Mississippi said that since it was abandoned he would like to take it home with him. After cautioning him about possible difficulties with the airlines, he was still insistent, so we hacked the branch off above and below the nest and he leaned it against the wall in the galley way where our rooms were located.
Everything seemed to be fine for a couple of days. That's when the wasps woke up. Soon enough we found ourselves on deck as we pondered our alternatives. The boat we were using had a single hallway with a door towards the bow and another towards the stern. The nest, naturally, was about midway along this hall. It was apparent that someone would have to fetch the nest and remove it, and the logical person to perform this unenviable task was the tour leader. So, with crew members manning each door, in he went. When he picked up the nest and ran towards the stern, one of them opened the rear door and let him charge past, hurling the nest of angry wasps into the river on the starboard side and diving into the river on the port side. Aside from ridding the boat of the problem wasps and providing fodder for lots of laughter from everyone on board, his only consolation was the free rounds at the ship's bar!
Costa Rica has done an admirable job setting aside critical habitat for conservation. Actually, now that we think of it, if we grade on the curve, that is, if we allow for how much a country CAN do versus what it DOES do, Costa Rica likely comes in well ahead of the USA with regard to conservation efforts.
One of the wildest and most ecologically significant areas in Costa Rica is the Osa Peninsula, situated along the southwest Pacific coast. Home to the incomparable Corcovado National Park, this wilderness is vulnerable to everything from illegal lumbering to poaching to habitat destruction. So it is with pleasure that we recommend the Friends of the Osa organization for their grassroots efforts to save the peninsula.
www.osaconservation.org