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Ten ultimate rainforest adventures

Traipse through the Amazon, a jungle in the clouds and other must-visits

Visiting the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, a 250,000-acre rainforest in Ecuador, means trekking around 13 lagoons, spotting 60 kinds of orchids, and seeing anacondas wrapped around thick tree branches. Take a canoe trip down the river in the heart of the forest, and you'll see pink dolphins swimming alongside your boat.

Cuyabeno is just one of several must-visit rainforests around the world that promise travelers adventure and the chance to get up close with unique wildlife in lush surroundings.

Rainforests see more than 50 inches of rain a year. There are close to 4 million square miles of rainforest in the world, according to the Rainforest Alliance, an organization based in New York City, which works to conserve the biodiversity in rainforests. The majority of them, such as the Amazon, which is the largest on the planet, are concentrated in Latin America; but others, such as the Congo Basin, the world's second-largest rainforest, are found in Africa and parts of Asia.

Many are ripe for exploration by active travelers.

"Really, the best way to experience a rainforest is to hike through it. That could mean trekking through dense jungle or following well-marked trails," says Diane Jukofsky, director of communications, marketing and education at the Rainforest Alliance. "This gives visitors a chance to really absorb the scenery and see the wildlife, plants and flowers that make the rainforest special."

But experts say it's not the best idea to venture through a rainforest on your own. "These environments have challenges, so it's a good idea to hire a guide or go with a tour company specializing in back-country adventures," says Margaret Kelly, a travel editor at Fodor's, the travel-guide series.

The biggest danger in attempting to explore a rainforest without a knowledgeable guide is getting lost in the jungle, but experts also say that not knowing where to look for certain wildlife is another major reason to not go solo.

Top spots If you visit the Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica, for example, a guide can help search for the emerald-green Quetzal, a rare bird that often hides among the towering strangler fig trees there. The Quetzal is one of 400 kinds of birds in this rainforest, which is located 7,500 feet above sea level and has cooler temperatures than traditional rainforests due to its high altitude. Other wildlife here includes 100 species of mammals, including jaguars and howler monkeys. In addition to hiking the 17 miles of trails here, visitors can take ATV tours, walk on bridges suspended between trees, ride down zip lines and even tour a coffee plantation inside the forest.

Memorable Costa Rica, a travel company which creates bespoke trips in Costa Rica, offers customized visits to this tropical rainforest, which include accommodations, meals and daily touring.

If you want to experience a piece of history during your rainforest vacation, head to the 460-square-mile Khao Sok National Park in Thailand. It is 160 million years old and said to be the oldest rainforest on Earth.

As travelers here trek through the forest by foot or on an elephant, they will see flora such as fig, banana and coconut palm trees, and abundant wildlife, including cloud leopards, barking deer and Kingfisher birds. Jeep safaris and canoe trips down the rainforest's many streams are also available.

North American travelers don't need to go to far-flung locales to experience a rainforest. British Columbia in Canada boasts the Great Bear Rainforest, a 25,000-square-mile swath of land situated along the Pacific Coast. The forest is known for its 200-foot-tall spruce and red cedar trees and for diverse species, including Kermode and grizzly bears, bald eagles, cougars and wolves. In addition to hiking and fishing for salmon in the ocean, visitors can see totem poles and other 1,000-year-old remains of the First Nations people who used to inhabit this area.

You'll find thrills on such trips, but don't expect to find 300-thread-count sheets. Experts warn that even the best rainforest accommodations don't typically meet the standards of luxury.

"Many lodges in rainforests won't have air conditioning or gourmet meals," says Emmanuel Burgio, founder of Blue Parallel, which plans upscale customized tours of South America, including treks to area rainforests. "The deeper you get into the rainforest, which is where you can really see the wildlife, the less luxe it gets."

For example, the Acajatuba Jungle Lodge, which is a three-hour boat trip from Manaus, the main city in the Amazon, has 40 rustic rooms without air conditioning and has electricity only for a few hours in the evening.

Though Blue Parallel's trips to the rainforests in South America cost roughly $1,000 per person per day — because clients fly around by private plane and the company adds extra touches, such as providing guests with their favorite wine — the priciest part of a rainforest vacation is normally the airfare. Lodges and meals are usually under $300 a night, and prices for guided trekking or boating trips are generally under a $100 per person per day.

Good prices, the promise of true adventure and wildlife that few in the industrial world have ever had the chance to see: Rainforest vacations offer this and more.

Green travel tips

How to leave nothing but a footprint in your travels

Many people hear the terms "green travel" or "ecotourism" and picture someone sleeping in a treehouse in the jungles of Borneo or canoeing down the Amazon. But this type of eco-adventure is just one end of the green travel spectrum. You don't need to sacrifice creature comforts or go off into the middle of nowhere to be a green traveler; you can visit big cities or small villages, and stay in small ecolodges or luxury hotels. All that's required is an effort to preserve and protect the environment of the place you're visiting — and it's easier than you might think.

Want to learn how? Read on ...

What is green travel?"Green travel" is one of many catch phrases — like ecotourism, sustainable tourism and responsible travel — that are bandied about with increasing frequency these days. But what exactly do these terms mean?

There are various shades of difference among all these terms, but at the heart of the matter is the importance of protecting the natural and cultural environment of the places you visit. That means conserving plants, wildlife and other resources; respecting local cultures and ways of life; and contributing positively to local communities.

Why go green?With nearly 1 billion tourists crisscrossing the globe every year, it's more important than ever for travelers to minimize their individual impact on the earth's natural and cultural treasures. The potential negative effects of tourism are both local and global; oceanfront hotels contribute to beach erosion in Hawaii, rising numbers of visitors threaten the fragile ecosystems of the Galapagos Islands, and carbon dioxide emissions from planes are a growing contributor to global warming.

Taking a green approach to travel is an easy and essential way to protect the places you love to visit, not just for yourself but for the travelers who come after you and for the people who will continue to live there long after you've flown home. As an added bonus, it often makes for a more rewarding, authentic travel experience, encouraging deeper connections with the people and places you visit.

Contrary to popular belief, you don't necessarily have to pay more in order to travel green. While offsetting the carbon emissions from your air travel will set you back a negligible amount (usually between $10 and $40 per flight, depending on the length), you can find green lodging options in all budgets, from hostels to luxury hotels. And earth-friendly transportation options like biking, walking and taking public transit are often cheaper than taking a cab or renting a car.

Choosing a Green hotel or Vacation RentalThere are a number of Web sites that list environmentally friendly vacation rentals, hotels, B&B's and lodges around the world like eGreenVacations.com ; these are a good place to start. Keep in mind that each site has its own guidelines for rating properties, so you'll want to do your homework to make sure that the hotel meets the standards you're looking for.

A few questions to ask before booking your hotel:

• Is the hotel locally owned and operated? If not, is it at least staffed by local employees?
• What kind of recycling programs does the hotel have (aluminum, plastic, paper, gray water, composting)?
• Do guests have the option to reuse towels and sheets instead of having them changed every day?
• What programs does the hotel have to reduce consumption? Examples include energy-efficient lighting, low-flow toilets and showers, and alternative energy sources like solar or wind power.
• How does the hotel contribute to the local community?

Mr. Fussy is planning an exquisitely sustainable Christmas.

Yes, the tree. Mr. Fussy has been doing his homework. It's so important to set the right tone! He thought of emulating his mother, who always drags out her 2-foot tall, plastic and foil "tree" around this time of year. But then Mr. F. saw this quote in Newsweek: "Always go real. A fake tree is petroleum based. It's not biodegradable." But it is re-useable . . . Well, never mind.

So Mr. F. has Newsweek's permission to drive down to the Catholic church - the one where they turfed out the liberal priest - to buy a lovely blue spruce, while supporting the hard-working husbandmen of Nova Scotia, right? Wrong! Full ecological purity dictates that Mr. Fussy rent a tree, preferably a "nontraditional" tree like a Southern Magnolia, from the Friends of the Urban Forest, who'll then replant it on a city street.

What a production. Mr. Fussy will probably end up at Our Lady's after all; a boy he used to coach in soccer sometimes helps carry the tree to the car. Somehow he doesn't see the Friends of the Urban Forest fumbling with bungee cords on top of his station wagon.

One of Mr. Fussy's sons likes to string Christmas decorations on the front of the house. The tree-huggers suggest LED lights, which consume 80 percent less electricity. But will they be bright enough to offend Mr. F's non-Christian neighbors? If not, what's the point?

Of course, Mr. Fussy wants to be creative. How about recycling the advent calendar? But does that mean he can't eat the little chocolate behind the manger on Dec. 24? Not worth it. The eco-people suggest sending friends online slide shows instead of Christmas cards. Marvelous! Mr. Fussy has never opened an e-mail inviting him to "check out our vacation pictures," and he never will.

Eliminating Christmas cards would likewise deep-six the carefully worded, annual family letter, in which Mrs. Fussy tells friends that her husband has had the same job for 20 years, but no one knows what it is.

Last year, John Kerry and his wife, Teresa, sent Mr. F. a Christmas card that could theoretically be returned to Georgia and recycled into carpet squares. Mr. Fussy has tried to find out how many people actually sent their cards to Georgia, and no one returned his calls. But, of course, who would want to recycle a precious machine-signed card from the distinguished authors of "This Moment on Earth: Today's New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future."

Mr. F. wonders if the Kerrys will recycle the remaindered copies, and transform them into "Edwards for President" lawn signs. Probably not.

Gifts; of course, Mr. F. will be going green. He was just about to order a batch of worms for the composter on his list when he spotted a heretical dispatch in his favorite trade journal, Materials Recycling Week. Worms turn out to be huge emitters of nitrous oxide, appropriately known as Nox. Mr. Fussy hasn't been this disappointed since he saw those photos of Al Gore gallivanting next to his private, climate-destroying jet.

Dash the worms; there are hundreds of other, eco-worthy gifts out there. Candies made from soy-based wax - mmmm! Cruelty-free organic vegan lip gloss. iWood sunglasses ("These sunglasses scream sustainable style") for only $350. A backpack made from recycled soda bottles for young Master Fussy, with 52 solar cells sewn in, to keep his cellphone charged. For only $225! Money grows on trees, right?

Mr. Fussy's ultimate gift to the environment is his longstanding policy of aggressive re-gifting. I wonder who will be getting the Dead Sea mineral bath salts this year? Or the chocolate soap?

Mr. Fussy remembers reading in an eco-oriented guide book that if people really cared about preserving the Galapagos Islands, they wouldn't travel there at all. In that vein, the most sustainable, eco-friendly Christmas would be . . . no Christmas at all. Mr. Fussy can dream, can't he?

Make one aspect of your vacation greener: Opt not to have your hotel linens and towels laundered daily wherever you stay. This will save both water and energy. Think about visiting a low-impact resort like the campgrounds at Maho Bay on St. John's, U.S. Virgin Islands. Or take a kayak eco-tour. Consider, too, that air travel is a huge contributor to greenhouse-gas buildup.

When making flight plans, think about buying credits to offset your carbon emissions. So along with your frequent flier miles, track your footprint miles. Or best yet, take a train; passenger train travel is one of the most eco-friendly ways to see the world.