Many of the Amazon's luxury lodges include eco-tours in their lodging packages. With Ceiba Tops, one minute you're shooting blow darts with the Yagua Indians who live next door, the next you're sitting poolside with a Pisco Sour. That's the reality of this lodge on the banks of the Amazon in northern Peru. Explorama created the 72 air-conditioned rooms in 2004. They are within a short boat ride of their more rustic lodges and famous canopy walkway up river.

Price: $250 for two days, one night

For more information: Ceiba Tops

Scientists only discovered a decade or so ago that the rainforest canopy actually held an equally if not more impressive array of creatures than the forest floor, which is why the Ariau Towers—35 miles from Manaus, Brazil, on the Rio Negro—were built level with the treetops. The massive eight-tower complex is crisscrossed by 30-foot-high catwalks to and from the 260 rooms and nine plush tree houses, which have hosted such notables as Bill Gates and the Prince of Denmark.

Price: $408 per person; package of two days/one night

For more information: Ariau Amazon Towers

The 130,965-acre Caiman Ecological refuge stands on an early 20th-century cattle ranch within Brazil's Pantanal, a 130,000-square-mile marshland extension of the Amazon. While still raising beef cattle, the estancia went green about two decades ago with the creation of three distinct lodges on the property: the 11-room colonial Sede Lodge, the eight-room stilted Cordilheira and the six-room Baiazinha Lodges. All have their own pools, bars and restaurants where you can admire the wetlands as you savor a slab of Argentine beef or cup of yerba mate.

Price: $224 per person per night

For more information: Caiman Ecological Refuge

The 203-room colonial style hotel—the only hotel within the confines of Brazil's Parque Nacional Iguaçu—-is submerged in dense tropical jungle. Take a hike to the Argentinean side of the falls or go rafting on the class-3+ rapids of the Iguaçu River, then enjoy a gaucho-style barbecue at the poolside Ipê Bar & Grill. But what really counts are the views—the hotel faces a section of the five kilometers of waterfalls that make up Iguaçu Falls.

Price: $310-$350 per night

For more information: Hotel das Cataratas

Yacutinga manages to incorporate salvaged materials like fallen trees and found stones into five-star amenities in their five four-room bungalows scattered around the property. The 5,700-hectare private reserve is one hour to the east of Parque Nacional Iguazú, in Misiones Forest, part of the green corridor that runs through Argentina and Brazil that lists more than 300 species of birds and hundreds of species of mammals and reptiles.

Price: $210-$225 per night

For more information: Yacutinga Lodge

Few realize the sheer level of biodiversity found in the reserve that surrounds the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu—until they visit the Machu Picchu Pueblo Inn. The world's largest private collection of orchids, views of the Vilcanota River and 12 acres of hiking trails help weave the Andean cloud forests with the luxury for which the tour operator is known. The 85 cottages are split between casitas and villas—some with private plunge pools, wood-burning fireplaces and 24-hour butler service.

Price: $435-$541 per night

For more information: Inkaterra

Pavón, aka Peacock Bass, are the main reason to venture to this isolated fishing lodge on the shores of the Orinoco River. After pulling in an average of 25 fish a day from the virgin lagoons and tributaries (and following a strict catch-and-release policy), you'll return to thatched bungalows based on the native architecture of the Baniba and Piaroa Indians called Churuatas. There's a separate dining lounge and bar with satellite TV, where you can still catch the occasional game.

Price: Ten days/nine nights, $3,200 per person

For more information: Manaka Lodge

While there are other floating lodges that motor around the Amazon Basin, none compares in terms of sheer opulence to the M/V Aqua. The 12,230-square-foot suites—designed by noted Peruvian architect Jordi Puig—have sweeping views of Pacaya Samiria. When you're not reveling in the comfort of 280-count Peruvian cotton sheets or in the menu designed by Lima chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, you'll stop at indigenous villages and fish for piranhas.

Price: Three-night itinerary, $1,950-$2,100

For more information: Aqua Expeditions

Sacha sits on a 5,000-acre private reserve 50 miles up the Rio Napo from Coca, surrounded by Quechua communities. Occasionally, from the private shaded terraces of their 26 rooms, you catch a glimpse of the occasional toucan or capuchin monkey. Extras are the crown here: a 135-foot-high observation tower, almost 1,000 feet of canopy walkway that floats 94 feet above the ground, and proximity to Ecuador's largest parrot lick.

Price: $690 for four-day, three-night package

For more information: Sacha Lodge

This 13,000-acre Swarovski-owned estate—yes, the same Swarovski—in Venezuela's Los Llanos region, we'd be remiss if we failed to mention it. Their six open-air rooms and suites are lined with mosquito netting, terracotta tile floors and palm leaf and clay tile roofs, and front a huge pool and a vast expanse of savannah and wetlands. After dining on the local cuisine of the llaneros and luxuriating in the pool, hop on a canoe or 4 by 4 to scout for jaguars, anacondas and giant river otters.

Price: $330 per night

For more information: Hato Garza