How to survive in a Rainforest

If you find yourself stranded in a rainforest then you are in the cruelest terrain you can possibly be stuck in. The rainforest is home to countless types of fruit, vegetables, flavorings, and all kinds of fish and meats giving you everything from mustard-flavored tapir meat to coconut and vanilla-infused fish steaks. The only problem is that the vegetation drastically lowers the chances of finding any of these things if you don’t already know where to look for them, putting someone in a survival situation in a position where they are surrounded by tons of food they can’t see or catch.

Before we get to how to survive in a rainforest it’s important to know exactly what you’re dealing with, so here are a few points about the type of terrain referred to as rainforests.

What exactly is a rainforest?

A rainforest is classed as any kind of dense forest in a tropical area where it rains frequently. They are found all around the world but typically in a band about a third of the way south from the equator towards the South Pole.

What’s the difference between a rainforest and a jungle?

A rainforest is not necessarily too thick to move through and as long as it is big enough to be classed as a forest and has the right climate and levels of rainfall, then it can be classed as a rainforest. The term jungle is often given to a rainforest that has completely covered the land with vegetation and the trees form a thick canopy. When a rainforest over-grows to the point where it’s just a solid mass of plants then the term jungle will more often be used, but it wouldn’t be incorrect to refer to the Amazon as either a rainforest or a jungle.

How much does it rain in a rainforest?

It varies from season to season and depends on where the jungle is, but on average they receive between 80 to 400 inches of rain per year. For some comparison, the UK doesn’t have the best reputation for nice weather, and Scotland and Wales are well known for their rain and fog, but together only produce around 34 inches (0.86 m) of rain a year, anywhere that can rain up to 10 times more than the UK is a place I’d like to avoid.

How hot and humid can they get?

The average temperature for a rainforest is from 70 to 85°F (21 to 30°C) and combined with the rain the humidity ranges from 75% to 85%, making it very uncomfortable all year round. This temperature is constant throughout the year with the coldest month in the Amazon being January which has an average temperature of 26.5 °C.

It doesn’t matter how you get stranded in a rainforest/jungle, but whatever the cause it’s important you do things right from the start as the second you start to panic and make a mistake, your life is in danger, no matter how many supplies you have. Here are a few things to keep in mind to help increase your chances of making it out alive.

1) Keep your cool and S.T.O.P

The first thing to do in any survival situation is to steady your nerves and think rationally. People who make decisions when they are panicking often make the worst ones possible which can make the difference between life and death. The first thing to do in a jungle survival situation is to S.T.O.P, which is a method to help you make the best plan possible.

Stop

It can be very scary when you realize your life is in danger and people often panic in these situations. Doing something out of fear will most likely be the wrong decision and will only make your situation worse. Stop where you are for minute or two and take a few deep breaths to calm your nerves, the goal here is to level your head to a point where you can make decisions out of logic and practicality and not because you’re scared.

Think

How did you get into this situation in the first place? Did you get lost along the path you’re on now and is it possible to get back to a point you recognize? When did you first realize you were lost and can you remember seeing any kind of landmarks or hearing running water over the last few hours?

Asking yourself as many questions as possible will help to determine what to do. If you know someone will come looking for you then maybe staying put and preparing a few signal fires would be the best bet, or perhaps you remember seeing a fishing hut a few miles back you think you can reach before dark. The more questions you can ask and answer the better your chances will be.

Observe

Can you hear running water and which direction is the sun shining from at this time of day?. If you don’t have any idea of which direction to go and what to do next you have to use your surroundings. Take note of hills and flowing water sources and keep track of the position of the sun to use as an aid to help you stay on the right path. Because the jungle is so thick there’s a good chance that seeing something like a hill through a break in the canopy won’t be a good idea to rely on as a navigational aid because you won’t be able to keep an eye on it until you come across another canopy break which could be miles.

Plan

Based on how many questions you can answer and what you can see, you should now have a rough idea of the best thing to do. If you know someone will come looking for you then staying put and making a shelter and a few signal fires might be the best thing to do, but if you’re close to a large river the chances of finding people along the bank might be more likely than getting found. There isn’t a single right answer when it comes to what you should do if lost in a jungle and a plan should always be made according to your situation and location.

2) Protect yourself from insects

The single biggest killer in the world after the human race are mosquitoes who off around 1 million people each year through the spread of diseases. They are especially dangerous in a rainforest as they have the perfect environment for incubating infections. If you have long sleeves then roll them down, and if not try to use some spare clothing or even tear up an old sleeping bag or some kind of cloth to cover your arms and neck with.

If you don’t have anything to use as a cover, then your only option is mud. Find a damp section of earth and rub mud over your arms, face and neck, or any area that’s exposed, it may not be comfortable but its much better than being eaten alive by bugs, and could prevent an infection that would sap your energy and make the difference between getting out alive or being turning into jungle compost.

If things are getting desperate than the jungle is home to a number of plants with very large leaves which can be rolled up and made into make-shift sleeves which can be handy to protect your forearms. Rubbing thick mud on the outside of your clothes can add another layer of protection if leaves aren’t working out or the bugs just keep coming and though it may not feel nice to do, once you get an infection you’ll wish you went through the effort and discomfort of it instead.

Smokey fires are a good way to keep flying creatures away as the two things insects hate the most in this world are salt and smoke. Because you probably won’t be carrying salt with you smokey fires are a good option but are often impractical since they only protect from one direction.

3) Food and Water

Food is much more of an issue in the rain forest than water is, as rainforest floors are normally littered with small streams and plants that can hold water. The safest water to drink is rainwater because streams are often home to water born parasites. Look for plants with large leaves as they often hold water for quite a while after each rainfall, and if you’re in a region that has bamboo, the sections normally contain a good amount of safe water, if you can crack them open of course.

As for food the most plentiful and easy to find will definitely be nuts and berries. There are all kinds of fruit and spices in the rainforest and even a good selection of vegetables, but most of these are well hidden or grow as roots and won’t be recognizable from the surface unless you specifically know what you’re looking for.

The Amazon is home to a huge variety of fish and animals, but unless you have the ability to fish or make traps these won’t be an option. Plants will always be the safest bet but as with all wild food make sure you know what it is before you eat it because the Amazon alone is home to several thousands different types of poison.

4) Build a shelter before it gets dark

When you notice its starting to get dark, stop and make camp for the night right away. It can get dark much faster than you may realize when in thick tree cover, and if you’re stranded without a bed or enough fire wood to last the night then you’re in trouble.

If possible make yourself a shelter to keep the rain off using large leaves as roof tiles, and more importantly a nearby smokey fire. Insects hate smoke and your number 1 enemy in the rainforest is going to be mosquitoes, unless you’re unlucky enough to step on a snake or crocodile.

5) Follow the flow

If you come across a stream then follow it as it’ll lead to a larger water source at some point and increase your chances of being found. People who live in the rainforest almost always live close to a river or lake because fishing has always been a huge part of their lifestyle.

If you come to a river then go with the flow and head in the direction of the water. In the event you can’t find a water source then just head down slope as it will lead to a valley at some point which will almost certainly have water. The amount of rain these jungles receive means that streams are guaranteed and should not be hard to find, with each stream running downhill to meet up with a river were your chances of finding someone will increase greatly.

6) Know how to get rescued

In the event you found yourself stranded from a vehicle crash of some sort then stay with the wreck. Rescue teams will always look for the vehicle first as this will be the easiest to spot and can give clues to the location of the people on-board.

One thing it’s important to keep in mind when it comes to rescuers is that the rainforest normally has very limited pathways and finding one that you can actually drive along would be close to impossible, because of this the only practical way for rescue teams to search for someone quickly is by air. The thick jungle canopy blocks most of the view from the air and because of how big they are, unless a plane flies directly overhead then it’s unlikely to see you.

Starting a fire and then throwing on some damp vegetation like leaves or wet wood will create a thick smoke easy to see from above the trees. If you are with a vehicle nothing will create smoke as easy to see as burning rubber. Burning a tire will create a thick black smoke stack easy to see for miles, and if its possible and practical then cut off a few pieces to take with you for further fires.

7) Don’t take risks

If you’ve ever watched an episode of Bear Grylls in the jungle then you should know most of it is done for entertainment. Throughout the show he does things that if you tried to do yourself and messed it up, it would cost you your life. It isn’t worth swinging on a couple of bamboo shafts to cross a small ravine just because it’ll save you a few hours because if it goes wrong you’re stuck at the bottom with a broken leg and no camera crew to call for a helicopter.

If you’re following a river and it comes to a waterfall don’t be a hero and try to jump into the plunge pool like they do in the movies, but instead take the time to find a safe way round. If you are tempted to risk doing something drastic to save time then just remember it only takes a single infected cut or broken bone in an environment like this to end up as nothing more than a skeleton with something growing through it.