Upstream

thumb|500px|right'Crash Bandicoot can't swim, but you need to up the stream if you want to beat Papu Papu.' -Level description

Upstream is the fifth level in the original Crash Bandicoot. As the name implies, you run across leaves on a river coming out of the first island. Watch out for the lily pads, as they sink shortly after Crash steps on them. The rest can be accessed by the Orange gem, which contains a more challenging portion of the level. At the end of this level is Papu Papu's home.

Trivia

 * This level's name might be a reference to the 1927 John Ford film of the same name. Until 2009, the film was considered to have been lost, similar to how this area was unknown to the outside world, thanks to its position squarely in dangerous savage native territory, until Crash Bandicoot's quest brought him here. (Some fans incorrectly argue that it might, alternately, be a reference to the Oslo-based newspaper of the same name, covering the global oil industry. This is unlikely, as the paper was founded in 1996, though it is interesting to note that the water does have a strangely dark, oily appearance.)
 * Curiously, this level features leaves that somehow manage to float upstream of their own power, defying the very laws of physics themselves. An in-game explanation is never provided for this phenomenon.