Upon arrival in the town of Puerto Maldonado, you will be met by our guides and transferred to the river port, where our boat journey to Refugio Amazonas will begin. The two-hour and thirty-minute boat ride from the Tambopata river port to Refugio Amazonas will take us past the community of Infierno and the Tambopata National Reserve checkpoints before we enter the buffer zone of this 1.3 million hectares protected natural area. Upon arrival at the lodge, the manager will welcome the group and provide you with a brief presentation which includes safety information. After dinner, we will return to the river and scan the banks with headlamps and flashlights, in search of the red eye shine of caimans. 

Overnight stay at Posada or Refugio Amazonas.

At dawn, we will visit the Canopy Tower located just a thirty-minute walk from Refugio Amazonas. The tower is located on high ground, thereby increasing the panoramic views of the primary forest and the flight of mixed species of birds in the canopy, as well as toucans and macaws.

During the mid-morning, we will begin our 4 ½ hour boat ride to the Tambopata Research Center; we will leave the final traces of human habitation behind. Within the 700,000-hectare uninhabited nucleus of the reserve, sightings of capybara, caiman, geese, macaws and other large species will become more frequent.

Overnight stay at Tambopata Research Center 

At dawn, we will visit the fascinating macaw clay lick. On most clear mornings throughout the year dozens of large macaws and hundreds of parrots congregate on this high riverbank in a raucous and colorful spectacle.  The best sightings are made at dawn when the lick is most active. This gathering of birds inspired the National Geographic Society to honor it with a cover story. Discretely located around fifty meters from the cliff is a place from where we can observe green-winged, scarlet and blue-and-gold macaws and several other species of smaller parrots, as they descend to ingest clay.
After breakfast, we will follow a trail through the rainforest, passing creeks and ponds. Among the fig, ceiba and shihuahuaco trees, we will look for squirrels, brown capuchins, and spider monkeys, as well as peccaries. In the afternoon we will visit a small lake platform ten minutes upriver from the lodge, which is a great place to spot waterfowl, including Muscovy ducks, sunbitterns and hoatzins, as well as woodpeckers, oropendolas, flycatchers and parakeets. After dinner at the lodge, you will be offered the chance to take part in a guided night walk in the forest, in search of nocturnal fauna.

Overnight stay at Tambopata Research Center

After breakfast, we will walk the terra firma trail and explore a different habitat. The smaller trees and sparser vegetation here create a unique environment. Saddleback tamarins are frequently sighted in this part of the forest. As we walk close to the edge of wetlands, we will keep our eyes open for tapir tracks.

In the afternoon, we will walk the palm wetlands trail. This area of new growth on the site of an old oxbow lake provides fruit for both arboreal and terrestrial mammals throughout the year. The aguaje palm is one of the most important food sources in the rainforest. The growing demand for this fruit and the fact that such areas are ideal for rice growing mean that this type of habitat is facing increasing pressure from humans. After dinner, you will be invited to join your guide on a nocturnal walk. Listening to the sounds of the forest at night is a particularly special experience. Nocturnal mammals are difficult to spot, but you will hear the chorus produced by the many species of nocturnal frogs which inhabit the forest around the lodge.

Overnight stay at Tambopata Reseach Center

After an early breakfast, we will hike for thirty minutes through terra firma forest to a 17-meter canopy tower. From the top, you will be rewarded with spectacular views of the vast expanses of surrounding forest. Toucans, parrots and macaws can often be seen flying against the horizon. Flocks of mixed species of birds may also be observed here and, if you are lucky, they may even roost on adjacent treetops.

After lunch at the lodge, we will walk the creek trail. This part of the forest is crossed by a series of creeks that flow into the Tambopata River. Walking upstream, we will focus on the trees of the forest and creek ecology.

Dinner and overnight stay at the Tambopata Research Center

After breakfast, we will depart for the 3 ½ hour return boat ride to Refugio Amazonas. In the afternoon, we will visit the nearby oxbow lake by canoe or catamaran, in search of lakeside wildlife such as hoatzins, caimans and horned screamers, and hoping to see the giant river otters sighted here occasionally. You will almost certainly be rewarded with sightings of macaws flying overhead. After dinner, you will be invited to attend the nightly lecture at Refugio Amazonas.

Overnight stay at Refugio Amazonas

After an early breakfast, we will return to Puerto Maldonado by boat, where you will be transferred to the airport for your flight back to Cusco or Lima. Depending on airline schedules, this may require a dawn departure.

2024 cost per person in US dollars