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Peru: Amazon Rainforest Extension

Tour code: LAR 
Revised: 
December 2008

Extend your stay in Peru with a 4-days/3-night visit to the Tambopata jungle reserve, including the Chuncho Macaw lick. You can fly to Puerto Maldonado from either Cuzco or Lima. (Start Cuzco or Lima on day 1 / End Cuzco or Lima on day 4).

This tour takes you right into the heart of the Tambopata Reserve, a pristine area of Amazon rainforest, with excellent opportunities for wildlife watching. Among several highlights is the overnight visit to the Chuncho macaw lick in the neighbouring Bahuaja-Sonene National Park.

The Tambopata Candamo Reserved Zone, located south and east of Puerto Maldonado, covers 1.5 million hectares of extremely diverse habitats and fauna, including pristine ox-bow lakes harbouring kingfishers, caiman and giant otters, spectacular waterfalls, clay licks (collpas) visited by macaws, monkeys and tapirs, and rivers with white, sandy beaches.

Outline Itinerary

Please bear in mind the specific guided activities vary with the weather, season and what is happening in the field during your stay.

q      Day 1: You fly from Lima or Cuzco to Puerto Maldonado, a jungle town of 20,000 inhabitants on the confluence of the Madre de Dios and Tambopata rivers. A motorized canoe takes you up the Tambopata river into the Tambopata Candamo Reserve. En route, look out for caiman, turtles and riverine birdlife. The lodge is reached after about four hours. After lunch, there’s an introductory afternoon walk in nearby forest with your naturalist guide. After dinner there’s the chance for an evening forest walk to observe and listen to nocturnal wildlife.
(1 night jungle lodge, all meals)

q      Day 2:  Today we wake early (4 am) and travel up the Tambopata River for 1½ hours to the Bahuaja- Sonene National Park. You see a magical sunrise and have a great opportunity to see animals such as capybaras, tapir, jaguar, and deer in the surrounding virgin forest. We can observe (from a safe distance) one of the greatest spectacles of the rainforest: Hundreds of parrots, parakeets and macaws of various species, enjoying their diet of mineral salts on a river bank.

We have a hot drink and a snack whilst bird watching and go for a short walk to look for animals such as monkeys and then return to the lodge to have a late breakfast and rest. After lunch we enter the verdant jungle on a special trail to observe wild life. We then enter the territory of peccaries, deer and other mammals, with the possibility to hear them or see their tracks. We might even discover a troop of monkeys travelling through the canopy in search of food. Time permitting, we will be able to enjoy a relaxing swim in the waterfall.

Those who feel energetic can go on another trip through the jungle in search of caiman. Or of course you can simply relax in the lodge surrounded by exotic nocturnal sounds.
(1 night jungle lodge, all meals)

q      Day 3: You head downstream to Puerto Maldonado and check into bungalows. After lunch take the motor launch to the Madre de Dios river and go downstream to a clearing, then walk a trail to the beautiful Sandoval ox-bow lake. The palm-fringed lake is explored by dugout canoe, with excellent opportunities for close-up observation of the bird life (including the uniquely weird, flightless hoatzin), monkeys and, hopefully, a giant otter family that occupies the lake. There’s an opportunity also to fish for piranhas and swim. After enjoying sunset here, it’s back to Maldonado for a balmy evening in town.

(1 night Puerto Maldonado lodge, all meals)

(Note that activities between days 1 and 3 may vary with weather, season and what is happening in the field during your stay).

q      Day 4: Transfer to the airport and fly to Lima or Cuzco where the trip ends.

What’s Included

Return flights from Lima or Cuzco to Puerto Maldonado, all land and river transfers, all meals from lunch on Day 1 to breakfast on Day 4, three nights accommodation: jungle lodge 2 nights, Puerto Maldonado lodge 1 night, English-speaking natural history guide.

Equipment & Health

Humidity and insects mean rainforest expeditions are not always comfortable. But with the following kit, you should get the most from the trip:

Binoculars (imperative), Strong torch with spare bulb and batteries, Daypack & waterproof lining, Long trousers and long-sleeved shirts (fairly thick, baggy fabric to protect against mosquitoes), T-shirts, shorts/bathing suit, towel, sweater or light jacket, 1 pair of hiking boots and 1 pair of light shoes or sandals, long cotton socks, rain gear, rubber boots (only in the rainy season – provided locally), sunhat, sunglasses, sunblock, Insect repellent (with at least 25% 'deet'), ‘afterbite’, plastic bags (to keep things dry), water bottle, passport, Yellow Fever vaccination certificate, money for soft drinks, beers and handicrafts. 

Health Advice: There is a (small) malarial risk in the Tambopata area. Malarial prophylaxis is essential, as is insect repellent and effective clothing to reduce risk of being bitten. You must also have evidence of a Yellow Fever vaccination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   
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