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Peru: Amazon Rainforest Extension

Tour code: LAR 
Revised: 
December 2007

Extend your stay in Peru with a 5-days/4-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 5).

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 thousand 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: In the morning you go on a hike into the forest and, after lunch, board the boat for a one-night camping trip in the Bahuaja-Sonene National Park. The main purpose of this trip is to visit the Chuncho Macaw lick early tomorrow. Tonight, though, you take a canoe in search of caimans on the riverbanks.
(1 night camping, all meals)

q      Day 3: You go to the clay lick at first light for a great wildlife spectacle: dozens of parrots and brilliantly coloured macaws converging on the clay wall to ingest its mineral salts.

After breakfast, there’s time to explore the riverbanks on foot, then take the motorized canoe back downstream to the lodge. After lunch, there's the opportunity to cross the river and swim in the 'natural jacuzzi' of the Gato Waterfall, or to go river fishing.
(1 night jungle lodge, all meals)

q      Day 4: You head downstream to Puerto Maldonado and check into bungalows. After lunch you 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 birdlife (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 4 may vary with weather, season and according to what is happening in the field during your stay).

q      Day 5: 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 5, four nights accommodation: jungle lodge 2 nights, jungle camp 1 night, 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 (Note: 10kg luggage limit on Rurrenabaque flights. Anything not taken can be stored at La Paz hotel):

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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