Unique Stay: Tambopata Research Centre - Amazon

Arrive at Puerto Maldonado Airport, where you will be met by a local representative to join a 1-hour bus and 2.5-hour boat journey to Tambopata Research Centre. Due to the secluded nature of the Tambopata Research Center lodge, at Filadelfia River Port, we board long, stout canoes equipped with outboard motors and head upstream to the lodge. The 2.5-hour boat trip is pleasant, we cross the confluence with the Malinowski River, where we will leave the final traces of human habitation behind. Within the 700,000 hectares of the uninhabited nucleus of the reserve, sightings of capybara, caiman, geese, macaws, and other large species will become more frequent. Once the boat reaches the dock of the lodge, you'll have officially arrived in the wild jungles of Tambopata! On arrival, you will be welcomed to the lodge and given a brief orientation. This afternoon join the three to five-kilometer hike which will lead us to the overlooks, commanding magnificent views of the Tambopata winding its way into the lowlands. Along this trail keep your eyes out for the Howler Monkey and Dusky Titi Monkey. After dinner at the lodge, there is the option to join a night walk when most of the animals are active but sometimes difficult to see. The frogs are easier to see with their fascinating shapes and colors and sounds.

PLEASE NOTE: You are allowed a maximum of 15kg (32 pounds) per person for the journey to the Tambopata research center, as the luggage is transported by hand at many stages of the journey. Any unnecessary luggage will be left in the offices at Puerto Maldonado and will be waiting for you at the airport on the day of departure.

Tambopata Research Centre offers a range of activities that will vary from day to day. Below is a guide to what experiences you can expect during your stay. On most clear mornings of the year, dozens of large macaws and hundreds of parrots congregate on this large river bank in a raucous and colorful spectacle that inspired a National Geographic cover story. Discretely located fifty meters from the cliff, we will observe Green-winged, Scarlet, and Blue-and-gold Macaws and several species of smaller parrots descend to ingest clay. This takes place at dawn when the lick is most active. This five-kilometer trail covers the prototypical rainforest with immense trees crisscrossed by creeks and ponds.
Amongst the figs, ceibas, and shihuahuacos we will go for a monkey search, the most common being, Squirrel, Brown Capuchin, and Spider Monkeys as well as peccaries. After lunch back at the lodge, we will venture ten minutes upriver to explore the island where there is a tiny pond with a platform in the middle. It is a great place to spot
waterfowl such as Muscovy duck, sunbittern, and hoatzin along with the woodpeckers, oropendolas, flycatchers, and parakeets that all call this pond their home. Later in the evening, after dinner, scientists will provide a night lecture. This provides an in-depth look at the biology of macaws, their feeding habits, the theories for clay lick use, their breeding and feeding ecology, population fluctuations, and the threats to their conservation.

Tambopata Research Centre offers a range of activities that will vary from day to day. Below is a guide to what experiences you can expect during your stay. Heading off at dawn, we carefully step over the winding “highways” of peaceful leaf-cutter ants, on our Rainforest Master Hike which will leave you with unforgettable memories and a profound sense of accomplishment. Due to their years of local experience, our Tambopata Research Centre guides know everything about the forest. They’ll spot the tiniest bird hiding in the canopy, the most elusive monkey, and the most spectacular plant life being sure to point these out to you as we explore. Plenty of wildlife is present when taking these jungle walks and a real sense of being at one with nature. The afternoon will be free for you to relax around the lodge and listen to the wildlife that talks throughout the day. Twilight descends early in the jungle. Under the thick tree cover of the rainforest, darkness falls quickly, when the light cannot slip through the foliage any longer. Now, as afternoon slips into evening, you’re about to see one of the world’s most spectacular sunsets. Heading out after dinner on a spectacular Sunset Cruise, which floats down the wide river watching countless oranges and pinks reflecting off the water in lovely patterns while keeping an eye out for wildlife and listening to the jungle noises.

Transfer by boat from the Research Center to Tambopata River Port and on to Puerto Maldonado for the airport. Depending on airline schedules, this may require dawn departures.