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Rainforest Expeditions - Puerto Maldonado,
Peru
Getting There
There are 13 rustic yet comfortable rooms with mosquito netting and community bath facilities. Primarily a research center, guests are a welcome vehicle for researchers to show off the largest known macaw clay lick (see below), over 25 macaw nesting sites,  and
some of the largest bird populations in the tropics.
The January 1994 issue of National Geographic
features an article on the Research Center.The Tambopata Reserve encompasses 700,000 hectares of uninhabited wilderness about the size of Connecticut (or Switzerland), and protects stable populations of some of the most unique and endangered wildlife. The small scale of its infrastructure, and the presence of researchers and naturalist guides, provide the discerning and adventuresome traveler an excellent headquarters for in-depth explorations of Amazonian nature and wildlife. Itinerary I - Posada Amazonas or Refugio Amazonas 3 Days/2 Nights Day 1: Arrive Puerto Maldonado Transfer from your Lima or Cuzco hotel to the airport for a short flight to Puerto Maldonado. Meeting service upon arrival by a representative of Rainforest Expeditions. After a brief survey of this frontier town, you depart on the two-hour trip via motorized dugout canoe to Posada Amazonas Lodge located on the lower Tambopata River. Here you will have a short orientation and briefing on the lodge and the Ese'eja Ecotourism Project. (L, D)
Day 2: At Posada Amazonas After an early breakfast, depart for a visit to the beautiful Tres Chimbadas Lake, fifteen minutes from Posada Amazonas. Take a short trail hike to the lake and a long, easy canoe ride around it, looking for river otters, turtles, hoatzin (left), and wading birds. Return to the lodge around mid-morning to hike trails in primary floodplain forest — the stereotypical rainforest. The hikes are accompanied by an Ese'eja native who will explain how the forest is used in their everyday life. The afternoon includes a walk to the nearest and most active of eight harpy eagle nests found in the area. (B, L, D) Day 3: Depart Puerto Maldonado Morning transfer back to Puerto Maldonado for your return flight to Cuzco or Lima. Transfer to your hotel. (Hotel accommodations not included.) (B) Itinerary
II - Posada Amazonas or Refugio
Amazonas Day 1: Arrive Puerto Maldonado Same as Itinerary I above. (L, D) Day 2: At Posada Amazonas/Refugio Amazonas Same as Itinerary I above. (B, L, D) Day 3: At Posada Amazonas/Refugio Amazonas Additional jungle excursions accompanied by an Ese'eja native guide. (B, L, D) Day 4: Depart Puerto Maldonado Same as Day 3 of Itinerary I above. (B) Itinerary
III - Posada Amazonas or Refugio
Amazonas & Day 1: Arrive Puerto Maldonado Same as Itinerary I above. (L, D)
Day 3: To Tambopata Research
Center After an optional pre-breakfast outing to observe the wildlife
at peak time, travel four hours up the Tambopata
River (left) into the heart of the reserve. The final traces of
human habitation will fall away as you cross the northern boundary of
the reserve, and you will enjoy excellent wildlife viewing along the way.
Your mid-morning arrival at the center is greeted by the "Chicos," a flock
of semi-wild, rescued macaws. After lunch hike the 1.5 mile Bamboo
Trail, famous for its abundance of rare birds endemic exclusively
to this habitat. Day 4: At Tambopata Research Center At dawn visit the world's largest macaw clay lick (right) where up to 15 species of parrots and macaws numbering in the hundreds congregate daily. After breakfast you will hike the 1.5 mile Ocelot Trail. Saddleback tamarins, Squirrel and Brown Capuchin monkeys make the huge Ceiba trees their home. After dinner, embark on a fascinating "frog walk." (B, L, D) Day 5: Depart Puerto Maldonado Same as Day 3 of Itinerary I above. (B)
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F
As
a charming 24-bedroom lodge, it is well-placed on a 200-hectare private
reserve on the buffer zone of the Tambopata National Reserve. Rainforest
Expeditions' Tambopata Research Center (TRC) is located deep in this reserve,
providing a unique opportunity to know the untouched, virgin forest.
although
most are set up for two. The walls dividing each room are built of cane,
and extend from the floor to about 2.5 meters height making each room
private. The side that looks out to the forest does not have a wall or
screening of any kind, acting as a large window facing the forest. The
reason for this unprecedented design is because mosquitoes are not really
a problem around the lodge clearing, and the open section allows for an
intimate contact with the rainforest. A second, small window on the opposite
side, set up very high, keeps the rooms well-ventilated. Each room has
a cold water private bathroom, and rooms are not soundproof. Doors are
replaced with drapes and each room has beds, mosquito nets, bedside tables
and hammocks or lounge chairs.
Day
2: At Posada Amazonas/Refugio Amazonas
