5 days
Duration
2/5
Difficulty

Tambopata Research Center Amazon Tour

During this very exclusive Amazon Tour, our guides are biologists, tourism professionals and/ or community members. Unless noted otherwise, our guides speak English. We assign guides at 6:1 ratio in Tambopata Research Center. This means groups smaller than 6 people will be merged with other groups under one guide. If you would like a private guide or a guide in a language other than English please let us know.

Macaws in a tree

Short itinerary Tambopata Research Center Amazon Tour:

Day 1: Tambopata River Port to Refugio Amazonas.
Day 2: Canopy tower and the Tambopata Research Center in the pristine heart of the Tambopata Reserve.
Day 3: Macaw Clay Lick.
Day 4: Tambopata Research Center – Macaw Clay Lick – short hikes.
Day 5: Breakfast and back to Puerto Maldonado.

Note 1: we recommend to book a flight back that leaves after 13:00h.

For more info about the nature reserves in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia you can visit our special webpage: Information about the Amazon Rainforest

Extended itinerary Tambopata Research Center Amazon Tour

1

Day 1: Arrival in Puerto Maldonado & Reception by Guide

Tambopata Research Center Amazon PeruOnly at 13:00h: Transfer Airport to Puerto Maldonado Headquarters. Upon arrival from Lima or Cusco, we will welcome you at the airport and  drive you ten minutes to our Puerto Maldonado headquarters.  While enjoying your first taste of the forest in our gardens we will ask you to pack only the necessary gear for your next few days, and leave the rest at our safe deposit. This helps us keep the boats and cargo light.

Puerto Maldonado to Tambopata River Port. Skirting Puerto Maldonado, we drive 20 kilometers to the Tambopata River Port, entering the Native Community of Infierno.  The port is a communal business.

Toucan from TRC Lodge Tambopata PeruTambopata River Port to Refugio Amazonas. The two and a half hour boat ride from the Tambopata Port to Refugio Amazonas will take us past the Community of Infierno and the Tambopata National Reserve´s checkpoint and into the buffer zone of this 1.3 million hectare conservation unit. Boxed Lunch.
Orientation: Upon arrival, the lodge manager will welcome you and brief you with important navigation and security tips.

After dinner you can go on Caiman searches. We will be out at the river’s edge at night, scanning the shores with headlamps and flashlights to catch the red gleams of reflection from caiman eyes.
Overnight in Refugio Amazonas.

2

Day 2: Today is a full day


Otter in the Amazon of TambopataWe leave very early towards the Canopy tower: A thirty minute walk from Refugio Amazonas leads to the 25 meter scaffolding canopy tower. A bannistered staircase running through the middle provides safe access to the platforms above. The tower has been built upon high ground, therefore increasing your horizon of the continuous primary forest extending out towards the Tambopata National Reserve.  From here views of mixed species canopy flocks as well as toucans, macaws and raptors are likely.
After breakfast we will visit a beautiful Oxbow Lake.
We will paddle around the lake on a canoe or a catamaran, looking for lakeside wildlife such as hoatzin, caiman and hornerd screamers, hoping to see the otters which are infrequently seen here. You will also be rewarded with overhead sightings of macaws.

Spider monkey Tambopata PeruThen we take a scenic four and a half hour boat trip from Refugio Amazonas to the Tambopata Research Center in the pristine heart of the Tambopata Reserve. One and half hours into our boat journey, as we cross the confluence with the Malinowski River, 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. On our way we will enjoy a boxed lunch picnic.
Upon arrival, the lodge manager will welcome you and brief you with important navigation and security tips.

Overlook Trail: A three to five kilometer hike will lead us to overlooks commanding magnificent views of the Tambopata winding its way into the lowlands. The forest on this trail, regenerating on old bamboo forest, is good for the Howler Monkey’s and Dusky Titi Monkey’s.

After dinner you can join the Macaw Project Lectures. Scientists will provide 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.
Overnight in Tambopata Research Center.

3

Day 3: Macaw Clay Lick


Macaw clay lick TRC Lodge TambopataOn 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 which 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. Outings are at dawn when the lick is most active.

After breakfast we walk the Floodplain Trail. This five kilometer trail covers the prototypical rain forest with immense  trees criss-crossedby creeks and ponds. Amongst the figs, ceibas and shihuahuacos we will look for Squirrel, Brown Capuchin, and Spider Monkeys as well as peccaries. TRC is located within this habitat.

Hoatzin in Amazon Peru tourIn the afternoon we visit the Pond Platform: Ten minutes upriver from the lodge 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 call this pond their home.

In the evening you will have the option to join a night-walk. At dark is when most of the mammals are active but rarely seen. Much easier to find are frogs with shapes and sounds as bizarre as their natural histories.
Overnight in Tambopata Research Center.

4

Day 4:Tambopata Research Center - Macaw Clay Lick - short hikes


Macaws in tree in TambopataOn 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 which 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. Outings are at dawn when the lick is most active.

After Breakfast we will walk along the Terra Firme Trail.
This trail goes through an entirely different habitat characterized by smaller, thinner trees atop hills and slopes is covered by this five kilometer trail. Saddleback tamarins are frequently found here. As we walk near the limits of the swamp we will also keep our eyes open for rare tapir tracks.

Macaws Amazon PeruA three and a half hour boat ride brings us to Refugio Amazonas. On our way we will enjoy again the beautiful surroundings and a picnic with our boxed lunch.

Upon arriving at Refugio Amazonas a forty minute hike takes you to Condenado Oxbow Lake. You paddle canoes around the lake looking for lakeside wildlife such as hoatzin and caiman, hoping to see the otters which are infrequently seen here.

After dinner there are nightly lectures prepared by the staff of Refugio Amazonas cover conservation threats, opportunities and projects in the Tambopata National Reserve.
Overnight in Refugio Amazonas

5

Day 5: Breakfast and back to Puerto Maldonado. At 7:30 am


Red macaw at TRC LodgeTransfer Boat – TRC to Tambopata River Port
Transfer Tambopata River Port to Pto Maldonado Headquarters

Transfer Puerto Maldonado Headquarters to Airport
We retrace our river and road journey back to Puerto Maldonado, our office and the airport.

Note 1: we recommend to book a flight back that leaves after 13:00h.

Note 2: Boat Transportation. All our boats are 20 foot long, roofed canoes with an outboard boat engine of 60hp
4 cycle, eco-friendly, low emission motors.

The Tambopata Reserch Center reserves the rights to change the order of activities

Inclusive and recommended to bring into the Amazon:

In included in this Tambopata Research Center tour: 

– All hotel and lodge accommodations based on double occupancy.

– All scheduled land and river transportation.
– All transfers.
– All scheduled excursions with English-speaking guide services.
– Meals during the tour as specified in the itinerary,  B=Breakfast; L= Lunch; D=Dinner.

Not Included:
–  A luxury overnight bus to Puerto Maldonado and back to Cusco. We can reserve this for 45 à 55 US$ p.p. return, depending on level of comfort.
–  If you choose to fly: International or domestic airfares (variable…) airport departure taxes or visa fees
– excess baggage charges
– Park (TRC) Entrance Fee US$ 75.00 p.p. (this money also supports the Macaw Project).
– additional nights during the trip due to flight cancellations
– alcoholic beverages or bottled water
– snacks
– obligated insurance of any kind
– laundry
– phone calls, radio calls or messages
– reconfirmation of flights
– items of personal nature.

What To Bring into the Amazon:
– Good binoculars
– Camera gear
– Tight-weave, light colored, long cotton pants
– Long sleeved, tight-weave, light colored cotton shirts
– Ankle-high hiking boots and sneakers
– Cotton socks (long enough to put them over your pants)
– Flashlight, or better a head light, with batteries
– Sunblock lotion
– Sunglasses
– Broad-brimmed hat or cap
– Rain suit or poncho
– Insect repellent
– Small denomination bills (Soles)
– Small day (back)pack
– Rubber boots? (Are provided, but big sizes might be difficult)
– Passport + copy
– Yellow fever inoculation is recommended for travel to Tambopata.

Note: Luggage is hand-carried at various stages in the trip for long distance. We strongly recommend you limit your weight to less than 15 kilos (32 pounds a piece).
If you are visiting other destinations in Peru that require different kinds of clothing, you can always pack separate bags and safely leave them at our offices in Puerto Maldonado on the first day so we won’t be carrying them around uselessly. Your bag will be waiting for you at the airport the day you leave.

Note 2:Regarding flights to and from Puerto Maldonado, we strongly recommend to book a flight arriving before noon and departing on the last day after 13:00 hrs. Our check in for all our guest is from 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm / Our check out is from early dawn until 8:00 am the latest.

Tambopata Research Center Tamarin Monkeys Amazon
Flying Macaws
White Heron
TRC Refugio in Tambopata Reserve
Bird watching
Macaw at Tambopata Research Center
baby snake in Tambopata
Sadleback Tamarin
Spider Monkey
Otter
Clay Lick and Macaws
Hoatzin
Howler Monkey
Capybara
Capuchin Monkeys
Giant Anteater

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