Day 1: PUERTO MALDONADO - POSADA AMAZONAS

Upon arrival from Lima or Cuzco, reception and transfer to the Tambopata River port in Puerto Maldonado. Puerto Maldonado is situated at the confluence of the mighty Madre de Dios and Tambopata rivers and is a bustling, booming tropical frontier town. Its principal activities are gold mining, Brazil nut collecting, timber extraction, agriculture and ecotourism. After a brief visit of the town we will depart for a 2 hour boat trip by motorized canoe to Posada Amazonas. Depending on the arrival time of the plane we will have a box lunch aboard the boats or have lunch upon arrival at Posada Amazonas. During our voyage we may see bird species typical of the river or forest edge such as: Black Skimmer, Pied Lapwing, Capped Heron, Jabiru Stork, Roadside Hawk, and several species of kingfishers, swallows and flycatchers. When we arrive at Posada Amazonas we will unpack and unwind. Posada Amazonas is a luxurious yet unobtrusive 24 room lodge owned jointly by Rainforest Expeditions and the Ese'eja Native Community of Tambopata. We will receive a short orientation and a complete briefing of the lodge and the Ese'eja Ecotourism Project before our afternoon activity: Only fifteen minutes walking from the lodge, we´ll visit a small parakeet clay lick. Dozens and sometimes hundreds of Blue Headed Parrots, Orange-Cheeked Parrots, Cobalt-winged parakeets, and sometimes even the rare Rock Parakeet congregate here.

Meals: L, D

Day 2: POSADA AMAZONAS

We will be up at dawn for a visit to the Tres Chimbadas oxbow lake. We depart after an early breakfast. Fifteen minutes from Posada Amazonas by boat and a 30-minute walk will take us to the lakeshore. From here, we take a long, easy canoe ride around it. We will look for giant river otters, turtles, hoatzin, and wading birds. The giant river otters that are seen in Tres Chimbadas belong to a resident family of nine. Then we will return to the lodge for lunch before embarking on our afternoon outing. In the afternoon we will have an ethnobotanical walk. In this activity, we will hike the trails around Posada Amazonas with an Ese´eja native, who will explain to us the everyday uses of forest medicine, construction, food and fiber. Optional night walk to look for amphibians and insects.

Meals: B, L, D

Day 3: POSADA AMAZONAS

After an early breakfast we will visit a second clay lick. This clay lick is also a ten-minute walk from the lodge, but next to the river. Amazingly, the variety of parrots that visit this clay lick is considerably different than the one inside the forest. Some of the large macaws, like the red and green macaw, and larger parrot, like mealy and yellow crowned Amazons visit this lick, as well as the smaller parrots and parakeets. From the blind we have constructed next to this lick, even the amateur photographer can take good pictures of these wonderful birds. We will also have a real opportunity to spot other spectacular wildlife, active at this time of the day, like scarlet or blue and gold macaws and a great deal of other birds. After lunch, we’ll visit a native slash and burn farm. Slash and burn agriculture systems are often thought of as wasteful because the fields are burnt, cultivated for a few years, and then abandoned. Many resident studies, however, have shown that this is far from the truth. The secret of their success is mixed planting in small patches using a mixture of herbaceous and woody crops so that the they are not decimated by disease and pests spreading through monocultures. After our visit, we will be able to understand why the Ese´eja cultivate a system that is sustainable over the long term. We will return to Posada Amazonas. A video will be displayed this evening after dinner.

Meals: B, L, D

Day 4: POSADA AMAZONAS-PUERTO MALDONADO

After an early breakfast, we depart by boat back to the city of Puerto Maldonado, directly to the airport, in time for our flight back to Lima or Cuzco.

Meals: B

PLEASE NOTE:

BOATS DEPART EVERYDAY FROM PUERTO MALDONADO TO POSADA AMAZONAS AND BACK.

BOATS DEPART EVERYDAY FROM POSADA AMAZONAS TO TAMBOPATA RESEARCH CENTER AND BACK.

INCLUDED: 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 as specified in the itinerary. B=Breakfast; L= Lunch; D=Dinner.

NOT INCLUDED: International or domestic airfares, airport departure taxes or visa fees, excess baggage charges, additional nights during the trip due to flight cancellations, alcoholic beverages or bottled water, snacks, insurance of any kind, laundry, phone calls, radio calls or messages, reconfirmation of flights and items of personal nature.

Andes Adventures tour packages to Cusco require 2 internal flight segments: (Lima to Cusco & Cusco to Lima).

If you take this extension at the end of your tour, you will need one extra flight segment in Peru. Your flights will be: Lima to Cusco + Cusco to Puerto Maldonado + Puerto Maldonado to Lima.

If you take this extension at the beginning of your tour, you will need one extra flight segment in Peru. Your flights will be: Lima to Puerto Maldonado + Puerto Maldonado to Cusco + Cusco to Lima.

Cost for the domestic flight segments vary from $130 to about $150. (Prices are subject to change)

Note: We substitute an unused hotel night for another, however depending on the program, additional night hotels and transfers may be required to accommodate your extension.

Deposit for extensions

A nonrefundable $75 fee per person is required to reserve extensions.

The deposit is fully refundable if we cannot secure your extension.

Full payment is due with the final payment of the trip.

Reservations for hotels, guides or services are not made until deposits are received.

We highly recommend the purchase of Trip Cancellation Insurance.

Note: All itineraries are subject to change due to circumstances beyond our control, including weather, road or trail conditions and flight schedules.