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 stop at our offices we will depart on a 30 minute drive to the Infierno community port, followed by 45 minutes boat journey by motorized canoe to Posada Amazonas.

Depending on the arrival time of the plane we will have a boxed 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 comfortable yet unobtrusive 30 room lodge owned by the community of Infierno and managed with Rainforest Expeditions. We will have a short orientation before our afternoon activity: a visit to the canopy tower.

In this activity, we will visit a 35 meter scaffolding tower that is 15 minutes walking from the lodge. The scaffolding tower is built so that you safely climb using the internal staircase with verandas on each side, and rest in platforms present every 2 meters. From the top you not only get spectacular views of the river and the surrounding forest but also excellent opportunities to observe birds from the canopy including parrots, toucans and macaws. A video about the forest of Tambopata will be shown after dinner.

Meals: L, D

Day 2: POSADA AMAZONAS- TAMBOPATA RESEARCH CENTER

05:00 AM We will be up at dawn for a visit to the Tres Chimbadas oxbow lake. After an early breakfast we depart, fifteen minutes from Posada Amazonas by boat and a 30 minute walk take us to the lake shore. 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. As we approach noon, animal activity decreases.

09:30 AM Right after that we will travel up the Tambopata River for 4 to 5 hours into the pristine heart of the reserve. After the first hour we will leave the final traces of human habitation behind as we cross the northern boundary of the 700,000 hectare, completely uninhabited, proposed Tambopata National Park. Differences in wildlife abundance will be noted immediately: we will begin to sight macaws, herons, kingfishers and cormorants frequently and improve our chances of encounters with capybaras, caiman, storks, ducks and other wildlife.

12:30 PM Boxed lunch on the boat. We will arrive at Tambopata Research Center in the early afternoon, being greeted by the Chicos, our flock of semi-wild, rescued macaws.

2:00 PM On arrival, we will hold an orientation session.

3:30 PM 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 Howler Monkey and Dusky Titi Monkey.

6:00P PM We will return to TRC for dinner.

7:00 PM After dinner, to cap off a fulfilling day we can have a frog walk

Meals: B, L, D

DAY 3: TAMBOPATA RESEARCH CENTER

04:45 AM At dawn we will cross the river and enjoy the world's largest macaw clay lick where hundreds of parrots and macaws of up to 15 species congregate daily. The January 1994 issue of National Geographic features an article on Tambopata Research Center and the Tambopata Macaw Project. It begins with a description of the daily spectacle at the clay lick:

" When the morning sun clears the Amazon tree line in southeastern Peru and strikes a gray-pink clay bank on the upper Tambopata River, one of the world's most dazzling wildlife gatherings is nearing its riotous peak. The steep bank has become a pulsing, 130-foot-high palette of red, blue, yellow and green as more than a thousand parrots squabble over choice perches to nibble on the clay, a vital but mysterious part of their diet. More than a dozen parrot species will visit the clay lick throughout the day, but this midmorning crush belongs to the giants of the parrot world, the macaws."

You can expect to see ten to twelve of the following members of the parrot family: Red-and-green, Blue-and-gold, Scarlet, Red-bellied, Chestnut-fronted and Blue-headed Macaws; Mealy and Yellow-crowned Amazons; Blue-headed, Orange-cheeked and White-bellied Parrots; Dusky-headed, White-eyed, Cobalt-winged and Tui Parakeets and Dusky-billed Parrotlets. This show will continue until the macaws sense danger, usually in the form of an eagle, and depart simultaneously in an explosion of sound and color. Around mid-morning, when the most intense clay lick activity is over for the day, we will return to TRC for breakfast.

08:00 AM After breakfast we will hike the Floodplain Trail, this five kilometer trail covers the prototypical rain forest with immense trees criss-crossed by 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.

12:30 PM We will return to TRC for lunch and then embark

3:00 PM Pond Platform. Ten minutes upriver from the lodge is a tiny pond with a platform in the middle. It is a great place for the late afternoon where we whiddle away the remains of the day as we spot waterfowl such as Muscovy duck, sunbittern and hoatzin along with the woodpeckers, oropendolas, flycatchers and parakeets that call this pond their home.

After dinner you will have the option of hiking out at night, 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 at Tambopata Research Center .

Meals: B, L, D

Day 4: TAMBOPATA RESEARCH CENTER - POSADA AMAZONAS

04:45 AM We will wake up at dawn once again to visit the macaw clay lick and then return for breakfast.

10:30 AM At mid-morning we will depart for Posada Amazonas, having a boxed lunch on the boat.

2:00 PM As soon as we get to Posada Amazonas, we will unpack and do our last activity.

5:30 PM We will return to Posada Amazonas for dinner and overnight.

Meals: B, L, D

Day 5: POSADA AMAZONAS-PUERTO MALDONADO

05:00 AM After an early breakfast we will return to Puerto Maldonado for our flight back to Lima.

Meals: B

ALL DETAILED TIMES ARE APROXIMATE

Guides at Tambopata Research Center. Our guides are biologists, tourism professionals, 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.

Boat Transportation. All our boats are 20 foot long, roofed canoes with 55 hp outboard motors. Daily arrivals and departures from every port are scheduled to meet every airline arrival and departure with a maximum two hour wait.

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.