Get Inspired

Tips & Tricks

Travel Guides

Who we are

Top

Tambopata National Reserve is part of the Peruvian jungle and covers more than 274,000 hectares stretching from the Andes Mountains to Bolivia. Home to many different species of butterflies, mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and plants, this incredible region is one of the most complex and biodiverse places in the world.

Highlights

We’ve traveled to the Peruvian Amazon at the end of the rainy season when walking through the mud is part of its charm. There are a few main areas of the jungle that you can visit, all of them with unique attractions, landscapes and characteristics. Therefore, we wanted to spend four nights at Amazon Planet Lodge, on the banks of Madre de Dios River (in Taricaya Reserve) and two nights at Chuncho Lodge, on the banks of Tambopata River, one of the main tributaries of the Amazon.

Exploring the Tambopata National Reserve

With its fascinating history, culture and breathtaking views, the amazing Amazon Jungle is a bucket-list destination for those who love hiking in the wilderness. Spending a week in the rainforest was by far the most incredible adventure we’ve been on, filled with some of the most special travel experiences:

1. Day and night walks in the jungle

The echoing screams of macaws and howler monkeys through the forest canopy wake up the entire jungle at sunrise. So, daily activities and excursions usually take place in the early hours of the morning and evening, when wildlife is most active. Accompanied by your naturalist guide on a day hike through the rainforest you’ll have a good chance to see exotic birds, parrots, huge butterflies, snakes, or even find yourself in the middle of a group of very noisy monkeys. But, as darkness settles across the jungle and you start exploring the trails around your lodge with the help of your flashlight, you’ll observe new wildlife that only come out after the sun sets. Surrounded by dozens of different sounds, it’s incredible how the same hiking routes you strolled during the day, offer a completely new perspective by the light of the moon.

2. Birdwatching at Chuncho Macaw Clay Lick

Since Amazon is far from the ocean and there are some nutrients that wildlife can’t get from the water or food here, many species visit different areas of clay deposits (known as collpa, clay licks or clay walls) throughout the day to supplement their diets. Clay licks can be found in every part of the Amazon Rainforest, but most of them are quite small and far away of each other.

Tambopata has the world’s largest clay lick: the Chuncho Macaw Clay Lick that attracts large flocks of macaws that fly up to 100km across the forest for a snack, parakeets, parrots but also mammals such as capybaras, tapirs, deer, jaguars or monkeys. Though all types of animals come to munch the walls rich in nutrients, without a doubt one of the most popular spectacle of the jungle starts as dozens of macaws gather around and fly above you, just after the sunrise.

3. Visit a local indigenous family

Visiting a local family is a great way to learn about life in the jungle. The native community of “Ese Eja” is one of the world’s last remaining foraging Amazonian tribes, whose ancestral land is located along the Tambopata River, in Madre de Dios region. The community is used to welcoming tourists and happy to share their traditions and culture.

Tips&Tricks: It was an amazing experience to spend half a day with Enrique and his wife, in their modest household, close to Taricaya Reserve. We’ve learned tribal dances, made traditional bows and arrows, started a fire with a piece of bamboo and saw how unique handmade jewelry is made from native seeds.

4. Discover the wildlife around Sandoval Lake

Located a few km from Puerto Maldonado, Sandoval Lake is one of the most beautiful lakes in the Peruvian Amazonia, formed many years ago when Madre de Dios River, a tributary of the Amazon changed its course. Visiting this part of the jungle is an excellent opportunity to explore Tambopata National Park since it can only be accessed through the Madre de Dios River, traveling by boat and then a hike along a trail of approx. 4 km.

5. Climb the Taricaya Canopy Tower

Used for bird monitoring and wildlife observation, Taricaya Canopy Tower is the highest tree platform in South America. Built 45m high up in the crown of an ancient Kapok tree (one of the tallest species of trees growing in the Amazon), the platform is connected by a 90m long suspension bridge. The experience itself is an adventure and at the same time a challenge for anyone who is afraid of heights, but from above, the view over the jungle and Madre de Dios River is incredible. If you’re lucky, you can even see macaws, toucans, or maybe the biggest vulture in the world, the harpy eagle flying around you.

Tips&Tricks: According to scientists, Amazon Rainforest is home to over 40.000 plant species, of which 16.000 are different types of trees, some of them over 1000 years old.

6. Try piranha fishing in the Tambopata River

Try your fishing skills to catch your dinner right before the sun sets over the jungle. Tambopata River hosts an estimated 232 species of fish including payaras, catfish or piranha. For an unforgettable fishing activity around your lodge, you’ll only need a little patience and a lot of luck. Using some fishing poles improvised from branches, we actually caught a few catfish, enough for our chef to prepare a nice meal.

7. Caiman spotting at night

One of the most interesting activities in the jungle happens after the sun sets, when you start looking for nocturnal wildlife up-close. From a boat that slowly floats downstream with the current, you can easily spot the largest predator in the Amazon in the light of your flashlight, as its eyes glow in the dark. Caiman population is widely distributed in the Amazon basin, so most of the lodges carry out activities such as guided night tours by boat to go in search of caimans and capybaras.

8. Watch the sunset on Madre de Dios River

Amazon is a unique destination around the world with incredible biodiversity and breathtaking views. There is no better way to end a day full of incredible experiences in the jungle than seeing the changing colors of the sky from orange to red and purple during sunset. When the sun goes down, the caimans can be spotted prowling along the shallow riverbanks while small groups of macaws and amazonian birds fly above them in search of a perfect tree to spend the night.

Tips&Tricks: At the end of our first day spent in the jungle, the staff from Amazon Planet Lodge gave us an inflatable boat, to see the sunset on Madre de Dios River. That was the moment we first discovered how special the Amazon Rainforest actually is.

9. Find out more about Taricaya Ecoreserve

Founded in 2011, Taricaya Ecoreserve is a non-profit association dedicated to biodiversity conservation, that seeks to rehabilitate injured or sick wild animals and to release them to their natural environment. The center is the first of its kind established in Peru, that now receives volunteers from all over the world to take part in various projects aiming to protect the Amazon. Located 1km away from Amazon Planet Lodge (and 28km away from Puerto Maldonado), it hosts dozens of animals and birds, some of them so attached to the team, that remained nearby even after they were released back into the wild.

10. Visit a local plantation

Amazon Jungle is the world’s largest tropical rainforest, filled with evergreen trees. An exotic plantation established around your lodge is the perfect place to observe various species of birds, monkeys, rodents, or even dangerous insects such as the banana spider (the most venomous and aggressive spider in the world). From tasting freshly harvest sugar cane or pineapple to walking along a jungle trail among banana, cocoa, mango, soursop, breadfruit, or papaya trees, there is no other way to spend a few hours before leaving to Puerto Maldonado.

@2021 I Was There, All rights reserved.