Peru Luxury Travel

Exuberant is the word that describes Madre de Dios with its infinite forests, sinuous rivers that rush towards the ocean, and life abounding in all its corners. Puerto Maldonado, the capital city, is an obligatory stop along the way to gain entrance to the national parks and reserves located in the area, and it has been, at certain moments, an important exporting site for rubber, wood, gold, and petroleum. At present, two of the main economic activities there are eco-tourism and chestnut harvesting.

Posada Amazonas is a comfortable yet unobtrusive 30 bedroom lodge owned jointly by Rainforest Expeditions and the Ese’eja Native Community of Tambopata. Thanks to its accessibility, excellent wildlife observation opportunities, and first-class accommodations, Posada Amazonas is the ideal introductory nature tour to Amazonia's richest rain forest.

TRIP STYLE

PHYSICAL DIFFICULTY

Day 1: Puerto Maldonado/ Tambopata River Port/ Posada Amazonas

• Upon arrival from Lima or Cuzco, you will be welcomed at the airport and be taken  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.
• You will be received by your private bilingual guide and taken to the unique Posada Amazonas jungle lodge, situated on the land of the native Ese’eja Native Community of Infierno. Skirting Puerto Maldonado, we drive 20 kilometers to the Tambopata River Port (a communal business) to enter the Native Community of Infierno.
• From the Tambopata River Port you will take a 45 minute boat ride to the Posada Amazonas taking you to the Community’s Primary Forest Private Reserve.
• Upon arrival, the lodge manager will welcome you and brief you with important navigation and security tips.
• A twenty minute walk from Posada Amazonas leads to the 30 meter scaffolding canopy tower. A bannistered staircase running through the middle provides safe access to the platforms above. From atop you obtain spectacular views of the vast expanses of standing forest cut by the Tambopata River winding through the middle. Now and then toucans, parrots or macaws are seen flying against the horizon or flocking to the treetop next to you.
• A daily presentation on the Infierno ecotourism project is available every night from a staff member.
• Overnight in Posada Amazonas.

Day 2: Oxbow Lake Tour/ Ethnobotanical Tour/ Night Walk

• Visit Tres Chimbadas Oxbow Lake, a thirty minute boat-ride and forty-five minute hike from Posada Amazonas. Once there you will paddle around the lake in a catamaran, searching for the resident family of nine giant river otters (seen by 60% of our lake visitors) and other lakeside wildlife such as caiman, hoatzin and horned screamers.
• A twenty minute boat drive downriver leads you to a trail designed by the staff of the Centro Ñape, a communal organization that produces medicines from forest plants and administers them to patients who choose their little clinic. They have produced a trail which explains the different medicinal (and other) uses of selected plants.
• 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 in Posada Amazonas.

Day 3: Parrot Clay Lick/ Ceiba Trail Hike/ Farm Visit

• Visit a clay lick only twenty minutes away from the lodge.  From a blind located about twenty meters away you will see dozens of parrots and parakeets descend on most clear mornings to ingest the clay on a river bank. Species such as Mealy and Yellow- headed Amazon, Blue-headed Parrot and Dusky headed Parakeet descend at this clay lick. The clay lick is most active at dawn and during the late mornings and mid-afternoons.
• We will meet in the lobby of the lodge and set out to hike the Ceiba Trail. Embark on a two- hour hike crowned by the largest tree in the vicinity: a giant ceiba tree. During the hike we will focus on the natural history of the rainforest and its principal taxonomic groups.
• We will take a thirty- minute boat ride downriver to arrive at the most comprehensive farm in the community of Infierno. The owner cultivates a diverse variety of popular and uncommercialized Amazon crops. In his garden, just about every plant and tree serves a purpose.
• Overnight in Posada Amazonas.

Day 4: Return to Puerto Maldonado

• Take a private boat from Posada Amazonas to Tambopata River Port.
• Private Transfer from Tambopata River Port to Puerto Maldonado Headquarters and the airport.
• We retrace our river and road journey back to Puerto Maldonado, our office and the airport. Depending on airline schedules, this may require dawn departures.

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’s arrival and departure with a maximum two hour wait.

• All tours in private stated in the itinerary
• All transfers in private and entrance fees
• 3 nights in Posada Amazonas
• All meals
• English speaking tour guides

Jungle

Posada Amazonas is a comfortable, low profile, 24-bedroom jungle eco-lodge owned jointly by Rainforest Expeditions and the Ese'eja Native Community of Tambopata. Because of its accessibility, opportunities for excellent wildlife observation, and comfortable accommodations, a stay at Posada Amazonas is the ideal introductory and economical nature tour to the Amazonian rain forests.

Facilities and Hotel Services:
Restaurant