Day 1

Pick-up at the Puerto Maldonado airport, where our official guide will welcome us to the Amazon. From there, we’ll go to Puerto Maldonado’s river port, where a motor boat will be waiting to take us down the Tambopata River to our lodge, the Posada Amazonas. During the trip, we’ll eat a box lunch as we watch the native birds: black skimmers, sandpipers, herons, wood storks, hawks and various species of kingfishers, swallows and “fly-trapper” birds.

Upon arrival at the lodge, we’ll have some time to rest and settle in. In the afternoon, we’ll visit a 100-foot tower with a spectacular view of the Tambopata River and see other kinds of birds, such as toucans and parrots. After dinner, we’ll see a presentation of the Inferno Community ecotourism project.

Day 2

We’ll get up at dawn to visit the Tres Chimbadas Lake. In a catamaran, we’ll sail around in absolute silence, in order to appreciate the lake’s wildlife at its most active. If we’re lucky, we’ll see black caimans, birds, monkeys, the prehistoric-looking shansho birds and giant nutrias (beaver-like animals). Around midday, we’ll go back to the lodge. After lunch, we’ll visit the Ñape Center, a community-run organization that grows medicinal plants and makes use of their natural extracts. Walking along the different trails, we’ll get to know these plants, used not only for medicinal purposes but also for transport and construction. We’ll walk through the jungle again at night, when the mammals are most active yet most difficult to see.  The easiest to note are the bizarre shapes and sounds of the frogs.

Day 3

The Parrot Collpa is only twenty minutes from the lodge. From a blind twenty yards away, we’ll be able to see dozens of parrots that come every morning to eat the clay of the muddy river walls. The ccolpa[MANU- l’hai scritto in due modi… tutti e due sono giusti?] should be visited in the early morning, late morning or evening, when there’s the most activity. Back to the lodge for breakfast.

Later in the morning, we’ll go on a two-hour hike that will take us to the largest tree in the area: a giant ceiba. Back to the lodge for lunch.

In the afternoon, we’ll take a boat to visit a unique chacra (cultivated field) in the Inferno Community, where the owner grows a large variety of both popular and unknown plants. Back to the lodge for dinner.

Day 4

Free day. We’ll relax in the lodge and observe plants and wildlife thanks to the telescopes on the second floor.

Day 5

After breakfast, we’ll go back to Puerto Maldonado. We’ll take you to the airport, where you’ll take your flight to Lima or Cusco (not included).

Please note the following:

The yellow fever vaccination is mandatory.

The Amazon guides are biologists, tourism professionals or members of the Inferno Community.

In the Amazon, PeruEtico works with a serious, professional agency that respects both the environment and the wages and working conditions of its employees.

All PeruEtico tours require a project contribution, even if, as in this case, they don’t include a visit to the projects we support. We invite you to get to know the organizations and the children when you come to Cusco (Hogar de las Estrellas and Mosoq Runa) and Lima (CEPROF).

The project contribution will go to the projects Mosoq Runa, Hogar de las Estrellas and CEPROF.

This tour includes:

Lodging in the Posada Amazonas, in double or twin rooms with a private bathroom.

All transport by land and by river listed in the itinerary.

A Spanish and English-speaking guide.

All meals.

This tour does not include:

Roundtrip flights Cusco-Puerto Maldonado or Lima-Puerto Maldonado.

Transfer from hotel in Cusco or Lima to airport and pick-up on the way back.

Airport taxes (around US$6 per flight)

Project contribution (US$20 per person) to be paid at the time of the reservation. The contributions will be given in full to the three Children’s Homes, so they may finance their own projects planned for 2010. For more information, please go to the PeruEtico Italia Association website.

Extra nights due to bad weather or cancelled flights.

Alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, mineral water or snacks.

Tips.

Suggested packing list:

Binoculars and camera

Towel and swimming suit

Sandals and hiking boots

Flashlight and batteries

Insect repellent

Personal medicine

Hat, sunglasses and sunscreen

Raincoat, light jacket and cotton trousers

US$685.00 per person