Itinerary

Day 1 Cuzco-Puerto Maldonado
After breakfast you will be taken to the airport for your flight to Puerto Maldonado (not included). Upon arrival in Puerto Maldonado you will be met and driven to the city pier. You will be taken on a tour of the Puerto Maldonado city market, where you can buy (for your trip on the Madre de Dios River) Brazil nuts, aguajes, pacays, coconas, cashew nuts and star apples as well as other typical tropical forest fruits and nuts and local handicrafts made from seeds from the Amazon region. Lunch included. Embark on a 45 minute cruise downriver in an outboard motor boat. Along the river one can view caimans (alligators), birds and flowers native to the region. Arrive at the lodge, which is situated on the left bank of the Madre de Dios River. After check in you will enjoy a lecture on the architecture and layout of the lodge, built entirely by local indigenous people using axes and machetes and according to Inapari, Mashco, Amaracair, Dipo and Ese-Eja customs. In the afternoon you will enjoy a 2 hour guided walk on the botanical trail beside the lodge to learn about the exuberant flora and fauna. Later you will enjoy an excursion to Monkey Island where you will observe up to 5 species of monkeys, the howling monkey, the white capuchin monkey, the black capuchin monkey, the maquisapa and the pichico. Dinner and overnight at the Reserva Amazonica-Puerto Maldonado

Day 2 Puerto Maldonado
After breakfast you will take a 20 minute crossing by boat to the right bank of the Madre de Dios River for a 1 hour guided walk through the tropical forest. You will see plants, trees, Batrachia (toads and frogs), reptiles, a variety of birds and throughout the entire walk, dancing multicolored butterflies. At the end of the path, setting off by rowboat to glide along a canal through the marsh to the solitary, magnificent Lake Sandoval. This lake offers extraordinary scenery of placid waters surrounded by palm, aguaje and other primary forest trees. During the journey one can observe the rich flora and fauna of the place, river otters, caimans (alligators), turtles and Amazonian birds such as the hoatzin or “Shansho” ( a pre-historic looking bird), parrots, black skimmers and herons among others. You will have the opportunity to swim in the lake. Return to the Madre de Dios River to board the boat. You will make a brief stop to disembark and walk for 5 minutes through the wet forest through plantings of cacao trees, coffee bushes and other plants to discover the famous boat Fitzcarraldo which ran aground many years ago and is covered with vegetation. You will also make a visit to an indigenous cultivation plot where you can observe the style of life of the local community and different kinds of Amazonian crops. Opportunity for tasting tropical fruits and edible plants such as sugar cane, yucca (cassava), bananas and cacao (chocolate). Return to the lodge at sunset, the ideal moment to take spectacular photos of the fusion of river and sky in soothing colors. This evening you will enjoy a typical dinner of PACA (fish, chicken or meat prepared on a bamboo skewer and cooked over the coals, rice with cooked tomatoes and onions and a variety of exotic herbs and sauces). Overnight at the lodge.

Day 3 Puerto Maldonado-Lima
After breakfast you will be returned to Puerto Maldonado and its airport for your flight to Lima. Upon arrival you will be met and taken to your hotel. Remainder of the day is at leisure. Overnight in Lima.

Day 4 Lima-End of Tour
After breakfast you will be taken to the airport for your flight home. You may extend your stay in Lima, take one of our many other tour options in Peru or continue to Ecuador or Bolivia.

Additional nights available

This tour can be combined with our Lima and Cusco tour