Tambopata Research Center is the most remote jungle lodge in the Amazon. 

There are no humans nearby so sightings of Monkeys , macaws and other large species become more frequent. Last year, 24% of our guests saw jaguar at TRC!  Tambopata Research Center is an excellent headquarters for in-depth explorations of Amazonian nature and wildlife because of its remote location in uninhabited wilderness housing stable populations of endangered wildlife, the small scale of its infrastructure and operations and the presence of researchers and naturalist guides.

List of Excursions included in TPL   excursons included, click here

 4 Days 3 nights 2 LODGES EXPEDITION

Due to our new boat schedules you can now visit one of the most remote lodges in South America with a quick 4 day 3 night trip. If you are looking for a more in depth Amazon experience, then the Tambopata Research Center suits you best. Although known for its ongoing research of macaws for more than 20 years, there is much more to see at the Tambopata Research Center including the largest macaw clay lick in the world. A rule in the Amazon states that the further away from the cities you go and the longer you stay in the forest, the better chances you will have to observe wildlife.

DAY 1
Arrival & Reception by Guide
Our guides are 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.

Transfer Airport to Puerto Maldonado Headquarters
Upon arrival from Lima or Cusco, we will welcome you at the airport and drive you ten minutes 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.

Transfer Pto Maldonado Headquarters to Tambopata River Port
Skirting Puerto Maldonado, we drive 20 kilometers to the Tambopata River Port, entering the Native Community of Infierno. The port is a communal business.

Transfer Boat – Tambopata River Port to Lodge
The boat ride from the Tambopata Port to the lodge will take us past the Community of Infierno and the Tambopata National Reserve´s checkpoint and into the buffer zone of this 1.3 million hectare conservation unit.

Orientation
Upon arrival, the lodge manager will welcome you and brief you with important navigation and security tips.

Night walk
You will have the option of hiking out at night, when most of the mammals are active but difficult to see. Easier to find are frogs with shapes and sounds as bizarre as their natural histories.

Lodge on the way – Overnight
Meals: Boxed lunch & Dinner

DAY 2
Morning activity

Transfer Boat – Lodge to TRC
Four and half hours by boat from the lodge, in the pristine heart of the reserve, lies the Tambopata Research Center. One and half hours into our boat journey, as we cross the confluence with the Malinowski River, we will leave the final traces of human habitation behind. Within the 700,000 hectare uninhabited nucleus of the reserve, sightings of capybara, caiman, geese, macaws and other large species will become more frequent.

Chuncho Clay Lick
Two hours from Refugio Amazonas, deep in the Tambopata National Reserve we will stop at the Chuncho claylick. After a brief walk (~5 minutes) we will have the chance to see dozens of large macaws feeding on the special sodium rich clays of the riverbank. The Chuncho claylick probably attracts more large macaws than any other claylick in the world and the sight of dozens of macaws taking flight is truly unforgettable. The details of our stopover will depend on the weather and the amount of macaw activity, as the birds don’t visit the clay lick when it is raining.
Orientation
Upon arrival, the lodge manager will welcome you and brief you with important navigation and security tips.

Overlook Trail
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.

Macaw Project Lectures
After dinner scientists will provide an in depth look at the biology of macaws, their feeding habits, the theories for clay lick use, their breeding and feeding ecology, population fluctuations and the threats to their conservation.

Tambopata Research Center – Overnight
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 3
Macaw Clay Lick
On most clear mornings of the year dozens of large macaws and hundreds of parrots congregate on this large river bank in a raucous and colorful spectacle which inspired a National Geographic cover story. Discretely located fifty meters from the cliff, we will observe Green-winged, Scarlet and Blue-and-gold Macaws and several species of smaller parrots descend to ingest clay. Outings are at dawn when the lick is most active.

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.

Pond Platform
Ten minutes upriver from the lodge is a tiny pond with a platform in the middle. It is a great place to spot waterfowl such as Muscovy duck, sunbittern and hoatzin along with the woodpeckers, oropendolas, flycatchers and parakeets that call this pond their home.

Night walk
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.

Tambopata Research Center – Overnight
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 4
Breakfast

Transfer Puerto Maldonado Headquarters to 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.

Highlights at Tambopata Research Center include:

*NEW – 300 Mts of Elevated Walkways : Located in the perfect level of the forest where wildlife become more active.
*– 2 Macaw Clay licks A trip to the Tambopata Research Centre includes a visit too the two most important clay licks in the region: Colorado and Chuncho. Visit these special portions of river bank while Macaws and parrots make a raucous and colorful spectacle which inspired a National Geographic cover story.
*Fantastic hikes– TRC is situated near five distinct habitats. Nearby the lodge, you have access to a variety of great hikes, including: The Floodplain trail , the palm swamp trail, and the overlook trail
*Herds of White Lipped Peccaries – Tambopata Research Centers’ location inside a huge and pristine rainforest means peccaries roam at carrying capacity. Herds of one hundred or more individuals visit the lodge garden frequently to gather nuts from its palm trees.
*Macow research and concervation– Since 1989, researchers have been carrying out groundbreaking macaw conservation research from TRC. During your stay,  you will likely have the chance  to talk with macaw biologists, ecologists and other experts  while they do fieldwork.
*Canopy Tower– During your stopover at Refugio Amazonas you will be able to climb the 30 meter scaffolding tower for expansive views of the rainforest and sightings of colorful toucans and parrots against a green backdrop.
*Natural Construction Rooms – Bedrooms open out onto the surrounding rainforest, allowing you to enjoy this diverse ecosystem even during downtime, with wild animals, including monkeys, often visible from the lodge.

How to Get there ?

Tambopata Research Center requires at least seven hours of the travel time. The first step on the journey to Tambopata includes a plane ride from either Lima or Cuzco. Flights from Lima depart from the domestic terminal of the Jorge Chavez airport. The trip takes around 3 hours. Most flights stop in Cuzco before continuing on to Puerto Maldonado. Flights from Cusco depart from the domestic terminal of the Velasco Astete airport. The trip takes around forty-five minutes. Our bus and boat transportation services have schedule routes at set times of the day. The boats are programmed to meet ongoing and departing flights. Our schedules meet the following flights from Lima, Cusco or Puerto Maldonado.

About Fixed Departures and Transportation:
*Boat Transportation: All our boats are 20 foot long, roofed canoes with four strokes outboard motors.
*Fixed Departures: For other schedule possibilities please consult us
Transfer In  (Puerto Maldonado to Lodge) :  Two departures daily at 13:00 and 14:00 Transfer-out (Lodge to Puerto Maldonado) : One departures daily at  05:00 am

**We have electricity three times per day : From 6hrs to 8hrs – From 12hrs to 14hrs – From 17hrs to 22hrs (Referential time)

Life at the fullest! With this Amazon Experience, choose from a wide range of stand-out Amazon excursions. Do it at your own pace and create your own, custom experience.

Macaw Clay Lick – Colorado
On most clear mornings of the year dozens of large macaws and hundreds of parrots and parakeets congregate in a raucous and colorful spectacle on a cliff located near the lodge. This spellbinding spectacle inspired a National Geographic cover story. We will install ourselves on the opposite side of the Tambopata River at approximately fifty meters (165 feet) from the cliff. From our unobtrusive spot and with the assistance of powerful telescopes and weather permitting, we will be able to observe Green-winged, Scarlet and Blue- and-gold Macaws and several species of smaller parrots and parakeets as they descend to ingest clay. Outings are at dawn when the clay lick is most active.

Jaguar Search at Dawn

The jaguar (Panthera onca), is the largest cat species in the Americas and the third-largest after the tiger and the lion. The jaguar closely resembles the leopard, but is usually larger and stronger. A keystone specie in the rainforest, jaguars are extremely elusive and well camouflaged when in the forest. Our best chance to spot this majestic cat is when it come out to the rive banks in order to drinking water and hunt along the shores of the Tambopata River.

The World of Butterflies

If you love butterflies you will enjoy this activity. The Tambopata region holds the record for more species of butterflies in the world. Our researchers and guides have identified their favorite habitats according to the species. Large, small, colorful, transparent …… you are in for a delightful visual experience. Also this is a great chance to photograph these colorful creatures. Apart from witnessing an extraordinary nature show, you will have the opportunity learn about their behavior and amazing adaptations methods to survive in the rainforest.

My First Biding

Learn how to become a keen birdwatcher. The bird world at TRC is astoundingly diverse and the ideal place to catch the bird watching fever. During your outing with an expert birding guide, you will learn about the proper use of binoculars and telescopes, the basics about bird watching techniques, how to identify the main families, recognize sounds and their different habitats.

Secrets of the Surroundings

Explore the surrounding area around TRC at a relaxed pace. A pristine primary forest encircles the lodge so it is not necessary to wonder too far to have exiting encounters with a large diversity of flora and fauna. Accompanied by your guide, you will walk in a flood plain forest. Imposing ancient trees are the main feature along a trail that is crisscrossed by creeks and ponds. Among them are imposing tree species like the fig, ceiba and shihuahuaco, which host countless species of insect, reptiles and mammals.

Blue and Yellow Macaw

This colorful macaw (Ara ararauna), also known as the blue-and-gold macaw, chooses old palm trees to build their nests. This short walk will take you through their habitat. You enter a completely different eco-system from everything else in the surrounding forest. Here you have the opportunity to learn about the very important aguaje palm (Mauritia flexuosa) which are the ideal nesting site for the Blue and Yellow nests, and other benefits they provide other forest inhabitants. Capuchin monkeys for example love the fruit from these palms.

Ceiba Walk

Embark on a hike on the Ceiba trail. The highlight during this hike is the encounter with largest tree in the vicinity: a giant ceiba. The native people consider these trees sacred. During the hike we will focus on the natural history of this majestic tree and learn why they are so special.

Monkey Walk

An entirely different habitat featuring smaller, thinner trees atop hills and slopes is covered by this five-kilometer trail. A favorite ecosystem for the many monkey species who inhabit Tambopata region. Great opportunity to learn about these curious and lively habitants of this captivating forest.

Amazon Overlook Trail

A three to five-kilometer hike through a regenerating old bamboo forest will lead us to the edge of stunning overlooks which commands magnificent views of the capriccios Tambopata River as it winds its way into the lowlands.

Island Exploration & Pond

Ten minutes upriver from the lodge is a small pond with a platform in the middle. It is a great place to spot waterfowl such as the beautiful Agami heron, Capped heron, the rare curassow, Muscovy duck, Sunbittern and hoatzins along with woodpeckers, oropendolas, flycatchers and parakeets that call this pond their home. You will also have an opportunity to learn about the varieties of fish that live in the amazon. If you are fortunate you may even get to see a caiman or two.

Toucans Trail

Venture deeper into the wilderness surrounding TRC. The Toucans Trail will take you through pristine rain forest habitat with superb opportunities for wildlife encounters. This hike will take approximately 3-hours and we highly recommended to all hike lovers.

Macaw project nest visit

TRC is the home of the Macaw Project. Scientists are conducting macaw research in Tambopata for the past

30 years. During this activity, you have a rare opportunity to observe first hand the work done by the researchers as they climb giant trees to monitor natural and artificial nest sites around TRC. Nest sites are located close to ninety meter above ground. Researchers with the help of climbing gear reach the nests sites in order to collect the macaw chicks. Carefully placed on plastic buckets the chicks are lowered to the forest ground where researches will weigh and measure the chicks to monitor growth and also check for parasites. Once the monitoring is done, chicks are placed back in their nests.

Entusiastic Birding

If you’re already familiar with the basics of birding and the proper use of your birding equipment, you are ready for the next step. On this excursion we will shift our focus from learning the basics to a more in-depth birding experience. Our main emphasis with the assistance of our birding guides, is to learn to differentiate between different habitats and to better understand the behavioral patterns of your favorite bird species.

Birdwatching

This is the ideal activity for seasoned birdwatching lovers. With the assistance of our professional birding guides, we will help you find those species missing from your list. Tambopata holds a vast diversity of specific species. Get ready for an intense 4 hour birding session in order to search and try to find the elusive birds missing from your list.

Amazon Creek Trail

Continue your exploration of the rainforest and it’s endless diversity by hiking in the Terra Firme forest, which is traversed by many creeks that wind their way towards the Tambopata River. Our main focus during this activity is to have an in-depth understanding of the surrounding forest and creek ecology.

Bamboo Trail

One of the most remarkable and mega diverse ecosystems in Tambopata is the bamboo forest. Bamboo is a fast growing plant. Where it grows, bamboo takes over and establishes a total different habitat. Learn more about what species choose this ecosystem as their home. This trail is particularly attractive for bird lovers since this is home to highly specialize species of birds, including some endemics.

Palm Swamp Trail

Growing on the remains of an oxbow lake and providing both arboreal as well as terrestrial mammals with fruits throughout the year, the aguaje palms are one of the most important food sources in the rainforest. Unfortunately, this habitat is also in high demand by humans since the swamps provide ideal conditions for planting rice, making the palm swamps one of the most threatened habitats in the rainforest. Once thing is certain. Swamps are truly picturesque habitats and should be in everyone’s short list of places to visit during your stay at TRC.

Adventure to de Bowl

Ready for a challenge? Join us on a 4-hours walk crossing different habitats. This is an early morning activity and one of the most rewarding in terms of wildlife encounters. Once at the Bowl, you learn about how this patch of forest changes through the seasons.

The Rainforest Master Hike

This is the perfect outing for the hardcore hiker and nature lover. Crisscrossing through an array of ecosystems and an endless network of trails, this hike will take around 6 hours and maximize your opportunities for wildlife. Bring plenty of water and repellent!!!!!

Sunset Cruise

Sunsets in the Tambopata River have no equal. There is something magical about floating the Tambopata, listening to the river gently flow downstream. Add to this the concerto featuring the local fauna, accompanied by the mesmerizing views of the rainforest and having, as it’s main protagonist the a rain forest sunset that will remind art lover at the striking and bold sunsets colors you find in a J. M. W. Turner painting. An unforgettable experience provide by the best artist of all…..Nature.

Rainforest by night

Walking through the rainforest at night challenges all your senses. In deep darkness, surrounded by an array of jungle sounds and with the aid of your guide’s powerful spotlight, you enter a world inhabited by the most unique, diverse and shy night creatures. If fortunate, you will be able to find poison dart frogs, night monkeys, tarantulas, amphibians and insects with the most unique adaptations to life under the cover of darkness.

Macaw Project Lectures

After dinner scientists will provide an in depth look at the biology of macaws. You will learn about their feeding habits, the theories for clay lick use, their breeding and feeding ecology, population fluctuations and the threats to their conservation. These lectures also will provide you with an opportunity to find out how to get involved and/or support this amazing project.