Refugio Amazonas Lodge (RA) and Tambopata Research Center (TRC) are located in the lush Tambopata Nature Reserve deep in the Peruvian Rainforest. Soak up the jungle life at the lodge and take advantage of a variety of guided activities including visiting a macaw clay lick, going on wildlife hikes, taking canoe tours, visiting with local communities, and going on night jungle walks. The Research Center is home to the world’s largest macaw clay lick, featured on the cover of a 1994 issue of National Geographic Magazine. Choose from a 4 day adventure to the Refugio Amazonas Lodge, or take a longer tour and experience the Tambopata Research Center as well. Each tour, from 4 to 7 days long, starts at Puerto Maldonado airport, where you take a 2 hour motorized canoe ride to reach the remote jungle lodge. Return to Puerto Maldonado on the last day. |
Refugio Amazonas is built using a combination of traditional native materials (wood, palm fronds, wild cane and clay) and architecture and modern day eco-lodge technology. The lodge consists of three wings of 8 rooms connected by raised boardwalks to a central, two story, 20 foot tall common area. This area has distinct ambiences serving as lobby, dining room, bar, shop and lounge. This structure is the heart of Refugio’s atmosphere: it provides great canopy views of the surrounding forest – from a hammock … and a whistle away from a drink!
The entire roof of the lodge is constructed using high quality crisneja palm fronds, whereas the floors are of tropical mahogany. The rooms complex is built of three 32 meter long structures with eight rooms per facility, for a total of 24 double bedrooms.
The rooms are 7 x 4 meters so they can comfortably hold three beds, although most are set up for two. The walls dividing each room are built using cane, and extend from the floor to about 2.5 meters height making each room private. The side that looks out to the forest does not have a wall or screening of any kind, acting as a large window facing the forest. The reason we have been able to incorporate this "luxurious" design into our lodge is because mosquitoes are not really a problem around the lodge clearing and the open section allows for an intimate contact with the rain forest. A second small window on the opposite side, set up very high, keeps the rooms well ventilated. Doors are replaced with drapes. Rooms are not soundproof.
Each room has a private bathroom with cold water only. Rooms and bathrooms are separated by drapes. Each room has beds, mosquito nets, bedside tables and hammocks or lounge chairs.
Itinerary
Day 1 Puerto Maldonado - Refugio Amazonas (L,D)
Upon arrival from Lima or Cuzco, reception and transfer to the Tambopata river port in Puerto Maldonado. Puerto Maldonado is situated at the confluence of the mighty Madre de Dios and Tambopata Rivers and is a bustling, booming tropical frontier town. Its principal activities are gold mining, Brazil nut collecting, timber extraction, agriculture and ecotourism. After a brief stop at our offices we will depart on a 30 minute drive to the Infierno Community port, followed by a 2:30 minute boat journey by motorized canoe to Refugio Amazonas. Depending on the arrival time of the plane we will have a boxed lunch aboard the boats or have lunch upon arrival at Refugio Amazonas. During our voyage we may see bird species typical of the river or forest edge such as: Black Skimmer, Pied Lapwing, Capped Heron, Jabiru Stork, Roadside Hawk, and several species of kingfishers, swallows and flycatchers. When we arrive at Refugio Amazonas we will unpack and unwind. Refugio Amazonas is a comfortable yet unobtrusive 24 room lodge owned by Rainforest Expeditions. A presentation on the Ecotourism Project will be given after dinner.
Day 2 Refugio Amazonas (B,L,D)
We will be up at dawn for a visit to the Sachavacayoc oxbow lake. After an early breakfast we depart on a 1:30 minute walk that will take us to the lake shore. From here we take a long, easy canoe ride around it. We will look for giant river otters, turtles, hoatzin, and wading birds. Then we will return to the lodge for lunch before embarking on our afternoon outing. In the afternoon we will visit the ethnobotanical trail. We will hike the trails and learn the everyday uses of forest resources in medicine, construction, food and fiber. We will return to Refugio Amazonas for dinner and overnight. After enjoying our popular happy hour and refurbishing your spirits with ours, you will be up for an optional night walk to look for amphibians and insects.
Day 3 Refugio Amazonas (B,L,D)
We will leave to the lodges trails in time for a visit to a small parakeet clay lick. Dozens of Blue Headed Parrots, Orange-Cheeked Parrots, Cobalt-winged parakeets, and sometimes even the rare Rock Parakeet congregate here on clear days to ingest clay. This congregation creates a riotous and colorful wildlife spectacle where the greens, oranges, reds and blues of the parrots dance around the bank as each individual parrot competes for their choice beakful of clay. After the clay lick we will visit the Brazil Nut Trail. In this activity, we will visit a trail that covers the brazil nut forest in part of the Refugio Amazonas property. Brazil nuts are one of the few non timber industries of the Amazon forest. We will learn how brazil nuts are harvested, transported and dried by trying to do so. Then we will return to the lodge for lunch before embarking on our afternoon outing. After lunch we´ll visit a local slash and burn farm. Slash and burn agriculture systems are often thought of as wasteful because the fields are burnt, cultivated for a few years, and then abandoned. Many resident studies, however, have shown that this is far from the truth. The secret of their success is mixed planting in small patches, so that the crops are not decimated by disease and pests spreading through monocultures, the use of a mixture of herbaceous and woody crops, and the genetic diversity of their crops. After our visit, we will be able to understand why these cultivation systems are sustainable over the long term. Overnight at Refugio Amazonas where you will be able to reminisce on the happennings of the past three days enjoying our happy hours amazonian concoctions.
Day 4 Refugio Amazonas - Puerto Maldonado (B)
After an early breakfast, we depart by boat back to the city of Puerto Maldonado, directly to the airport, in time for our flight back to Lima or Cuzco.
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