Upon arrival to Puerto Maldonado, you will be greeted by one or more of our guides and then taken to a waiting vehicle. You will take short ride to our operations office in Puerto Maldonado where we will ask you to store luggage you don’t need. Luggage is hand-carried at various stages in the trip for long distance so we ask you to please limit your weight to 15 kilos (32 pounds apiece). You can pack separate bags and safely leave them at our offices in Puerto Maldonado on the first day so we won’t be carrying them around uselessly. Your bag will be waiting for you at the airport the day you leave. After taking care of luggage, we take a 40-minute drive to the Infierno Community Port where we board long, sturdy canoes equipped with outboard motors and head upstream to Refugio Amazonas. The three-hour boat ride is pleasant and often includes our first sightings of macaws, heron, caiman and capybara. Once the boat arrives at the lodge dock, you will have officially arrived to the wild rainforests of Tambopata!
Wired Amazon Activities
Wired Amazon is our citizen science program. From discovering a new species to learning about Harpy Eagle behavior, guests at Refugio Amazonas can join the Wired Amazon team and participate in groundbreaking research that is advancing our knowledge of the rainforest. Each month (on average) a guest discovers a species new to science! Read more about Wired Amazon activities:
Discover a New Species: Join a Wired Amazon team member and help him collect insects at the light trap that will be genetically sequenced. Every month, a lucky guest discovers a new tiger-moth, scorpion-wasp, caddisfly or treehopper species that is new to science!
AmazonCam
Configure camera traps at a nearby mammal clay lick and download wildlife photos from the past few days to help scientists find out what is present at The Big Grid, our 288-kilometer trail system experiment.
Aerobotany
Aerobotany is where centuries-old classic field biology and 21st-century cutting-edge technology come together, in the middle of the spectacularly diverse and underexplored Amazon rainforest. Join our resident aerobotanist to fly drones over the canopy and classify the photos.
Macaw Claylicks
Take a boat trip to the Chuncho Clay Lick inside the Tambopata National Reserve to see macaws descend to eat clay lick on clear mornings.
Canopy Tower
Our 30-meter scaffolding canopy tower gives you spectacular views of the vast expanses of the Amazon Rainforest. You will have good chances of spotting toucans, parrots, macaws or mixed species canopy flocks.
Jungle Farm Visit
Visit a working jungle farm and a real Brazil nut concession to learn about the way of life in the rainforest. You will taste exotic tropical fruits and discover medicinal plants from the neighboring local families that we are helping integrate into the ecotourism industry.
Oxbow Lake Visit
Paddle around the Lake Condenado on a catamaran, looking for wildlife such a hoatzin, caiman or horned screamers.
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. The dining room is a huge open building with a loft on the second story for an eye-level view of the surrounding rainforest canopy.
Children´s Rainforest Trail
Your kids can enjoy the Amazon´s only trail for children and a playground beside the lodge.
Wellness Center
Enjoy massages and aromatherapy at our wellness center.
