Tambopata and the Southern Amazon

Tambopata National Reserve (2000), The Main Lodge Based Amazon Destination In Southern Peru, With The Collpa Colorado Clay Lick Where Hundreds Of Macaws Gather, Giant Otters On Lake Sandoval And Canopy Walkways. Reached By Flight From Cusco Or Lima. · Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios

Tambopata is the main lodge-based rainforest destination in southern Peru, a lowland reserve of river, forest and oxbow lakes in the Madre de Dios region, reached from Puerto Maldonado by boat. The draw is wildlife: a bird list of well over 600 species, monkeys, caimans, capybaras, giant otters on Lake Sandoval and, very rarely, a jaguar. The Collpa Colorado clay lick, where hundreds of macaws and parrots gather, is the famous sight. The honest picture is that a lodge stay is the only practical way to see it. Lodges are comfortable but pricey, packages usually run 3 days and 2 nights, and you will be walking in heat and mud among biting insects. The region also has a real problem with illegal gold mining. Go from May to October, check the yellow fever rules and book a licensed lodge well ahead, and it is a memorable few days. Pack repellent, a rain jacket and patience for early starts, and leave a spare day at the end in case a flight from Puerto Maldonado is delayed by weather or river levels.

Lowland rainforest reserve south and west of Puerto Maldonado, reached by river boat from the town to lodges on the Tambopata and Madre de Dios rivers, Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios, Peru

The reserve is open all year, but you only visit through a lodge or tour with a guide and a boat. Activities run at dawn and after dark, with a midday rest in the heat. Some trails flood in the wet season and the clay lick is quiet on rainy mornings. Lake Sandoval charges an entry fee; the reserve itself is NOT free to enter, so confirm what your package covers.

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