TAMBOPATA RESEARCH CENTER & POSADA AMAZONAS

SUGGESTED 7D/6N ITINERARY FOUR NIGHTS AT TRC

DAY 1
PUERTO MALDONADO - LODGE ON THE TAMBOPATA RIVER
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 survey of the town we will depart on a 3-1/2 hour boat trip by motorized canoe to lodge along the Tambopata river where we will arrive in mid-afternoon. Depending on the arrival time of the plane we will have a boxed lunch aboard the boats or have lunch upon arrival at the lodge. 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. Later in the day, we may have time for a short hike on one of the rain forest trails before overnight.
L, D

DAY 2
LODGE ON THE TAMBOPATA RIVER -TAMBOPATA RESEARCH CENTER
After an early breakfast we will depart for TRC, continuing travel up the Tambopata River for 3 to 4 hours into the pristine heart of the reserve. After the first hour we will leave the final traces of human habitation behind as we cross the northern boundary of the 700,000 hectare, completely uninhabited nucleus of the Tambopata National Reserve. Differences in wildlife abundance will be noted immediately: We will begin to sight macaws, herons, kingfishers and cormorants frequently and improve our chances of encounters with capybaras, caiman, storks, ducks and other wildlife. Boxed lunch will be served in the boat. We will arrive at Tambopata Research Center in the early afternoon, being greeted by the Chicos, our flock of semi-wild, rescued macaws. On arrival, we will hold an orientation session.

After the orientation we will hike the 1.5-mile Bamboo Trail, a trail that is famous for the abundance of rare birds that live exclusively in this habitat and are endemic to southern Peru. It is also the home of the frequently found Howler and Dusky titi monkeys. As we birdwatch our way through the trail we will end our hike at the overlooks which are good places to observe canopy birds like tanagers, jacamars, elaenias, guans, and oropendolas. We will return to TRC for dinner. After dinner, to cap off a fulfilling day we can have a frog walk through the forest, allowing the photo lovers to take incredibly beautiful macro shots of american bullfrogs, horned frogs, tree frogs and an incredible variety of colorful insects.
B,L,D

DAY 3
TAMBOPATA RESEARCH CENTER
At dawn we will cross the river and enjoy the world's largest macaw clay lick where hundreds of parrots and macaws of up to 15 species congregate daily. The January 1994 issue of National Geographic features an article on Tambopata Research Center and the Tambopata Macaw Project. It begins with a description of the daily spectacle at the clay lick:
" When the morning sun clears the Amazon tree line in southeastern Peru and strikes a gray-pink clay bank on the upper Tambopata River, one of the world's most dazzling wildlife gatherings is nearing its riotous peak. The steep bank has become a pulsing, 130-foot-high palette of red, blue, yellow and green as more than a thousand parrots squabble over choice perches to grab a beakful of clay, a vital but mysterious part of their diet. More than a dozen parrot species will visit the clay lick throughout the day, but this midmorning crush belongs to the giants of the parrot world, the macaws."

You can expect to see ten to twelve of the following members of the parrot family: Red-and-green, Blue-and-gold, Scarlet, Red-bellied, Chestnut-fronted and Blue-headed Macaws; Mealy and Yellow-crowned Amazons; Blue-headed, Orange-cheeked and White-bellied Parrots; Dusky-headed, White-eyed, Cobalt-winged and Tui Parakeets and Dusky-billed Parrotlets. This show will continue until the macaws sense danger, usually in the form of an eagle, and depart simultaneously in an explosion of sound and color. Around mid-morning, when the most intense clay lick activity is over for the day, we will return to TRC for breakfast..

After breakfast we will hike the 1.5-mile Ocelot trail, a trail that exemplifies the quintessential rainforest. Although at this time of day mammals and birds are not as active as in the early morning, we will concentrate on the forest itself and discuss general rain forest ecology. This forest, which is estimated to be 200 to 300 years old and includes truly huge Ceiba trees and Strangler figs is home to several mammals that are occasionally encountered: Saddleback tamarins, Squirrel and Brown Capuchin Monkeys and Collared peccary. This trail is one that most often sports ocelot, puma and jaguar tracks, although any one of these three large cats is extremely difficult to spot.

We will return to TRC for lunch and then embark on a 2-mile hike to the palm swamp, a nesting colony and preferred roost for Blue and Gold and Red-bellied Macaws. Although there are different degrees of macaw activity at the swamp year round, the most exciting time to visit it is from October to March. During the nesting season, macaws land on the nests and stand there for several minutes, interacting with other individuals at less then 20 feet from our observation tower. The scenes at the swamp, especially with the late afternoon sun in our backs, make for prized photo opportunities. After a lazy afternoon with the macaws we will hike back to the lodge for dinner.
B,L,D

DAY 4
TAMBOPATA RESEARCH CENTER
After our second visit to the macaw clay lick at dawn we will have breakfast. Then we will embark on a hike of the Toucan Trail that visits terra firme forests. We will visit beautiful pristine creeks that wind their way through forested hills, in some cases following dry stream beds. The community of birds and other wildlife that lives in the hilly terra firme, is very different from that of the bamboo or mature floodplain. After a long, easy hike, we will return to the lodge for lunch. After lunch we will take a short five-minute boat ride to a small, drying oxbow lake where we will spend the afternoon on a platform in the middle of the pond observing some of its birdlife, which may include hoatzin, duck, ibis, woodpeckers, chachalaca, parakeets, oropendolas and numerous flycatcher species. We will return to TRC for dinner and an optional second night outing.,
B,L,D

DAY 5
TAMBOPATA RESEARCH CENTER
We will wake up at dawn once again to visit the macaw clay lick and then return for breakfast. The rest of the morning will be spent walking a trail that passes through seasonally flooded forest, allowing us excellent opportunities to see wading birds and even mammals that look for this precious bodies of water to quench their thirst. This trail also reports excellent opportunities to spot howler monkeys and mixed flocks of birds.

After lucnh we will spend the afternoon in a challenging outing: we will travel upriver for 10 minutes, after what a five minute walk takes us to a small stream that feeds the Tambopata river. At this stream we will find two five-person canoes, in which we will be able to paddle silently through the stream, and try our luck at fishing. For the fish lovers, the most common species at this kind of body of water is the piranha. Dinner and overnight at TRC
B,L,D

DAY 6
TAMBOPATA RESEARCH CENTER - PUERTO MALDONADO
We will wake up at dawn once again to visit the macaw clay lick and then return to the lodge for breakfast. After breakfast we will take a short hike to retrace one of our favorite activity before packing and saying goodbye to the staff. Later we will depart TRC and embark on our journey back to Posada Amazonas. We will spend our last night in the rain forest in this wonderfully designed lodge enjoying its happy hour as we ponder over the exciting happenings of the past few days.
B,L,D.

DAY 7
PUERTO MALDONADO
After an early breakfast we will go to the airport for our flight back to Lima or Cuzco.
B.

INCLUDES: All hotel and lodge accommodations based on double occupancy. All scheduled land and river transportation. All transfers. All scheduled excursions with English-speaking guide services. Meals as specified in the itinerary. B=Breakfast.
L= Lunch. D=Dinner.

NOT INCLUDED: International or domestic airfares, airport departure taxes or visa fees, excess baggage charges, additional nights during the trip due to flight cancellations, alcoholic beverages or bottled water, snacks, insurance of any kind, laundry, phone calls, radio calls or messages, reconfirmation of flights and items of personal nature.