Refugio Amazonas – Suggested Expedition 5 days / 4 nights
PERUVIAN AMAZON TOURS
Day 1: Welcome to Tambopata!
Arriving in Puerto Maldonado, the capital of Madre de Dios, we will begin with a one-hour road trip followed by a peaceful one-hour boat ride along the Tambopata River. As we travel deeper into the heart of the rainforest, you will enjoy your first taste of Amazonian cuisine during the journey.
When we reach the riverbank, you will climb a staircase whose length varies with the season, followed by a short walk through the vibrant Amazon rainforest. This journey marks the beginning of your stay, immersing you in the wonders of the Peruvian Amazon.
What to expect at Refugio Amazonas? – A charming refuge in the middle of a chestnut forest, with a bar, massage room, and dining room service. With the Tambopata National Reserve behind him. This eco-hostel is the headquarters of Wired Amazon, the first citizen science project to turn its guests into citizen scientists.
What is included in the accommodation? – A 45 m2 room, with mosquito nets over the beds, a private bathroom, and a window open to the forest, which maximizes contact with nature.
What is included during your stay? – Three daily meals, teas, coffee, activities guided excursions, welcome drink upon arrival at the Amazon lodge, and transfers to and from the airport. Guides are assigned in a ratio of 10: 1
A half-hour walk from the ecolodge takes us to the 40-meter-high canopy tower, a staircase with railings will provide us with safe access to the top of the tower, from which we can contemplate the impressive forest of the National Reserve of Tambopata. From the top, it is also possible to see different species of birds such as toucans, macaws, and raptors among other species.
Canopy Tower at Refugio Amazonas - Photo by Carlos Gonzales
Day 2
You can navigate around Lake Condenado, looking for wildlife such as the hoatzin or Shansho, which is said to be a pre-historic bird! Caimans, Martin fishermen among other species, if we are lucky will be able to observe a family of otters that inhabit its waters and are difficult to see. You will be able to discover the difference between the eco-system of a lake and a river and who knows, maybe you will be rewarded with macaws flying over the treetops.
A visit to the organic farm of our dear neighbor Don Manuel, located just five minutes by river from the lodge, will show you the various crops typical of the area and you will be surprised with fruits that you did not know!
Condenado Lake at Refugio Amazonas - Photo by Carlos Gonzales
Day 3
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 that 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.
Do you know Brazilian Nuts? That dried fruit? Today you will know its origin, we will visit a Brazil Nut camp very close to the lodge, and you will be able to see the immense chestnut trees where they come from and how the local people harvest them once a year between the months of the rainy season. The chestnut is one of the main sources of income for the local population of Puerto Maldonado, making it one of the sustainable activities with the greatest impact.
Do you want to know what else nature provides us? In this activity, you will meet him. The medicinal plants’ trail will take us to know the great variety of plants and trees that the local population has used for years to heal their body and soul, perhaps you have heard of some of them such as Sacha-Ajos, Uña De Gato, Sacha – Charcot, Para-Para, Ayahuasca, are just some of them.
Researchers from the Wired Amazon Project will tell us through a Night Lecture about the opportunities and challenges of this project in the Tambopata National Reserve.
Chuncho Clay Lick - Photo by Louis Guillot
Day 4
Very close to the ecolodge, there is a peccary or mammal clay lick. These wild, rainforest pigs appear in herds of five to twenty individuals to eat clay in the late morning. The chances of seeing them are around 15%, but it’s worth the short hike. Other wild animals also appear, including deer, turkeys, and parakeets.
Mammal claylick near Refugio Amazonas - Tambopata
Explore the forest through a trail that takes us very close to the river, the overlook trail, wherefrom a point we can watch the sunset.
You will have the option of taking a night walk through the jungle when most of the mammals are active but difficult to see. Easier to find are frogs with shapes and sounds as strange as their natural stories.
Day 5
Our expedition came to an end. It’s time to say goodbye and say goodbye! We will return to the airport for your domestic flight.
Thank you for your visit. This contributes directly to the Wired Amazon Project and its efforts to conserve and learn about the biodiversity of the Tambopata National Reserve.
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What our guest say
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- Valuation Excellent
- 5/5
Laura Franklin December 2025
Lee Wozencroft December 2025
Suraj Vijayan December 2025
Claudia A. January 2026
AMJNZ November 2025
Real CBakes November 2025
C M November 2025
giovannaBorneo November 2025
Alyssa Zhen November 2025
citlalli October 2025
Pat October 2025
John W October 2025
I can not say enough good things about my time at the Tambopata Research Center. Between the guides, the boat drivers, the chefs, the staff, the bartenders, the researchers, etc. Everyone was absolutely wonderful! If you are interested in viewing wildlife in the Amazon, this is the place for you! A special thank you to the maître d' Carlos who was so incredibly kind and hospitable and our guide Dino who was like a real life Indiana Jones. I can't wait to come back! Read all
An unforgettable, fully immersive jungle experience. Amazing how Tambopata Lodge delivers luxury touches in such a remote and rugged location. The food is fantastic, the staff incredible, and the wildlife sightings non-stop. The personalised itinerary and one-on-one guiding made the trip truly special—huge thanks to our guide Johan for sharing his passion and knowledge. The Macaw Project is inspiring, and it’s clear the lodge fully supports this important conservation work. Manager Brian was always kind, helpful. Well-done all involved. Read all
The most important fact we are grateful for is the true sense of understanding of the ecology of the Amazon the staff at Rainforest Expeditions (RFE) have shown us. RFE stands out for its stand against the pure, profit-motive initiatives many other tour operators do. We are very grateful to have had Carlos as our guide. Carlos is deeply dedicated, and is able to explain the nuances of the flora and fauna. The world today needs to act as one against the impact of climate change. RFE is one, bright shining light in this regard. Read all
We had a fabulous trip! The people were amazing, kind and very professional. The food was exceptionally good! The facilities are beautiful and well kept. We just loved our second time with Rainforest Expeditions and can't wait to go again!! Read all
Fantastic to be deep in the forest surrounded by incredible wildlife with our amazing guide Juan Carlos Yatto, who really knew his stuff! Also his photography skills meant that we could share our experience even better through his telescope using our phone cameras! We learned so much!! He went to extra lengths to find butterflies and moths for us along with so many different birds and monkeys. This was a travel highlight for us as experienced wildlife travellers. We loved our spacious room with no windows and open to more wildlife visitors but after 5 nights the bed could have been a little more comfortable. Luckily we had a second bed to use. Otherwise it was fantastic with hot water showers and fresh drinking water all the time. We were amazed at the variety of food on offer for breakfast, lunch and dinner and couldn’t believe they could have such a wonderful food offering in such a remote location. Even the wine and cocktails were great. I highly recommend spending the extra money and time getting to this location. We stayed at another lodge later which was closer to Puerto Maldonado and there was far less wildlife. Read all
Ederson made the stay at the lodge amazing. I have had many guides around the world and Ederson may be the best I have had across 50 countries. The lodge itself is nice, and has electricity. Food is good, and you really feel immersed in the amazon staying there. Its great that a portion of the money goes back to conservation and research. Noteworthy details: Ederson, the "commander" is the best guide! Read all
Through a travel agency in Lima we booked a 4day/3-night stay at Refugio Amazonas. We were looking for a lodge that was far away from Puerto Maldonado but didn't require almost a day to get there (like TRC), with extensive walking trails and with the principal jungle highlights nearby. We were not disappointed. As we later learned, this is probably the best lodge in the region! Well run, quiet, excellent food, beautifully located in the middle of the forest, everything was "right". Surprisingly there were few mosquitos or bugs. Emperatriz (MP as some call her), our guide, has a keen eye and took us on some unforgettable walks and boat rides, both day and night. The birds at the clay lick were fantastic. The lodge also had evening lectures by young researchers as well as special activities such as collecting night moths and setting a trap camera. We later received videos and photo's of what was found (including a puma!). I can recommend this lodge without reservation. Read all
Abbiamo scelto il Tambopata Research Center perché il nostro obbiettivo era di poter vedere le are da vicino. Ci siamo stati ad inizio dicembre scorso, l'inizio della stagione delle piogge, perciò abbiamo scelto di restare 5 notti/6 giorni, abbiamo messo in conto di perdere delle giornate a causa della pioggia e per la lontananza da Puerto Maldonado, per nostra fortuna durante il nostro soggiorno ha piovuto solo il giorno di partenza proprio quando arrivavamo in aeroporto. Non c'é stato un giorno che non ne abbiamo visto: are di diverse specie e colori e molti altri uccelli e primati, spettacolare l'incontro a pochi centimetri con un formichiere bianco, ma non il giaguaro. Consigliamo di pernottatre almeno 3 notti, il viaggio é molto lungo. Noi eravamo all'aeroporto di Lima già alle 8:00 di mattina e tra un volo in ritardo, uno spostamento in bus di ca. 45 minuti per arrivare al fiume, ed un trasferimento in barca veloce, siamo arrivati al lodge verso le 16:30. All'aeroporto ci ha accolto la nostra guida privata Alfred, che ci ha seguito per tutto il soggiorno, di giorno in giorno abbiamo deciso le escursioni da fare, ed Alfred si é rivelato essere una super guida, un occhio di falco per scoprire anche il più piccolo uccellino, con pazienza é riuscito a farci camminare chilometri nella giungla, ci ha spiegato molto sulla flora e fauna. Bravissimo a far video e foto con i nostri telefoni col suo binocolo e cavalletto che si portava sempre appresso, queste foto sono dei magnifici ricordi. TRC non é un hotel, é un centro di ricerca per le are, in mezzo ad una foresta ed a ore dal primo centro abitato, perciò non avevamo delle grandi aspettative ne sul cibo ne sull'alloggio Read all
This place is a treat!! Incredible flora & fauna, food and service - the staff is quite attentive. Interesting research, with lots of potential. Visiting the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest is a must do! Read all
We had the most amazing time EVER at Refugio Amazonas, and I am so very glad I booked our stay here. Honestly, this is to date probably the best travel experience we have ever had and I will never forget our time in the Amazon here. First of all, the lodge is beautiful. Our room was lovely. The beds were comfy. The bathrooms are large. It is incredible waking up to the sounds of the jungle and falling asleep to the insects at night. We did have some insects in our room, and a rodent, and even a tarantula (non poisonous)! But it was part of the experience. The food was great and they prioritize native and local ingredients. My partner and I are both vegan and they took SUCH good care of us. The food was delicious, and we had ample vegan options every meal. Everything from the first email contacts with Katia to the transfers to the first night info session to the activities-- which I will get to in a second-- was incredible. It is a bit pricey, but everything is included and there is nothing you need to worry about, and it was so worth it. OK now for the best part-- the activities. Holy wow. First of all, we had the best guide EVER-- Juan Carlos. He was amazing. He is a bird expert, knows so much about the animals who live in the rainforest, the insects, the trees, the plant life, it was incredible. He also so clearly cared that everyone in our group had an amazing time. He took so many pictures for us, pointed out so many animals for us, and made sure we all enjoyed every moment. I can’t thank him enough because it made our time here so very special. We went on many activities that were amazing, and we saw so many animals— capybaras, howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys, so many incredible insects, frogs, tarantulas, so many many birds and butterflies. Every activity was amazing but the highlights were the macaw clay lick and the canopy tower. And we were super impressed and happy to hear about their commitment to conservation, protecting the animals, and supporting the native community nearby. There is so much I could say about our stay here but I would recommend a 3 night stay over 2 nights (so you can do more activities), and make sure you read the guides they send via email before you come so you pack correctly and know what to expect and bring--the guide includes everything so that there are no surprises, and we knew exactly what to expect, although our stay exceeded our expectations! I highly, highly recommend staying here, it was magical, it was a once in a life time adventure, and I will never forget it. I also want to shout out the manager of the lodge, I forgot her name, but she was incredible, as well as the service staff at meal times, who were so kind and helpful to point out what was vegan all of the time. I truly hope we can come back some day!! Read all
The lodge was kept very clean, and the staff paid close att to people's needs. It was very easy find activities and the guides were excellent with a genuine intended approach towards sustainability and environment longevity. Read all
A superb stay in a top class Lodge which gave a wonderful insight into the Amazon wildlife. Our guide was Juan Carlos who has incredible knowledge and a lovely sense of humour. The staff in the lodge were so friendly and the meals provided were something to look forward to. A wonderful experience! Read all