Refugio Amazonas – Butterfly Watching Tour 4 days / 3 nights

PERUVIAN AMAZON TOURS

BACK TO ALL TOURS

From US$ ON REQUEST

* per person in double room *

Days 4 Dificulty I Lodge Refugio Amazonas

Type Nature Enthusiast Type group size With private guide Best season May - September

Day 1: Welcome!

Arriving in Puerto Maldonado, the capital of Madre de Dios, join the transfer of 1 hour by bus and 1 hour by boat to the lodge. Your first tasting of our Amazonian cuisine will be during the boat trip, while you leave the city behind and enjoy the incredible landscapes during the tour.

What to expect at Refugio Amazonas? – A charming refuge in the middle of a Brazil Nut forest, with a bar, massage room, and dining room service. With the Tambopata National Reserve behind him. This eco-lodge 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 lodge, and transfers to and from the airport. Guides are assigned in a ratio of 10: 1

Butterflies of the Tambopata beaches, which we will chance seeing from the boat at any point in our trip include Anteos menipps, Phoebis philea, Philaetria dido, Eurytides spp., Papilio thoas, Callicore cyanosura, Callicore astarte, Baeotus beoutus, Baeotus deucalion, and Uranius spp.

Butterflies on the beaches in the Tambopata River

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.

A half-hour walk from the lodge takes us to the 35-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.

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! Alligators, 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.

Look for butterflies in the floodplain forest, along mature floodplain forest we will stand a chance of observing Morpho achilles, Morpho melenaus, Parides neophilus, Parides sesostris, and Parides vertumnus. At the farthest end of this trail, where it passes its only swampy portion, we may see any of the following butterfly species: Calligo eurolochius, Caligo ileoneus, Caligo idomeneus, Catoblepia xanthicles, Pierella hortona, Pierella lena, Cithaerias pireta, and Haetera piera.

Morpho menelaus , blue butterfly in the Tambopata National Reserve, Peru

Day 3

A fifteen-minute boat ride and sixty-minute walk from Refugio Amazonas is a clay lick used both by parrots and parakeets. From a blind, you will see parrots and parakeets descend on most clear days to ingest the clay on a bank. Species such as Dusky headed and Cobalt winged Parakeet descend at this clay lick. With luck, we will also see some or all of the following species in the early morning rush: Mealy and Yellow-crowned Amazons, Blue-headed Pionus, Severe macaw, and Orange-cheeked (Barraband`s) Parrot. We visit the lick at dawn when parrots are most active, or in midmorning or early afternoon when they are active.

By the afternoon, take a twenty-minute hike to a mammal's clay lick. These wild rainforest pigs show up in herds of five to twenty individuals to eat clay in the late morning. The chances of spotting them are around 15%, but well worth the short hike. Other wildlife also shows up including deer, guan, and parakeets.

Before dinner, join our nightly lectures prepared by the Wired Amazon field researchers of Refugio Amazonas covering conservation threats, opportunities, and projects in the Tambopata National Reserve.

After dinner, the light glares against the sheet, highlighting its white color against the dark jungle night. As the bright light flickers, moths begin to flutter towards it. You study them carefully, noting their shapes and patterns. By the end of the night, you’ve discovered a species totally unknown to science. Now, you get to name it yourself!

Day 4

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.

But first, a short walk from the airport is the Japipi Butterfly Farm and Exhibits, where farmed butterflies are displayed in a giant forest enclosure.

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.

OTHER EXPLORERS HAS ALSO CHECKED

What our guest say
- Valuation Excellent
- 5/5

Nancy Hodgson March 2026

Lesly Lagos March 2026

Batya K. February 2026

S. K. February 2026

Julian S January 2026

Flora Warfel January 2026

Julian Sack January 2026

Laura Franklin December 2025

Lee Wozencroft December 2025

Suraj Vijayan December 2025

Claudia A. January 2026

AMJNZ November 2025

This trip was the highlight of our travels through peru. The lodge was absolutely 5 stars for everything. The room, food, people. We had a private guide, Allen, who grew up locally and really had deep knowledge of the land, the history, and the variety of plant and animal species in the jungle. His knowledge and passion were invaluable to our experience. There are a variety of tour companies and lodges you can book to visit the Amazon, however, I would only recommend Rainforest Expeditions as they are truly connected to the community and offer high quality first class amazon experience! Read all

We had a truly wonderful stay with Rainforest Expeditions. Everyone was incredibly kind and welcoming, and our guide was fantastic — very knowledgeable and passionate about the rainforest. We saw many animals, even from the boat, which made the experience unforgettable. Read all

I just spent 3 days here with my family. The research center surpassed all our expectations. I want to give a special shout out to Carlos who took such good care of us. He went above and beyond to make sure we werr comfortable. And he was always smiling. He made us feel so welcome. We had Erik as our guide who is so knowledgeable and experienced. We learned so much, saw so much wildlife. It really was a dream vacation. Thank you!! Read all

Chose this place to stay at the Amazon, as I heard it benefits the local indigenous community. Life changing experience. Oscar was an excellent guide! We saw so many wildlife! No 4th wall made it such an immersive jungle experience. Since they are eco friendly, there is no AC. It can get pretty hot depending on the season. So better to follow their guidance for clothing choices Read all

If you want to experience the Amazon in all its glory This is the place to come to Staff and guides were excellent Food was just incredible The forest walks were really interesting and informative Read all

If you are a birder, ask for Juan Carlos Yatto. He recognizes an astounding number of bird calls and can duplicate many of them. This place is magical, all I could have imagined. All the staff and scientists are incredible. The experience of a lifetime. Read all

This was the most amazing experience Very well organised The ground staff were so well organised The guides were excellent ( I’m looking at you Carlos!) Food was tasty and very varied Amazed that the chefs managed to get such variety in the middle of the Amazon Do not hesitate Book immediately you will not be disappointed. Highly recommended Read all

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