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Amazon Conservation Adventure Day 1: Arrive Lima You will be met upon arrival and transferred to your hotel.
Day 2: Lima – Puerto Maldonado – Amazon Shelter Transfer to Lima airport to take a morning flight to Puerto Maldonado, from where you will be transferred to the Amazon Shelter. The first half of this 45-minute trip takes you across the relatively new developments in Puerto Maldonado, and the second half is along almost the entire Tambopata Ecotourism Corridor. Motorcars are the local means of transport in the Peruvian Amazon.
Upon arrival, you’ll receive an introductory tour through the Amazon Shelter and get to know the animals of the Center and its different working areas. Enjoy lunch at the Amazon Shelter before starting your afternoon activity of preparation of diets and feeding of the animals. The diet for the animals is prepared on a daily basis and varies depending on the species. In some cases, specific doses of medicine will have to be added. You will learn about this process on your first day. Depending on the weekday, there may also be a visit to the market to do some weekly shopping.
After dinner, there will be a talk on the Center’s work, its activities, rescue operations, and awareness-raising campaigns at schools and institutes in Puerto Maldonado, as well as about the challenges of leading such an initiative.
Day 3: Amazon Shelter After breakfast, you will again dedicate your morning to the diet preparation and feeding of animals at the shelter.
Your afternoon today will be focused on another very important activity at the shelter -- the cleaning of enclosures. The areas where animals are kept are cleaned and disinfected once a week. Tonight enjoy your second and last dinner at the shelter.
 Amazon Conservation Adventure Day 10 : Machupicchu – Cusco – Lima On your last morning, return to Cusco on the Vistadome train, and arrive midday. From here, fly to Lima. Upon arrival, you’ll be accommodated at the Costa Ramada Airport Hotel for convenient day-use before your international flight back home.
Amazon Conservation Adventure Day 7: Refugio Amazonas – Puerto Maldonado – Cusco / Walking tour After breakfast, leave Refugio Amazonas by boat and travel to the Tambopata River Port. Pick up any luggage left at Tambopata Headquarters, and then drive to the airport to board your flight to Cusco, where upon arrival you will be transferred to your hotel.
In the afternoon, visit the legendary Koricancha -- the most important temple devoted to worshiping the sun deity and whose walls were once plated with sheets of gold. Continue to the Plaza de Armas to visit the Cathedral, and end your tour in San Blas -- the bohemian quarter of the city, home to the workshops and stores of the most renowned artisans in Cuzco, including Mendivil and Merida.
This morning, start your scenic drive to the Sacred Valley, visiting the archaeological site of Sacsayhuamán on the way. The Sacred Valley, at a lower elevation than Cusco, enjoys a mild climate and offers visitors a chance to acclimatize to the region in a less physically-demanding environment. Surrounded by varied and dramatic landscapes, it has become a prime destination in Peru. Visit the Pisaq archaeological site and its colorful market. Enjoy lunch at Casa Hacienda Orihuela -- a private residence with an impressive collection of Inca and colonial art and artifacts, where the Lambarri-Orihuela family will be your hosts. In the afternoon, visit Ollantaytambo – a still-thriving Inca village set below an ancient Inca fortress and temple with stunning views over the valley that makes us feel as if we have stepped back into the 15th century.
Once back at your hotel and before dinner, you’ll have the chance to participate in a very special ceremony of sound and traditional offerings to Mother Earth. Such ceremonies have been practiced for centuries and are still alive today. This ceremony evokes the spirit of healing; included in this ritual are many sacred medicines such as Palo Santo, Tayta Sayri, Mama Coca, Agua Florida, Condor Feathers, Grandfather Puma, Essences and Incenses. Many pre-hispanic instruments are used that have no musical register written. To feel how the power of sound becomes a collective prayer that creates healing frequencies, come with an open heart.
Day 9: Sacred Valley – Machupicchu Early this morning, board the Vistadome train to Machu Picchu, the "Lost City of the Incas.” Visit the sacred Inca citadel, exploring its main temples and hidden corners. If you choose, you can also visit the fabulous Inca Bridge or climb Huayna Picchu (reservation required in advance as there are only 400 spaces available per day), offering impressive views over Machupicchu.
Enjoy a delicious buffet lunch at the Machupicchu Sanctuary Lodge’s restaurant facing the Inca citadel, before taking a bus to the town of Aguas Calientes where you’ll be accommodated in a lovely hotel.
Amazon Conservation Adventure: Logistics Inclusions:
Exclusions:
Partner Organizations The Amazon Shelter is a non-profit organization that has implemented a wildlife shelter called the Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CRCAS), located 11.2 km from the city of Puerto Maldonado. In a section of almost 10-hectares, the Center hosts specimens rescued from illegal trafficking with the authorization of the Forestry and Wildlife General Directorate. Volunteer programs are aimed at the care of the specimens hosted in the Center. The volunteers' main duties include: preparing the meals, feeding the animals and cleaning the areas where they are kept. Their work might also involve the construction of new sections for the Center or the upkeep of those already existing, among other tasks. Since it is the Center's objective to reintroduce the animals back into the wild when feasible, the organization and number of specimens kept in the Center at any given time constantly varies. Among the specimens that have in the past or currently reside in the Center, are red howler monkeys, tortoises, coati, red brocked deer, white lipped peccaries, night monkeys, brown capuchin monkeys, three-toed sloths, ant-eaters, pumas and different species of macaws. Rainforest Expeditions operates three award-winning Amazon lodges: Posada Amazonas, Refugio Amazonas, and Tambopata Research Center. Each Amazon lodge provides access to a unique set of ecotourism experiences in the jungle of southeastern Peru by working closely with the Ese’ eja Native Community to generate sustainable local development while caring for the environment. Visitors are completely surrounded by nature due to the location in the Tambopata-Candamo National Reserve. Rooms constructed from bamboo and adobe give visitors a unique experience in the jungle without sacrificing comfort and quality. All of these factors combined have earned the lodges numerous awards including the Ecotourism Excellence Award and certification by the Rainforest Alliance. Jointly owned by the Ese-Eja community of Infierno and Rainforest Expeditions, Posada Amazonas opened its doors in 1998 and has become a major attraction for those looking for a short stay in the rainforest with the promise of an authentic eco-tourist experience. The lodge is situated within the community's private reserve and has been built using local materials and architecture combined with modern expertise. Thanks to its accesibility, excellent wildlife observation opportunities, cultural context, and comfortable accommodations, Posada Amazonas is ideal for a two-night introduction to Amazonia´s richest rain forests.
Amazon Conservation Adventure Day 4: Amazon Shelter – Refugio Amazonas This morning, you’ll leave the Tambopata Ecotourism Corridor behind and make your way to Rainforest Expeditions’ headquarters in Puerto Maldonado. Pack only the necessary gear for your next few days, and leave the rest in safe deposit. This will help us keep the boats and cargo light. From there, skirting Puerto Maldonado, drive 20 kilometers to the Tambopata River Port, entering the native community of Infierno. The port is a communal business. The two and a half hour boat ride from the Tambopata Port to Refugio Amazonas will take us past the Tambopata National Reserve´s checkpoint and into the buffer zone of this 1.3 million hectare conservation unit.
Upon arrival, the lodge manager will welcome you and provide a briefing about important navigation and security tips. A twenty-minute walk from Refugios Amazonas leads to 30-meters of scaffolding, which is the canopy tower. A bannistered staircase running through the middle provides safe access to the platforms above. From atop you’ll have spectacular views of the vast expanses of standing forest cut by the Tambopata River winding through the middle. Now and then, toucans, parrots, or macaws can be seen flying against the horizon, or flocks will land in the treetop next to you. After dinner at the lodge, enjoy a presentation on the Infierno ecotourism project, available every night from a staff member.
Day 5: Refugio Amazonas - Baltimore Community After breakfast, you will start an oxbow lake visit. You’ll have the chance to paddle around the lake on a canoe or a catamaran, looking for lakeside wildlife such as hoatzin, caiman, and hornerd screamers. You may also be rewarded with overhead sightings of macaws.
In late morning, prepare to leave Refugio Amazonas. An hour and a half boat ride will take you to Baltimore, during which we may enjoy our boxed lunch. Upon arrival, the family that lives here will welcome you and brief us with important navigation and security tips for your stay with them. The house is located on the right hand side of the Tambopata River by the mouth of the stream El Gato. From this place, it is possible to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the area. The principle activities that allow the subsistence of the Ramirez family are fishing and agriculture. The El Gato stream provides a large variety of fish such as sabalo, paco, doncella, sardina and piranas, amongst others, which are popular among sport fishermen. The farm also provides a great variety of local fruits including citrus fruits, avocados, huaba, sapote, caimito, araza, copoazu, star fruit, casharana, coconut, bananas, anona, papaya, yucca, and more. The family also produces coffee, rice, and Brazil nuts. The stream is a great place to practice canoeing and swimming, and there is also a small waterfall a short walk away.
The Ramirez family posseses 45 hectares of land and has implemented a trail system that allows the observation of a great variety of flora. Notable species include the tree species Lapuna and Shihuahuaco (Ironwood) well known for their ecological importance, but also for the important role that they play in Amazonian myths and legends. These trails also lead to small mammal clay licks and small, hidden, bird clay licks on the bank of the stream, where a group of scientists from Biosphere Expeditions have carried out investigations that have led them to report that 14 different bird species (particularly psitacids) visit the clay lick regularly.
Later today, you will experiment with working on the farm and enjoy the flavors of exotic fruits and other local products, discovering the richness of the Amazonian soils and the process of organic production. Tonight enjoy dinner at your homestay.
Day 6: Baltimore Community – Refugio Amazonas After breakfast, get ready for a half-day of fishing at Quebrada El Gato. Enjoy lunch with the Ramirez family at the homestay, and then take a fifty-minute boat ride back to Refugio Amazonas Lodge. A short hike from the lodge is a beautiful old growth patch of Brazil nut forest that has been harvested for decades. This afternoon you’ll have a chance to learn about the whole process of the rainforest's only sustainably-harvested product from collection through transportation to drying.
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