Tambopata, Chimbadas and La Torre Lakes

Arrival to Puerto Maldonado. On your arrival to the Padre Aldamiz airport in Puerto Maldonado, you will be greeted by an Inotawa guide. We will ride by car up to the Native Community of Infierno; along the way we will be able to see palm trees; ravines; local farms with traditional crops, like papaya and different citrics; pasturelands; etc. On arrival, we will board a boat at the port and begin our journey of 1 hour and 15 minutes across the Tambopata River, entering the buffer zone of the Tambopata National Reserve in the Bahuaja-Sonene National Park. During the ride you will appreciate the rivers vegetation, formed by sugar canes, cecropias y ficus; and its wildlife of birds, such as oropendolas and their hanging nests, herons on the river banks, or macaws and toucans flying across the sky. If you are lucky you will also be able to see mammals like capibaras or reptiles, like white caimans and turtles, as they occasionally rest on the shores. During our trip on the river, we will enjoy a lunch, consisting of a vegetarian chaufa and rice) and assorted fruits, cookies and a bottle of water..

Upon arrrival at our Private Conservation Area (PCA) Inotawa and to our lodge, our guide will give us instructions for us to enjoy our stay the best way possible. We will take a brief tour of Inotawa’s installations and will be guided to our rooms. Once settled, you get free time to get comfortable, rest in your room, freshen up, spend time at the coffee bar or explore the surroundings of the lodge.
By the end of the afternoon we will follow our guide on a walk along the trails of the PCA, to observe the day into night shift in the Amazon Rainforest. At this time, daylight animals start to make their way back to their burrows, and the nigh time animals make theirs to the clay licks and feeding areas. We are likely to spot bird species like trogons, partridges and turkey hens. We will also come across trees like shihuahuacos, lupunas, ceibos, almendrillos, among others. Once night has fallen, insects and arthropods, like tarantulas, grasshoppers and stick-insects; as well as different species of frogs, will make their appearance, in what will turn into a real tropical concert. 19:30 h – Dinner and preparation for the next day.
After dinner, our guide will give us a briefing in relation to the activities that compromise Day 2 of our Amazon tour program.

5:00 Am – Snack (coffee, infusions, fruits, cookies)
5:30 A – Hike to lake Cocococha, boat ride and wildlife sighting. We will transfer to the Tambopata National Reserve control post, from where we will start an interesting 2 hour hike, in which we will go through different types of forest, that hold plant species that are extremely important for the biodiversity of Madre de Dios, such as siringa and chestnut trees, where howler and capuchin monkeys inhabit. The hike ends on the banks of lake Cocococha, where there is a bird watching hideout. There we will take a boat ride with the tour guide, from which we will observe the lake’s wildlife activity and have our breakfast with 2 sandwiches, 1 fruit, water.
The lake covers an area of 60 hectares, surrounded by palm trees, shallows and highlands, that altogether form a highly biodiverse ecosystem, which, due to little human intervention, remains an important habitat for the feeding and reproduction of various emblematic and endangered species of the Amazon, such as macaws, black caimans, giant otters and the rare Agami heron. Around 13:00 h we will have lunch.
16:30 h – Start of our excursion to the Bahuaja lookout. A 30 minutes hike from Inotawa will take us to the Bahuaja lookout, at the top of a 50 meter high red clay cliff. During the hike we will be able to observe different forest species, such as chestnut, tornillo and siringa trees. From the lookout, at the edge of the cliff, we will get a look at the mount from a different perspective. Sitting on covered benches we’ll be able to relax and observe the Tambopata river in all of its splendor.
19:30 h – Dinner and time to rexal and listen to the sounds of the jungle.

5:00 Am – Snack (coffee, infusions, fruits, cookies)
5:30 Am – Hike to lake Tres Chimbadas and boat ride. We will travel 15 minutes by boat and then engage on a 40 minutes hike that goes through the ecotourism concession of the Infierno Native Community, until we get to a characteristic Amazon water mirror: lake Tres Chimbadas. To get into the lake, we will pass through the control post of the Infierno community, as they are the ones in charge of the custody and maintenance of the lake, which is possible thanks to the income generated by ecotourism. We will have our breakfast on the shores of the Tres Chimbadas lake.
After breakfast we will aboord a boat, to make a round across the lake. Led by our guide, we will follow a route that will let us appreciate the lakes wildlife and vegetation, getting to observe: birds such as shanshos, needle ducks, herons, kingfishers; some reptiles and mammals. We will pay special attention to signs of the giant otter. A familly of several member has frequently been spotted in this lake. Lunch is around 13:00 h.
At 15:00 h we start our excursion to a community farm, where agriculture is still practiced in a traditional way. Here we will have the opportunity to discover various fruits from the Amazon, such as copoazú, arazá, pijuayo, yucca, banana, pineapple and cocoa; and spices such as spice tumeric and sacha culantro.
Additionally, we will make a short hike across some of Inotawa’s PCA trails, which camera traps, that capture wildlife activity. The pictures and videos they take are part of the Big Mammals Monitoring conservation project, that will be shown at night. Our route will take us to the Sapasisi mammal clay lick where we can observe animal footprints left by those that gather here to feed. We might find footprints from sajinos, picuros, deers, tapirs, etc.
18:30 h – Start of our evening boat ride excursion in search of caimans. At dusk we will take off on a boat ride through the Tambopata river, to enjoy the jungle sounds as they start to invade the night time. Also, we will be able to appreciate the stars and southern constellations, such as Scorpio, Sagittarius, the Southern Cross, among others.. There will be a searchlight in the boat, for it is fairly common to come across caimans, capibaras and chotacabras in the river and on the river banks and meanders.
19:30 h – Dinner.

5:15 Am – At dawn we will take a 10 minute boat ride towards the La Torre clay lick. This is a 4 meter high, 20 meter long, clay cliff, which has veins of a kind of clay that is a necessary part of the diet of different birds species, like the guacamayos, parrots and parakeets, as well as of certain mammals, like deers, capybaras, squirrels and other species. It is a spectaculair loud and colorful experience to see all these birds and other species looking for nutrive minerals
8:00 am – Breakfast at Inotawa Lodge
After breakfast we will return to Puerto Maldonado and then head to the airport or city where you will be able to connect with your next destination..