Tambopata

What It Is and Where

The reserve was created in 2000 and sits south of the Madre de Dios River near the town of Puerto Maldonado. To the south it borders Bahuaja-Sonene National Park, so together they protect a very large block of forest. Peru's national news agency reports 632 bird species, about 1,200 butterflies and 169 mammals in the reserve.

What You Do There

• Clay licks: at dawn, macaws and parrots gather on riverbank clay walls. The Colorado clay lick is described as the largest in the Peruvian Amazon.
• Lake Sandoval: an oxbow lake about 30 minutes by river from Puerto Maldonado, with a resident population of giant otters, plus caimans and monkeys.
• Forest walks and canopy towers with a naturalist guide, by day and at night.
• River trips at dusk for caimans and roosting birds.

When to Go

The drier months, roughly May to October, mean easier trails and boat trips. November to April is wetter, and transfers can take longer. Clay lick activity and wildlife sightings vary through the year, so we time trips around what you most want to see.

Getting There and How Long to Stay

Fly into Puerto Maldonado, about an hour and a half from Lima, with flights from Cusco as well. From there, lodges are reached by road and boat, and the more remote ones take several hours. Three or four days is the right length: enough for a clay lick morning, Lake Sandoval and a couple of forest walks.

Where to Stay in Tambopata

Lodges sit along the Madre de Dios and Tambopata rivers. Closer lodges are easy to reach and comfortable. The ones deeper upriver take longer to get to but put you nearer the big clay licks and quieter forest. We do not have a Tambopata lodge page on the site yet, so get in touch and we will match a lodge to your dates and interests.