Tambopata Reserve and Heath Macaw Clay Lick 5d/4n
Two Ecosystems: Rainforest & Savannah
Sandoval Lake Lodge (Peru) & Heath River Wildlife Center (Bolivia)

The twin Amazon rainforest reserves of Tambopata and Madidi represent the world’s largest pristine rainforest. Accessible by a 25-minute jet flight from Cusco, this massive wilderness straddles the Peru / Bolivia border and offers you great wildlife in a short stay. These parks are almost the size of Costa Rica and protect more living species than any other reserves on Earth.

The Tambopata National Reserve and the adjacent Bahuaja-Sonene National Park, is home to over 20,000 plant species, over 900 species of birds (more than all the species in the continental USA), 91 mammals, 1230 butterflies, 127 amphibians and reptiles, and much more. It is also a haven for the Amazon's largest, most spectacular and most endangered predators - the Jaguar, the Giant Otter, the Harpy Eagle and the Black Caiman.

The narrow Heath River provides the fastest, easiest route to the uninhabited core, a vast 2,5-million-acre wilderness harboring the five top predators of the Amazon: Jaguar, Giant Otter, Black Caiman, Harpy Eagle and Anaconda. Heath also features the world’s most accessible macaw clay lick. Visitors have seen up to 260 macaws there at one time, making it one of the top 5 of the world’s 100 known licks.

Because it is within such easy reach, this program is an ideal short Amazon itinerary offering the most habitats and the most wildlife viewing in the Tambopata - Madidi region, and a high quality extension to a visit to Cusco and Machupicchu.

Itinerary

Day 1 Arrival in Puerto Maldonado and Journey to Heath River Wildlife Center

We meet at the Puerto Maldonado airport and drive through town to the Tambopata River port. After boarding motorized canoes, we travel downriver to the mighty Madre de Dios, which we follow for approximately four hours until we reach the Heath River. We then travel up this wild and intimate river, which forms the wilderness border between Peru and Bolivia, and arrive at the Heath River Wildlife Center. Note that the Lodge is located on the Bolivian side of the Heath River so passports are required to clear Bolivian passport control. After dinner we'll explore the forest by flashlight, including a visit to a small mammal clay lick if it is active.
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Day 2 Heath River Wildlife Center

We rise early in the morning to board a motorized canoe for the 10-minute journey up the Heath River to the macaw and parrot clay lick. Brightly colored parrots and macaws fly in by the hundreds to feed on the clay that detoxifies certain seeds and nuts they eat. Marvel at the cacophony of sound and color as Red-and-green macaws vie for the best clay-eating position. A specially designed floating blind allows for proximity and complete concealment - so you can even have breakfast and coffee while the birds are performing their morning ritual.

When we return to the lodge, the guide leads us on an ethno-botanical walk through the forest, pointing out flora used in the daily lives of rainforest people. The guide explains how certain plants are used for medicinal or healing purposes, which ones can be made into the best bows and arrows, and how to select trees and leaves for home construction.

After lunch and a short rest, we hike through the rainforest to the Pampas del Heath, the largest remaining undisturbed savanna in the Amazon. The contrast is striking as we emerge from the mature rainforest onto the grassland plain of the Pampas.
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Day 3 Heath River Wildlife Center

We breakfast in the floating blind at the macaw and parrot clay lick for a last round of looks and photos. We return to the lodge to pack, and then it's back on the Madre de Dios River, box lunch in hand, for the trip to Sandoval Lake Lodge, located on the banks of one of the most beautiful lakes in Amazonian Peru.

During the river trip back downstream, families of Capybaras are often spotted on the banks of the river. Weighing up to 120 pounds (55 kilograms), this giant, three-toed relative of the guinea pig is the largest rodent in the world.

On the journey to Sandoval Lake Lodge we will also visit the Ese'Eja native community of Sonene, where there will be an opportunity to interact with the community, learning about tribal traditions and life in the rainforest, and purchase local handicrafts. Everyone in Sonene speaks their native language, with Spanish reserved for school and for trading handicrafts with outsiders.

We embark at the trailhead to Sandoval Lake Lodge and walk for 45 minutes on a wide, flat trail through the forest, stopping to look at birds, butterflies, and towering trees. At the end of the trail, we board dugout canoes and are paddled across the lake in the golden afternoon light. We drift through flooded palm forest and listen to the babbling of Red-bellied Macaws overhead as they roost in treetops for the night. We arrive at the lodge around nightfall, and walk up the torch-lit path to dinner in the dining hall.
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Day 4 Sandoval Lake at Tambopata National Reserve

After an early breakfast, explore the western end of the lake in the canoe. We might see Giant Otters that live on the lake, or encounter a Black Caiman lazily crossing the water, or see the huge splash of the Paichi, a 10-foot-long Amazonian fish, as it rises to the surface of the water to gulp down bubbles of air.

Later that morning, your naturalist guide will lead a hike through the forest, pointing out plants with medicinal uses, interesting insects, and colorful birds and butterflies.

Following lunch and a short siesta, in the late afternoon we once again board the canoe and set off to explore the eastern end of the lake. Capuchin, Squirrel and Titi monkeys often forage along the lake's edge, and energetic guests can take another hike through forest on the other side of the lake.

After dinner, we go out on the lake to search again for the Black Caiman since they are most abundant on the lake at night as they forage. Floating in the middle of the lake, the brilliant stars light up the sky as the night sounds of the rainforest surround you.
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Day 5 Sandoval Lake to Cusco or Lima

After a dawn breakfast, we paddle across the lake, perhaps encountering a family of macaws leaving their roost to forage or a troupe of monkeys greeting the day. We hike back out to the river and return to Puerto Maldonado for the flight back to Cusco or Lima.
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(*) Please note that the program may vary slightly so as to maximize your wildlife sightings, depending on the reports of our researchers and experienced naturalist guides based at the lodge.
(**) ENIGMA reserves the right to change the order of the activities.