Itinerary

DAY 1

 

Arrival & Reception by Birding Guide
Although all of our guides have basic bird identification skills, only a handful truly qualify as birding guides – able to identify hundreds of species by sound and sight. Our birdwatching expeditions not only have an especially designed program but also a trained birding guide.

Transfer Airport to Puerto Maldonado Headquarters
Upon arrival from Lima or Cusco, we will welcome you at the airport and  drive you ten minutes to our Puerto Maldonado headquarters.  While enjoying your first taste of the forest in our gardens we will ask you to pack only the necessary gear for your next few days, and leave the rest at our safe deposit. This helps us keep the boats and cargo light.   

Puerto Maldonado to Tambopata River Port
Upon arrival to Puerto Maldonado we will drive to the Tambopata River Port. This forty five minute drive will take twice as long as we stop along the road’s secondary forest to scan for Purus Jacamar, White browed Blackbird, Pearl Kite, and Scaled Pigeon.

Transfer Private Boat - Tambopata River Port to Posada Amazo
A private boat with individual seats and a roof will drive us upriver to Posada Amazonas. As we eat lunch on the boat, we will stop the hour long drive as many times as necessary to search for: Pied Lapwing, Collared Plover, King Vulture, Bat Falcon, Olive and Russet-backed Oropendolas and Ringed Kingfisher and Amazon Kingfisher.

Boxed Lunch

Orientation
Upon arrival, the lodge manager will welcome you and brief you with important navigation and security tips.

Dinner

Overnight at Posada Amazonas

 
DAY 2

 

Breakfast

Posada Amazonas Canopy Tower
A thirty minute walk takes us to this 30 meter tall scaffolding tower, which will add a whole new dimension to our Amazon birding experience: the forest canopy. We will wait for a canopy mixed flock to appear. The mixed flock is mostly all about tanagers: Paradise Tanager, Green-and-gold Tanager, Flame-crested Tanager, Turqoise Tanager, Opal- rumped Tanager and others. The tower also offers good opportunity for Cream- colored Woodpecker, Gilded Barbet, Plum-throated Cotinga and Striolated Puffbird. Macaws and toucans are seen flying against the horizon, including the Chestnut-eared, Lettered, Emerald, Curl-crested, and Brown-mandibled Aracaries. We will see lonely raptors riding the thermals. This is your best chance for hawk-eagles and even harpy!

Lunch

Shahue Trail
Today we will bird the Shahue Trail, good for Fiery-capped Manakin, Round-tailed Manakin, Pale Rumped Trumpeteer and Pavonine Quetzal.

Dinner

Overnight at Posada Amazonas

 
DAY 3

 

Breakfast

Bamboo Forest
We depart on a fifteen minute drive to the bamboo patches around Tres Chimbadas Lake. We will leave lake birding aside and focus on the bamboo specialists. We will look for the endemic White-cheeked Tody Tyrant, Peruvian Recurvebill, Red-billed Scythebill, Rufous-headed Woodpecker, Rufous-breasted Piculet, Brown-rumped Foliage Gleaner,  Large- headed Flatbill, Dusky- tailed Flatbill, Dusky-cheeked Foliage-gleaner, Flammulated Bamboo-tyrant, Dot- winged and Ornate Antwren, White-lined Antbird, Rufous capped Nunlet, Pheasant Cuckoo and Striped Cuckoo.

Lunch

Shije’eje Trail
This trail offers opportunities to spot Variegated Tinamou, Blue-crowned and Rufous Motmot, Golden-crowned Spadebill, Curl-crested Aracari, and mixed species flock. A small clay lick attracts Dusky-headed and Black-capped parakeet, and Cobalt-winged Parrotlets in addition to Spix’s Guan.

Dinner

Overnight at Posada Amazonas

 
DAY 4

 

Breakfast

Tres Chimbadas Lake System
A thirty minute boat ride and thirty minute hike from the lodge will take us to this oxbow lake, which has palm swamp and grassland vegetation as well. We will try to spot Pale-vented Pigeon, Azure Gallinule, Purple Gallinule, Slender-billed and Snail Kites, Rufescent Tiger-Herons, Sungrebe, Green Ibis, Gray breasted Crake, Rufous-sided Crake and two of the "must see" Amazonian classics: Horned Screamers and Hoatzin.

Transfer Private Boat - Posada Amazonas to Refugio Amazonas
We will exit the bamboo patches in the late morning. On the 90 minute boat to Refugio Amazonas we will look for Egrets, Capped heron, Cocoi Heron, Large and Yellow-billed Tern, Black Skimmer, and the classic Horned Screamer.

Boxed Lunch

Orientation
Upon arrival, the lodge manager will welcome you and brief you with important navigation and security tips.

Canopy Tower
A thirty minute walk from Refugio Amazonas leads to the 25 meter scaffolding canopy tower. A bannistered staircase running through the middle provides safe access to the platforms above. The tower has been built upon high ground, therefore increasing your horizon of the continuous primary forest extending out towards the Tambopata National Reserve.  From here views of mixed species canopy flocks as well as toucans, macaws and raptors are likely.

Secondary Forest
Since Refugio Amazonas is built on land which was once part of a timber concession and cattle ranch the forest on parts of our trail system are secondary. This means we will focus on: Barred Antshrike, Short-tailed Pygmy Tyrant, Streaked Flycatcher, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Solitary Black Cacique, Gray-fronted Dove, Ruddy Ground Dove and others.

Dinner

Overnight at Refugio Amazonas

 
DAY 5

 

Breakfast

Transfer Boat - Refugio Amazonas to Tambopata River Port

Transfer Tambopata River Port to Pto Maldonado Headquarters

Transfer Puerto Maldonado Headquarters to Airport
We retrace our river and road journey back to Puerto Maldonado, our office and the airport. Depending on airline schedules, this may require dawn departures.

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