Your Travel Experience with Bamba
Day 1
Puerto Maldonado Airport / Bus Terminal Pick-up
This morning you will be picked up at the airport and transferred to the Butterfly House (depending on availability) where you will be welcomed and provided with the necessary information for your stay.
Please note: if you are already in Puerto Maldonado and do not need an airport pick-up you can be picked up from your accommodation at 11am.
Transfer to Jungle Lodge
Begin the 30-minute boat ride down the Madre de Dios River through the heart of the jungle surrounded by lush flora, fauna and breathtaking scenery. Arrive at your Superior Lodge and settle into your private room before enjoying a fresh Peruvian lunch followed by a walk around the lodge and its trails.
Discover and learn about primary and secondary rainforest, its components and uses while being dazzled by the sounds of native birds. At dusk navigate by outboard motorized canoe along the Madre de Dios River to learn about its ecosystem, Amazonian creeks, nocturnal animals’ behavior, and the southern constellations. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 1 - 2
Overnight in Superior Lodge
Overnight in your private accommodation.
Day 2
Tambopata National Reserve & Canopy Walk
Wake early for a buffet breakfast and get ready for an exciting day with new experiences ahead. Embark on a long trek through terra firma into the Tambopata National Reserve towards Lake Sandoval. Here you will understand why Madre de Dios is called the biodiversity capital of Peru, while learning about the Reserve’s conservation efforts and the lake’s formation. Navigate by dugout canoe across this mirror-like oxbow lake that is home to the endangered giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), blue and yellow macaw (Ara ararauna), red howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus), black caiman (Melanosuchus niger), and one of the world’s biggest fresh water scaled fish, the paiche (Arapaima gigas).
Return to the lodge for lunch. In the afternoon you will head out for a canopy walk high in Amazonian trees and an Anaconda walk if time and weather conditions allow. Ascend one of the two 98-foot towers (30 m.) and cross the 7 hanging bridges that connect the treetops at 91 ft. high (28 m). Enjoy the breathtaking vistas and get the chance to watch white-throated toucans (Ramphastos tucanus), woodpeckers, trogons, squirrel monkeys (Saimiri boliviensis) and the three-toed sloth (Choleopus hoffmani). After descending, keep on feeling the incredible primary rainforest energy going along the 200-meter wooden bridge over the swamps (aguajales). You will learn about the fauna and flora of this flooded ecosystem.
At night, get ready for a nocturnal excursion through the rainforest, where you will observe nocturnal animals and their unique behaviours. Listen to night's living nature sounds and penetrate this hidden world. End your day with dinner and a good night's rest back at the lodge.
Day 2 - 3
Overnight in Research Station
Overnight at your jungle lodge.
Day 3
Native Farm - Botanical Garden - Cocha Excursion
After an early breakfast, you will take a native farm excursion where you will be able to learn local techniques of cultivation and taste some of the locally-made products. Then visit the botanical garden to discover the immense variety of medicinal plants considered part of the “natural pharmacy” used by the habitants of the Amazon region. Compare the medicinal uses of local medicine with traditional remedies. You will have lunch back at the lodge and take a rest listening to the sounds of the jungle. Enjoy a Cocha excursion in a dugout canoe on a natural pond.
Try native fishing applying the “catch and release” techniques, as you enjoy the scenery observing hoatzins (Opisthocomus hoazin), a diversity of fly catchers, and gray-necked wood rails (Aramides cajanea). Disembark at the remains of Fitzcarrald steam boat to learn about its history. Participate in an evening hike to see different species and their night routines. End your day with dinner back at the lodge.
Day 3 - 4
Overnight in Superior Lodge
Overnight at your jungle lodge.
Day 4
Jungle Walk - Cacao Plantation
On your last day before leaving the Amazon Jungle, there is still much more to experience. After an early breakfast, get ready for another jungle walk with your explorer-guide, who will teach you the importance of the Brazil nut tree in the local economy of Madre de Dios. Learn how the Brazil nut is collected using traditional tools and techniques, and try to open one of them using a machete and a nutcracker, to finally enjoy this fresh delicacy.
Return to the lodge for lunch before heading out in the afternoon to visit a cacao plantation and take part in the chocolate making process. Learn how to select fresh cacao fruits, discover how the seeds are fermented and sun dried. After pealing the toasted cacao seeds and grinding them into an aromatic paste, and the excursion with a selection of treats made from our organic chocolate. Participate in an evening hike to see different species and their night routines. End your day with a pleasant dinner.
Day 4 - 5
Overnight in Superior Lodge
Overnight at your jungle lodge.
Day 5
Boat to Puerto Maldonado
Enjoy an early breakfast at your lodge before a scenic return boat trip on the Madre de Dios River bringing us back to Puerto Maldonado.
Please note: the check-out time is at 11:00 am. You can choose to stay at the Amazon Lodge or go earlier to Puerto Maldonado before your airport transfer.
Puerto Maldonado Airport / Bus Terminal Drop-off
You may spend the afternoon at the beautiful Butterfly House or choose to be dropped off at the airport or bus station, after which you are free to continue on to your next destination. Safe travels!