4-day Amazon adventure

We fetch you from the airport in Puerto Maldonado and escort you via bus and then boat to reach the lodge at Refugio Amazonas. Occupying a charming spot in a chestnut forest, the ecolodge is a stone's throw from Tambopata National Reserve. We recommend you climb the high lookout tower in the late afternoon to gaze across the canopy and see the many colourful birds active here. In the evening you can go on an exciting guided jungle walk to listen to the chorus created by the many nocturnal animals living in this corner of the Amazon!

On most clear mornings throughout the year, dozens of macaws and hundreds of parrots congregate at a clay lick near Tambopata River, creating a raucous and colourful spectacle that inspired a National Geographic cover story. We go and settle 50 metres away with a telescope to watch the birds fly in and out. Later, we walk around Lake Condenado to look for wildlife such as otters, hoatzins, capybaras and alligators. Still later there's the chance to visit a neighbouring organic farm to see what's grown locally, including fruits you didn't even know existed!

This morning you can visit a nearby brazil nut farm to discover how the seeds of immense chestnut trees (yes, brazil nuts aren't technically nuts) are harvested once a year in the region's most sustainable economic activity. Later, there's the chance to go on a fascinating guided walk into the rainforest to learn about the great variety of plants and trees the local population has used for years to heal both body and soul. In the evening, listen to researchers from the Wired Amazon Project discuss the opportunities and challenges they face in seeking to study and protect the biodiversity of the Peruvian jungle.

Today you head back to Puerto Maldonado. We take you there via a scenic boat ride and then bus. Here we say adieu, unless you're heading to Lima to join us on a culinary and historical tour of that incredible city, in which case the adventure continues!