DAY 1 PUERTO MALDONADO - RESERVA AMAZONICA
Arrival at Puerto Maldonado airport. Greeting and transportation from the airport to the river port. Set out on outboard motorboat down the Madre de Dios River to Reserva Amazonica (45 min). Arrival at the lodge. Welcome, accommodations and lunch at the lodge. Guided walk along the lodge's Trail System. Evening Nature Presentations on Amazonian topics. Typical dinner at the lodge. Evening walk, sounds identification and search of Amazon animal footprints. Overnight at Reserva Amazonica. (L/D)

DAY 2 RESERVA AMAZONICA - ROLIN ISLAND - LAKE SANDOVAL
Excursion to Rolin Island with the possibility of observing various species of monkeys. Buffet-style tropical breakfast at the lodge. Visit to the wetlands flooded ecosystem. Lunch at the lodge. Boat transportation through the Madre de Dios River. One-hour trek to the Lake Sandoval. Rowboat excursion around the lake. Possible swim in the lukewarm waters. Sunset and moonrise observation. Return downstream the River to Reserva Amazonica with a chance of observing caimans and nocturnal birds along the ride. Evening Nature Presentations on Amazonian topics. Typical dinner at the lodge. Overnight at Reserva Amazonica. (B/L/D)

DAY 3 RESERVA AMAZONICA - GAMITANA CREEK
Buffet-style tropical breakfast at the lodge. Visit to a native Amazonian farm. Board the motorboat to the Gamitana Creek. Observation of birds, monkeys, tortoises and alligators. Native fishing using local techniques. Lunch on one of the creek beaches tasting Amazonian fishes. Return to Reserva Amazonica while watching the sunset. Evening Nature Presentations about Amazonian topics. Dinner at the lodge's campfire. Overnight at Reserva Amazonica. (B/L/D)

DAY 4 DEPARTURE DAY
Buffet-style tropical breakfast at the lodge. Return to Puerto Maldonado. Transportation to the airport. Visit to the Butterfly Farm. Departure from Puerto Maldonado airport. (B)

DAY 1 PUERTO MALDONADO - SANDOVAL LAKE LODGE
Transfer from Puerto Maldonado airport to the river port on the Madre de Dios River. A journey down the Madre de Dios River by motor canoe brings you to the riverside trailhead to Sandoval Lake Lodge.
After lunch and a brief rest to avoid the early afternoon heat, Then we once again board the catamaran and set off to explore the entire west end of the lake. Here, in the flooded palm forest we drift to the sounds of hundreds of Red-Bellied Macaws. As night falls we will look for the large and extremely rare Black Cai mans. If it is a clear starlit night, we will also be able to float in the middle of the lake to marvel at the brilliance of the sky and listen to the sounds of the forest.
We return to the lodge for a short video or slide presentation and dinner. At any point, you could step out from the bar to admire the wide variety of nocturnal moths, beetles and praying mantis attracted to our black light in the lodge clearing. For those with lots of energy, our guide will take us on a short night-walk into the forest behind the lodge. (L/D)

DAY 2 WILDLIFE LAKE EXCURSION
A pre-dawn wake-up call will enable us to be on the lake for sunrise and a hopeful
encounter with the family of Giant Otters who frequent the lake and are most active at this time of day, After lunch and an hour or so to relax we once again board the catamaran to explore the eastern part of the lake, where we might see one or more of the five species of monkeys who live in the forest near the lake, such as the Brown Capuchin Monkey and Squirrel Monkey.
Before dinner we will again enjoy an informative natural history video or slide presentation. We will leave after dinner to try and spot some Black Caimans on the lake, or to go on a short night walk through the primary forest. (B/L/D)

DAY 3 MAURITIA PALM FOREST WALK
After a dawn breakfast, we will cross the lake by catamaran and take a short walk into the interior of the Mauritia palm forest to stand beneath and closely view the impressive morning congregations, this place has a very interesting concentration of parrots, parakeets and large and small macaws that can be observed using dead Mauritia palm trees, We return for lunch, and then there is an optional rest for those who would like to escape the early afternoon heat. For those still full of energy, there is an option to independently explore some of the forest trails using our trail map. You might stroll through our medicinal plant garden or watch hummingbirds visiting the nectar feeders, or the tanagers visiting our fruit feeders.
In the cooler late afternoon we will once again board the catamaran to explore the
eastern end of the lake, and hopefully experience a spectacular sunset over the lake before returning to the lodge for dinner. For some people, an alternative afternoon activity would be to relax on benches inside the forest perched above a clear running stream in which a variety of bathing hummingbirds and forest birds visit.
After dinner, there is a final chance to look for Black Caiman on the lake, or to go on a short night hike through the forest. (B/L/D)

DAY 4 DEPARTURE DAY
After early breakfast we leave near dawn and we take a final, shorter paddle around the west end of the lake to try and glimpse the Giant Otters before returning by motor canoe for the 35 minutes return trip to the Puerto Maldonado Airport. (B)

DAY 1 PUERTO MALDONADO - POSADA AMAZONAS
Upon arrival from Lima or Cuzco, reception and transfer to our office in Puerto Maldonado. Puerto Maldonado is situated at the confluence of the mighty Madre de Dios and Tambopata Rivers and is a bustling, booming tropical frontier town. Its principal activities are gold mining, Brazil nut collecting, timber extraction, agriculture and ecotourism.
After a brief survey of the town we will drive thirty minutes to the Tambopata river port in the community of Infierno. We will board our boats for a one hour trip by motorized canoe to Posada Amazonas. Depending on the arrival time of the plane we will have a boxed lunch aboard the boats or have lunch upon arrival at Posada Amazonas. During our voyage we may see bird species typical of the river or forest edge such as: Black Skimmer, Pied Lapwing, Capped Heron, Jabiru Stork, Roadside Hawk, and several species of kingfishers, swallows and flycatchers.
When we arrive at Posada Amazonas we will unpack and unwind. Posada Amazonas is a comfortable yet unobtrusive 30-room lodge owned jointly by Rainforest Expeditions and the Local Community of Infierno. We will receive a short orientation and a complete briefing on the lodge and the Ecotourism Project before our afternoon activity: the canopy tower. In this activity, we will visit a 35-meter scaffolding tower that is 15 minutes walking from the lodge. The scaffolding tower is built so that you safely climb using the internal staircase with verandahs on each side, and rest in platforms present every 2 meters. From the top you not only get spectacular views of the river and the surrounding forest but also excellent opportunities to observe birds from the canopy including parrots, toucans and macaws. A video about the forest of Tambopata will be displayed after dinner. (L/D)

DAY 2 POSADA AMAZONAS
We will be up at dawn for a visit to the Tres Chimbadas oxbow lake. After an early breakfast, we depart, fifteen minutes from Posada Amazonas by boat and a 30 minute walk take us to the lake shore. From here we take a long, easy canoe ride around it. We will look for giant river otters, turtles, hoatzin, and wading birds. The giant river otters that are seen in Tres Chimbadas belong to a resident family of nine.
Then we will return to the lodge for lunch before embarking on our afternoon outing. In the afternoon we will visit the community's ethnobotanical center. From this little shop, the community has been registering the uses of medicinal plants from elders and planting, producing and distributing them for over ten years. We will hike the trails around the center with one of the residents who will explain to us the everyday uses of forest resources in medicine, construction, food and fiber. We will return to Posada Amazonas for dinner and overnight. After enjoying our popular happy hour and refurbishing your spirits with ours, you will be up for an optional night walk to look for amphibians and insects. (B/L/D)

DAY 3 POSADA AMAZONAS
After an early breakfast we will visit a clay lick. This clay lick is also a ten minute walk from the lodge, but next to the river. Amazingly, the variety of parrots that visit this clay lick is considerably different than the one inside the forest that we will visit later in the day. Some of the large macaws, like the red and green macaw, and larger parrots, like mealy and yellow crowned Amazons visit this lick, as well as the smaller parrots and parakeets.
From the blind we have constructed next to this lick, even the amateur photographer can take good pictures of these wonderful birds. We will also have a great opportunity to spot other spectacular wildlife, active at this time of the day, like scarlet or blue and gold macaws and a great deal of other birds. When the activity dies out we will visit a small parakeet clay lick that is a 45 minute walk away. Dozens and sometimes hundreds of Blue Headed Parrots, Orange-Cheeked Parrots, Cobalt-winged parakeets, and sometimes even the rare Rock Parakeet congregate here on clear days to ingest clay. This congregation creates a riotous and colorful wildlife spectacle where the greens, oranges, reds and blues of the parrots dance around the bank as each individual parrot competes for their choice beakful of clay. At times, this spectacle lasts for hours.
After lunch, we will have a walk through a trail on primary forest with a community member and our naturalist guide who will explain general aspects of rain forest ecology and natural history, each with their own contrasting viewpoint. We will return to Posada Amazonas where you will be able to reminisce on the happenning of the past three days enjoying our happy hour's amazonian concoctions. (B/L/D)

DAY 4 DEPARTURE DAY
After an early breakfast, we depart by boat back to the city of Puerto Maldonado, directly to the airport, in time for our flight back to Lima or Cuzco. (B)

(B) Breakfast, (L) Lunch, (D) Dinner