Refugio Amazonas

Arriving in Puerto Maldonado, capital of Madre de Dios, join the transfer of 1 hour by bus and 1 hour by boat to the lodge. Your first tasting of our Amazonian cuisine will be during the boat trip, while you leave the city behind and enjoy the incredible landscapes during the tour.

What to expect at Refugio Amazonas? – A charming refuge in the middle of a chestnut forest, with a bar, massage room, and dining room service. With the Tambopata National Reserve behind him. This eco-hostel is the headquarters of Wired Amazon, the first citizen science project to turn its guests into citizen scientists.

What is included in the Accommodation? – A 45 m2 room, with mosquito nets over the beds, a private bathroom, and a window open to the forest, which maximizes contact with nature.

What is included during your stay? – Three daily meals, teas, coffee, activities and guided excursions, welcome drink upon arrival at the hostel, transfers to and from the airport. Guides are assigned in a ratio of 10: 1

A half-hour walk from the hostel takes us to the 35-meter-high canopy tower, a staircase with railings will provide us with safe access to the top of the tower, from which we can contemplate the impressive forest of the National Reserve of Tambopata. From the top, it is also possible to see different species of birds such as toucans, macaws, raptors among other species.

You can navigate around Lake Condenado, looking for wildlife such as the hoatzin or Shansho, who is said to be a pre-historic bird! Alligators, Martin fishermen among other species, if we are lucky we will be able to observe a family of otters that inhabit its waters and are difficult to see. You will be able to discover the difference between the eco-system of a lake and a river and who knows, maybe you will be rewarded with macaws flying over the treetops.

A visit to the organic farm of our dear neighbor Don Manuel, located just five minutes by river from the hostel, will show you the various crops typical of the area and you will be surprised with fruits that you did not know!

On most clear mornings of the year, dozens of large macaws and hundreds of parrots congregate on this large river bank in a raucous and colorful spectacle that inspired a National Geographic cover story. Discretely located fifty meters from the cliff, we will observe Green-winged, Scarlet, and Blue-and-gold Macaws and several species of smaller parrots descend to ingest clay. Outings are at dawn when the lick is most active.

Do you know Brazilian Nuts? That dried fruit? Today you will know its origin, we will visit a Brazil Nut camp very close to the hostel, you will be able to see the immense chestnut trees where they come from and how the local people harvest them once a year between the months of the rainy season. The chestnut is one of the main sources of income for the local population of Puerto Maldonado, making it one of the sustainable activities with the greatest impact.

Do you want to know what else nature provides us? In this activity, you will meet him. The medicinal plants’ trail will take us to know the great variety of plants and trees that the local population has used for years to heal their body and soul, perhaps you have heard of some of them such as Sacha-Ajos, Una De Gato, Sacha – Charcot, Para-Para, Ayahuasca, are just some of them.

Researchers from the Wired Amazon Project will tell us through a Nightly Lecture about the opportunities and challenges of this project in the Tambopata National Reserve.

Very close to the hostel there is a peccary or mammal clay lick. These wild, rainforest pigs appear in herds of five to twenty individuals to eat clay in the late morning. The chances of seeing them are around 15%, but it’s worth the short hike. Other wild animals also appear, including deer, turkeys, and parakeets.

Explore the forest through a trail that takes us very close to the river, the overlook trail, wherefrom a point we can watch the sunset.

You will have the option of taking a night walk through the jungle when most of the mammals are active but difficult to see. Easier to find are frogs with shapes and sounds as strange as their natural stories.

Our expedition came to an end. It’s time to say goodbye and say goodbye! We will return to the airport for your domestic flight.

Thank you for your visit. This contributes directly to the Wired Amazon Project and its efforts to conserve and learn about the biodiversity of the Tambopata National Reserve.