An exceptional trip visiting 4 lodges in South-eastern Peru (Tambopata Research Station, Refugio Amazonas, Heath River Wildlife Center and Sandoval Lodge). With opportunities to see 7 species of Macaw and 24 different parrot species amongst the overwhelming abundance of wildlife in one of the largest National Parks in the world. We will visit the clay licks in these areas to see parrots and macaws in their greatest numbers. 4 different lodges to maximise the chances of seeing most or all of these parrots and macaws.
ITINERARY
Day 1 Birmingham, UK to Lima, Peru. Overnight in Lima
Day 2 Lima to Puerto Maldonado. Early morning flight
Refugio amazonas AND tambopata research center
Parrot Lovers Program
Transfer Airport to Rainforest Expeditions Headquarters. Upon arrival from Lima or Cusco, we will be welcome at the airport and driven ten minutes to RFE headquarters at Puerto Maldonado.
Puerto Maldonado to Tambopata River Port. Skirting Puerto Maldonado, we drive 20 kilometers to the Tambopata River Port, entering the Native Community of Infierno. The port is a communal business.
Tambopata River Port to Refugio Amazonas. The two and a half hour boat ride from the Tambopata Port to Refugio Amazonas will take us past the Community of Infierno and the Tambopata National Reserve´s checkpoint and into the buffer zone of this 1.3 million hectare conservation unit.
Boxed Lunch at the boat Refugio Amazonas- Orientation. Upon arrival, the lodge manager will welcome you and brief you with important navigation and security tips.
Dinner.
Caiman searches. We will be out at the river's edge at night, scanning the shores with headlamps and flashlights to catch the red gleams of reflection from caiman eyes.
Overnight in Refugio Amazonas.
Day 3 Breakfast.
Parrot Clay Lick. After an early breakfast we will travel by boat fifteen and then hike for sixty minutes to a blind. From the blind next to the clay lick we will wait, watch and listen as dozens of parrots gather overhead. With luck we will see some or all of the following species in this early morning rush: Mealy and Yellow-crowned Amazons, Blue-headed Pionus, Dusky-headed Conure, Severe Macaw and Orange-cheeked (Barraband's) Parrot.
Lunch
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.
Dinner.
Overnight at Refugio Amazonas.
Day 4
Breakfast.
Sachavacayoc Oxbow Lake: A two hour hike takes you to Sachavacayoc Lake. You will then paddle around the lake in a catamaran, searching for the resident family of five giant river otters (seen by about 30% of lake visitors) and other lakeside wildlife such as caiman, hoatzin and horned screamers. We hike out at dawn - when otters are active. Don't forget the two hour return hike! For those who do not want to take the long hike Condenado Lake, thirty minutes from the lodge, is an option.
Refugio Amazonas to Tambopata Research Center. Four and half hours by boat from Refugio Amazonas, in the pristine heart of the reserve, lays the Tambopata Research Center. One and half hours into our boat journey, as we cross the confluence with the Malinowski River, we will leave the final traces of human habitation behind. Within the 700,000 hectare uninhabited nucleus of the reserve, sightings of capybara, caiman, geese, macaws and other large species will become more frequent.
Boxed Lunch at boat
Tambopata Research Center- Orientation. Upon arrival, the lodge manager will welcome you and brief you with important navigation and security tips.
Overlooks. We will head out along the "bamboo trail" for up close looks at Scarlet, Blue-and-gold and Green-winged Macaws as they loaf in the trees. This will give us wonderful opportunities to watch the social behavior of these birds as pairs fight preen and feed. At the end of the trail we will visit an isolated area of clay lick rarely used by Cobalt-winged Parakeets and the rare Dusky-billed and Amazonian Parrotlets.
Dinner.
Macaw Project Lectures: After dinner scientists will provide an in depth look at the biology of macaws, their feeding habits, the theories for clay lick use, their breeding and feeding ecology, population fluctuations and the threats to their conservation.
Overnight in Tambopata Research Center.
Day 5 Macaw Clay Lick. At dawn we will cross the river and enjoy the world's largest clay lick where hundreds of parrots and macaws of up to 17 different species have been seen. Here we will watch as the parrots fly in from all directions and land in the trees above the clay lick. When a few hundred have gathered and the noise builds to a crescendo a small group of Severe and Red-bellied Macaws will break free from the loafers in the trees and make long slow circles in front of the lick. Once these first brave pioneers land on the lick the parrots will rain down by the dozens to join them. Mealy Amazons, Blue-headed Caiques, conures and macaws will mix in a noisy blur of colorful wings as they rush in to get their fill of the precious clay. Then about one hour after it began, the birds will drift away and leave the area in an eerie silence. Once this early morning rush of activity ends we will head back to the lodge for breakfast.
Breakfast.
Floodplain Trail: This five kilometer trail covers the prototypical rain forest with immense trees criss-crossed by creeks and ponds. Amongst the figs, ceibas and shihuahuacos we will look for Squirrel, Brown Capuchin, and Spider Monkeys as well as peccaries. TRC is located within this habitat.
Lunch.
Macaw project nest visit. A short hike from the lodge, we will stop and observe macaw project researchers at work as they climb trees to monitor natural and articifical nests. From thirty meters above, researchers will descend macaw chicks on plastic buckets strung down by a pulley. At ground level, they weigh and measure the chicks to monitor growth.
Dinner.
Night walk. You will have the option of hiking out at night, when most of the mammals are active but rarely seen. Much easier to find are frogs with shapes and sounds as bizarre as their natural histories.
Overnight in Tambopata Research Center.
Day 6
Time- off. Time off to relax and enjoy the lodge surroundings, wander off on your own, try out a new trail, or repeat your favorite activity.
Breakfast.
Midmorning Macaw Clay Lick Visit. We will head out to the clay lick at 8 AM and wait for the arrival of the large macaws. By 9 or 10 AM over 100 Scarlet, Blue-and-gold and Green-winged Macaws should gather in the trees. Before descending to eat the clay the entire group usually flies en masse across the front of the lick. When the late morning sun lights up the birds, it is one of the most spectacular sights in the Amazon. Once the birds choose a safe spot, they will descend by the dozens to the lick. The Blue-and-golds grab bites of clay and fly back to the safety of the trees while the Scarlets and Green-wings sit on the lick and squabble over the best bits of clay. When the birds finish their visit to the lick we will return to the lodge.
Lunch.
Palm Swamp. A thirty minute hike from TRC brings us to the palm swamp. Dead aguaje palms serve as nests to Red-bellied and Blue-and-gold macaws. An elevated boardwalk and scaffolding tower allow for eye level observation of the macaws as they fly in and out of their nests.
Dinner.
Overnight in Tambopata Research Center.
Day 7
Time- off. Time off to relax and enjoy the lodge surroundings, wander off on your own, try out a new trail, or repeat your favorite activity.
Breakfast
Transfer Boat-Tambopata Research Center to Refugio Amazonas. A three and a half hour boat ride brings us to Refugio Amazonas.
Boxed Lunch at the boat
Brazil nut trail and camp: A few minutes hike from the lodge is a beautiful old growth patch of Brazil Nut forest that has been harvested for decades (if not centuries) where the precarious remains of a camp used two months a year by Brazil Nut gatherers can still be experienced. We will be demonstrating the whole process of the rain forest's only sustainably harvested product from collection through transportation to drying.
Dinner.
Tambopata National Reserve Lecture. Nightly lectures prepared by the staff of Refugio Amazonas cover conservation threats, opportunities and projects in the Tambopata National Reserve.
Overnight in Refugio Amazonas
Day 8 Breakfast.
Transfer Boat - Refugio Amazonas to Tambopata River Port.
Transfer Tambopata River Port to RFE- Pto Maldonado Headquarters.
Boat Transportation. All our boats are 20 foot long, roofed canoes with 55 hp outboard motors. Daily arrivals and departures from every port are scheduled to meet every airline´s arrival and departure with a maximum two hour wait.
hEATH RIVER WILDLIFE CENTER & SANDOVAL LAKE LODGE
Parrot Lovers Program
Day 9
Puerto Maldonado to Heath River Wildlife Center. We meet at RFE headquarters at Puerto Maldonado and get driven through town to the Tambopata River port. After boarding motorized canoes, we travel downriver to the mighty Madre de Dios, which we follow for approximately four hours to the Heath River. We then travel up this wild and intimate river, which forms the wilderness border between Peru and Bolivia, and arrive at the Heath River Wildlife Center. Note that the Lodge is located on the Bolivian side of the Heath River so passports are required to clear Bolivian passport control.
Boxed Lunch at the boat
Dinner.
Overnight in Heath River Wildlife Center
Day 10
Macaw Clay Lick.We rise early in the morning to board a motorized canoe for the 10-minute journey up the Heath River to the macaw and parrot clay lick. Brightly-colored parrots and macaws fly in by the hundreds to feed on the clay that detoxifies certain seeds and nuts they eat. Marvel at the cacophony of sound and color as Red-and-green macaws vie for the best clay-eating position. A specially-designed floating blind allows for proximity and complete concealment -- so you can even have breakfast and coffee while the birds are performing their morning ritual.
Breakfast at the lick
Ethnobotanical Walk. When we return to the lodge, the guide leads us on an ethno-botanical walk through the forest, pointing out flora used in the daily lives of rainforest people. The guide explains how certain plants are used for medicinal or healing purposes, which ones can be made into the best bows and arrows, and how to select trees and leaves for home construction.
Lunch.
Pampas del Heath..After lunch and a short rest, we hike through the rainforest to the Pampas del Heath, the largest remaining undisturbed savanna in the Amazon. The contrast is striking as we emerge from the mature rainforest onto the grassland plain of the Pampas.
Dinner.
Overnight in Heath River Wildlife Center
Day 11
Macaw Clay Lick- Breakfast. We breakfast in the floating blind at the macaw and parrot clay lick for a last round of looks and photos.
Mid morning. we return to the lodge to explore some trails.
Lunch
Afternoon. We dedicate the afternoon to explore the trails.
Dinner
Mammal Lick. After dinner visit the Mammal lick where we will have good chances to see Tapirs.
Overnight in Heath River Wildlife Center
Day 12
Breakfast
Transfer Boat - Heath River Wildlife Center to Sandoval Lake Lodge Trail. Sandoval Lake Lodge, located on the banks of one of the most beautiful lakes in Amazonian Peru. During the river trip back downstream, families of Capybaras are often spotted on the banks of the river. Weighing up to 120 pounds (55 kilograms), this giant, three-toed relative of the guinea pig is the largest rodent in the world.
Sonene Native Community visit. On the journey to Sandoval Lake Lodge we will also visit the Ese'Eja native community of Sonene, where there will be an opportunity to interact with the community and purchase local handicrafts.
Boxed Lunch
Sandoval Lake Lodge. We embark at the trail head to Sandoval Lake Lodge and walk for 45 minutes, stopping to look at birds, butterflies, and towering trees. At the end of the trail, we board dugout canoes or catamarans, and are paddled across the lake in the golden afternoon light. We drift through flooded palm forest and listen to the babbling of Red-bellied Macaws overhead as they roost in treetops for the night. We arrive at the lodge around nightfall, and walk up the torch-lit path to dinner in the dining hall.
Dinner.
Overnight in Sandoval Lake Lodge
Day 13
Breakfast
Palm licks visit. After an early breakfast, we’ll visit one of the trails where some groups of macaws visit certain palm trees and eat the trunk of them. This is a very interesting phenomenon that has been studying since 2005 in the area.
Late morning. Your naturalist guide will lead a hike through the forest, pointing out plants with medicinal uses, interesting insects, and colorful birds and butterflies.
Lunch.
Sandoval Lake visit. In the late afternoon we once again board the catamaran or canoe and set off to explore the eastern end of the lake. Capuchin, Squirrel and Titi monkeys often forage along the lake's edge, and energetic guests can take another hike through forest on the other side of the lake.
Dinner
Black Caiman search. We go out on the lake to search again for the Black Caiman since they are most abundant on the lake at night as they forage. Floating in the middle of the lake, the brilliant stars light up the sky as the night sounds of the rainforest surround you.
Day 14
Breakfast
Transfer Boat – Sandoval Lake Lodge to Puerto Maldonado Airport. After a dawn breakfast, we paddle across the lake, perhaps encountering a family of macaws leaving their roost to forage or a troupe of monkeys greeting the day. We hike back out to the river and return to Puerto Maldonado for the flight back to Lima. Overnight in Lima
Day 15 Leave Lima on a flight back to the UK
PARROTS and MACAWS
Red & Green Macaw, Blue & Yellow Macaw, Scarlet Macaw, Red Bellied Macaw, Chesnut Fronted Macaw, Blue Headed Macaw, Red Shouldered Macaw.
PRICE £2445.00 per person which includes all local flights in Peru, all transfers, all accommodation, all meals, all drinks (non-alcoholic), an english speaking guide.
ITEMS NOT INCLUDED
International Flights approximately £750.00 return flights. Please see our new flights policy on the Flights page
Alcoholic drinks, Insurance, Spending money for Souvenirs, Tips
EXTRA TRIP TO MACHU PICCHU
DAY 14 Flight back to Cusco AFTERNOON - CITY tour of Cusco, the Cathedral, the Koricancha Temple and nearby ruins of Cusco : Sacsayhuaman, Kenko, Tambomachay and Pucapucara
DAY 15 Transfer to Machu Picchu overnight at Aguas Calientes
DAY 16 Morning on a eco-activity in the hotel grounds before taking the train back to Cusco where we overnight
