A quick hop from Lima through Cusco and we landed in Puerto Maldonado 'airport'... not much bigger than Zimbabwe's Buffalo Range. We were greeted by our Inkaterra guide and taken to the Butterfly House, Inkaterra's reception house in Puerto Maldonado. Here you store any excess luggage you don't need for the jungle, check in while sipping fresh star fruit juice, and enjoy the butterfly reserve that gives the house its name. Then it's a quick drive to the port and set sail up the Madre de Dios river to La Reserva Amazonica.
Elias would be our guide for the next 3 days and became a fast friend to me and 'Juanito'. Our first afternoon excursion was to the Gamitana Creek where we hiked through a rainforest farm - so aromatic - sampling some fruits along the way. Then we hopped in canoes to navigate down the Gamitana tributary where we saw toucans, macaws, and a rare red howler monkey! In the evening we took a night cruise down the Madre de Dios to spy the nocturnal caimans that look like baby alligators.
Our first full day at the lodge we had a 5AM wake up call for our excursion to Lake Sandoval in the middle of the Tambopata National Reserve. The lake is about a 4km hike into the reserve, alongside marching leaf-cutter ants, swinging tamarins and squirrel monkeys, and lots of singing cicadas. Elias' good ears led us on a couple bush-whacking detours through the jungle in search of cappuccino monkeys playing in the canopy and watching us as curiously as we were watching them. Finally reaching Lake Sandoval we boarded canoes to circumnavigate the lake. We saw more caiman, lots of birds, and 8 baby river otters playing! There is usually a 20% chance of sighting the river otters so between this and my rare clawless otter sighting in Zimbabwe I think it's safe to call me the Otter Whisperer.
Back to the lodge for some rest and lunch before our afternoon in the Inkaterra Canopy! The canopy is a 344m system of hanging bridges and platforms suspended 10 stories high in the rainforest canopy. It is considered one of the most modern and sophisticated in the world. Not only is it an amazing excursion for tourists - both for getting up close with the birds and flora of the canopy story, and simply how cool to be suspended above the rainforest! - but also an important tool for the researchers in the Inkaterra Ecological Reserve. The walk ends at the canopy suite, where you can stay the night in a treehouse!
La Reserva started as a small lodge in the 1970s and has since grown to include a research center, ecological reserve, and NGO focused on preserving the biodiverse Amazon rainforest - we were thoroughly impressed by the research and conservation efforts that are apparent in every activity here. The experience at La Reserva Amazonica is not only conscious and adventurous but truly 5*. The dining is superb (with fun Happy Hour pisco specials!), and the service is top-notch.
Elias would be our guide for the next 3 days and became a fast friend to me and 'Juanito'. Our first afternoon excursion was to the Gamitana Creek where we hiked through a rainforest farm - so aromatic - sampling some fruits along the way. Then we hopped in canoes to navigate down the Gamitana tributary where we saw toucans, macaws, and a rare red howler monkey! In the evening we took a night cruise down the Madre de Dios to spy the nocturnal caimans that look like baby alligators.
Our first full day at the lodge we had a 5AM wake up call for our excursion to Lake Sandoval in the middle of the Tambopata National Reserve. The lake is about a 4km hike into the reserve, alongside marching leaf-cutter ants, swinging tamarins and squirrel monkeys, and lots of singing cicadas. Elias' good ears led us on a couple bush-whacking detours through the jungle in search of cappuccino monkeys playing in the canopy and watching us as curiously as we were watching them. Finally reaching Lake Sandoval we boarded canoes to circumnavigate the lake. We saw more caiman, lots of birds, and 8 baby river otters playing! There is usually a 20% chance of sighting the river otters so between this and my rare clawless otter sighting in Zimbabwe I think it's safe to call me the Otter Whisperer.Back to the lodge for some rest and lunch before our afternoon in the Inkaterra Canopy! The canopy is a 344m system of hanging bridges and platforms suspended 10 stories high in the rainforest canopy. It is considered one of the most modern and sophisticated in the world. Not only is it an amazing excursion for tourists - both for getting up close with the birds and flora of the canopy story, and simply how cool to be suspended above the rainforest! - but also an important tool for the researchers in the Inkaterra Ecological Reserve. The walk ends at the canopy suite, where you can stay the night in a treehouse!
La Reserva started as a small lodge in the 1970s and has since grown to include a research center, ecological reserve, and NGO focused on preserving the biodiverse Amazon rainforest - we were thoroughly impressed by the research and conservation efforts that are apparent in every activity here. The experience at La Reserva Amazonica is not only conscious and adventurous but truly 5*. The dining is superb (with fun Happy Hour pisco specials!), and the service is top-notch.
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