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PERU TRAVEL PLANNER
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TAMBOPATA EXPEDITION
EXPRESS
5 days and 4 nights
Daily Departures
Per Person Prices:$745 based on Double occupancy
Per Person Prices:$945 based on Single occupancy
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Duration |
5 days and 4 nights |
| Price per person
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US$745 per person based on double occupancy |
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Departures |
Daily departures |
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Airfares |
Not included, available upon request |
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Accommodations |
Included |
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Meals |
included as specified below |
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Customizable |
YES, feel free to ask for extra
services |
DAY 1: PUERTO MALDONADO
- POSADA AMAZONAS
Upon arrival from Lima or Cusco, reception and transfer
to the Tambopata river port 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 depart on a 1 hour ride via
Infierno road, followed by 30 minutes boat journey 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. As we approach noon,
animal activity decreases, and we will continue travel
up the Tambopata River for 3 to 4 hours into the
pristine heart of the reserve. After the first hour we
will leave the final traces of human habitation behind
as we cross the northern boundary of the 700,000 hectare,
completely uninhabited nucleus of the Tambopata National
Reserve. Differences in wildlife abundance will be noted
immediately: we will begin to sight macaws, herons,
kingfishers and cormorants frequently and improve our
chances of encounters with capybaras, caiman, storks,
ducks and other wildlife. Boxed lunch on the boat. We
will arrive at Tambopata Research Center in the early
afternoon, being greeted by the Chicos, our flock of
semi-wild, rescued macaws. On arrival, we will hold an
orientation session. After this we will hike the 1.5
mile Bamboo Trail, a trail that is famous for the
abundance of rare birds that live exclusively in this
habitat and are endemic to southern Peru. It is also the
home of the frequently found Howler and Dusky titi
monkeys. As we birdwatch our way through the trail we
will end our hike at the overlooks which are good places
to observe canopy birds like tanagers, jacamars,
elaenias, guans, and oropendolas. We will return to TRC
for dinner. After dinner, to cap off a fulfilling day we
can have a frog walk through the forest, allowing the
photo lovers to take incredibly beautiful macro shoots
of american bullfrogs, horned frogs, tree frogs and an
incredible variety of colorful insects.
(B,L,D)
DAY 3: POSADA AMAZONAS-TAMBOPATA RESEARCH CENTRE
At dawn we will cross the river and enjoy the world's
largest macaw clay lick where hundreds of parrots and
macaws of up to 15 species congregate daily. The January
1994 issue of National Geographic features an article on
Tambopata Research Center and the Tambopata Macaw
Project. It begins with a description of the daily
spectacle at the clay lick: " When the morning sun
clears the Amazon tree line in southeastern Peru and
strikes a gray-pink clay bank on the upper Tambopata
River, one of the world's most dazzling wildlife
gatherings is nearing its riotous peak. The steep bank
has become a pulsing, 130-foot-high palette of red,
blue, yellow and green as more than a thousand parrots
squabble over choice perches to grab a beakful of clay,
a vital but mysterious part of their diet. More than a
dozen parrot species will visit the clay lick throughout
the day, but this midmorning crush belongs to the giants
of the parrot world, the macaws." You can expect to see
ten to twelve of the following members of the parrot
family: Red-and-green, Blue-and-gold, Scarlet, Red-bellied,
Chestnut-fronted and Blue-headed Macaws; Mealy and
Yellow-crowned Amazons; Blue-headed, Orange-cheeked and
White-bellied Parrots; Dusky-headed, White-eyed, Cobalt-winged
and Tui Parakeets and Dusky-billed Parrotlets. This show
will continue until the macaws sense danger, usually in
the form of an eagle, and depart simultaneously in an
explosion of sound and color. Around mid-morning, when
the most intense clay lick activity is over for the day,
we will return to TRC for breakfast.. After breakfast we
will hike the 1.5 mile Ocelot Trail, a trail which
exemplifies the quintessential rainforest . Although at
this time of day mammals and birds are not as active as
in the early morning, we will concentrate on the forest
itself and discuss general rain forest ecology. This
forest, which is estimated to be 200 to 300 years old
and includes truly huge Ceiba trees and Strangler figs
is home to several mammals that are occsaionally
encountered: Saddleback tamarins, Squirrel and Brown
Capuchin Monkeys and Collared peccary. This trail is the
one which most often sports ocelot, puma and jaguar
tracks, although any one of these three large cats is
extremely difficult to spot. We will return to TRC for
lunch and then embark on a 2 mile hike to the palm swamp,
a nesting colony and preferred roost for Blue and Gold
and Red-bellied Macaws. Although there are different
degrees of macaw activity at the swamp year round, the
most exciting time to visit it is from October to March,
during the nesting season, when macaws will land on the
nests and stand there for several minutes, interacting
with other individuals at less then 20 feet from our
observation tower. The scenes at the swamp, especially
with late afternoon sun in our backs, make prized photo
opportunities. After a lazy afternoon with the macaws we
will hike back to the lodge for dinner.
(B,L,D)
DAY 4: TAMBOPATA RESEARCH CENTRE - POSADA AMAZONAS
We will wake up at dawn once again to visit the macaw
clay lick and then return for breakfast. After breakfast
we will take a short five minute boat ride to a small,
drying oxbow lake where we will spend the morning on a
platform in the middle of the pond observing some of its
birdlife, which may include hoatzin, duck, ibis,
woodpeckers, chachalaca, parakeets, oropendolas and
numerous flycatcher species. We will return to TRC and
embark to Posada Amazonas, arriving at mid-afternoon. We
will spend our last night in the rain forest in this
wonderfully designed lodge enjoying its happy hour as we
ponder over the exciting happenings of the past few days.
(B,L,D.)
DAY 5: POSADA AMAZONAS-PUERTO MALDONADO
After an early morning wake up call and breakfast we
will leave for our 2 hour ride back to Puerto Maldonado
and the airport and continue our travels in Peru. (B)
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Click to Enlarge
Tambopata |
Macaw Clay Licks |
Toucan |
END OF OUR SEVICES
INCLUDES: All hotel and lodge accommodations based on double
occupancy. All scheduled land, lake and river transportation. All
transfers. All scheduled excursions with English-speaking guide
services. All entrance fees. Meals as specified in the itinerary. B=Breakfast;L=Lunch;D=Dinner.
NOT INCLUDED IN THE FEE
Entrance to the protected area of Tambopata (INRENA TAX) is USD $36
per person . International or domestic airfares, airport departure
taxes or visa fees, excess baggage charges, additional nights during
the trip due to flight cancellations, alcoholic and non-alcoholic
beverages or bottled water, snacks, insurance of any kind, laundry,
phone calls, radio calls or messages, reconfirmation of
international flights and items of personal nature. |
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Mon-Fri 9 Am - 6 Pm ET
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Published articles and reviews about us
2009
Testimonials
Noelle Melnychuk
Calgary, AB
Our tour to
the islands on Lake Titicaca was a
wonderful day. We had great weather and the people that we met
were very friendly. The island of Taguile was a beautiful little
paradise. The hotel in Puno was very good, with a great
breakfast. It is too bad we could only stay one night. We kept
the room for the second night so that we could freshen up before
going on the bus to Cusco Peru.
Thank you for everything that you have done to make our trip so
enjoyable. Please pass along to Christi our thanks for the great
job that she did in organizing our tour. She was able to
assemble an itinerary that included everything that we asked for
and still was not too rushed. It was an enjoyable, informative
and relaxing time.
Thank you again to all of the staff at
Peru travel Gateway
and your suppliers for making this a wonderful experience.
Peggy Chang
McLean, VA
US
I always wanted to write
you a line and let you know my husband and I had a great time in
Peru. Thank
you so much for the arrangement; everything was really smooth! The
guide in
Cusco, Eriksson, was really great. thank
you also for helping me with all
the reservation and all the changes!! Cusco and
Machu Picchu were all
fantastic, I"m sure we will want to go back to Peru at some point
again, and
I"ll definitely contact you again!! Thank you!!
Sincerely,
Peggy Chang
Mary W. Earp
WINNALSAW, NC
US
We had a very nice trip to Peru.
Thanks for you help. Our hotels in Peru
were what we expected, very nice and the hotel help went out of
their way to make sure we were comfortable and had what we needed.
Our guides were outstanding. Always on time and catered to our
needs. Our groups were small except for the Sacred Valley tour where
we had 25 members. Food was plentiful and tasty at each restaurant.
The Hotel Casa Andina in Cusco gave us an upgrade when we returned
from MP which was very nice. Also, the Radisson gave us an upgrade
when we returned to Lima although we stayed only 6 hours.
Again, thanks for your services. I feel very fortunate that I
selected your travel services, because of the services. Several on
the trip thought I was mighty brave to select an unknown agency. I
was impressed with Ivan during our first emails and phone
conversations. I trusted him and he trusted me, this makes for happy
results for everyone.
Sincerely, Mary Earp.
Wendy Feldman
Los Angeles, CA
US 90025
I just returned back to the US from my trip to Peru. I wanted to let
you know how grateful I am for the wonderful experience that you
help me coordinate and plan. I loved all of the sites and felt I had
a unique experience that I will never forget.
The tour planners and the tour
guides were all wonderful and extremely helpful. Each of them were
very polite and knowledgable about their subjects and locations. I
learned alot about Peru and its customs.
The hotel on Machu Picchu (Sanctuary Lodge) and the hotel in Puno
(The Libertador) were excellent and I would recommend anyone to stay
in each of those locations. The San Augustin El Dorado was just
adequate; I found the hotel to be clean and the staff helpful, but
there is too much noise during the evening and mornings; this is
because many of the rooms overlook the central lobby of the hotel
and the acoustics create echos of sound from the front desk and
those people having conversations in the lobby area. Also, the space
heaters in each of the El Dorado rooms I stayed in did not work at
all. I do not think I would recommend the hotel to people unless
they didn't mind a noisy atmosphere.
The Posada del Inca hotel in Bolivia was very nice; I really liked
the rustic feel and intimate setting and the private gardens--the
views of Lake Titicaca and the mountains were spectacular. Although
I didn't realize it would be a hike (literally) up to it. One of the
couples I was travelling with on the first day in Bolivia had
trouble making it up the hillside (they didn't know they would have
to hike to the top to get to the hotel). I would recommend letting
potential guests know that it is a 40 - 45 minute hike from the dock
to the hotel itself. The guides were very helpful and it was good
that our luggage was carried up separately.
The trip was amazing and I just wanted to thank you for all of your
planning. I would recommend you and your staff to everyone I know
who wanted to plan a trip to go to Peru.
Have a wonderful new year!
Regards,
Wendy
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