WHY THIS TRIP
The Wilderness, Wildlife and Whitewater on the Rio Tambopata trip is an incredible expedition that takes you into one of the most pristine regions of the Upper Amazon Basin. This trip is a guide’s favorite, but it is rarely undertaken and few travelers have journeyed here.
TRIP DESCRIPTION
Your journey to the river takes you high into the Andes with breathtaking views of the Apolobamba and Carabaya mountain ranges, before dropping down into the Amazon rainforest. From our put-in on the banks of the Rio Tambopata, you soon bid farewell to all traces of civilization as you head into pristine jungle in search of wilderness, wildlife and wild water.
The first few days you tackle Class III-IV rapids. The rapids become less technical and more high-volume roller coaster as the river grows through the Amazon Basin foothills. As you reach the Amazon Basin, the last few days are spent drifting silently, spotting rare wildlife and exploring tributaries.
A night in a comfortable jungle lodge beside the spectacular Macaw lick gives you time to explore jungle trails, before heading downriver past gold miners and to Puerto Maldonado for a night before catching your flights back to home. Alternatively, you can break this flight in Cusco, the ancient capital of the Incas from where you can visit Machu Picchu, the amazing “Lost City of the Incas” and the beautiful Sacred Valley of the Incas. Please inquire for options.
The Bahuaja / Sonene National Reserve is considered to be the world´s best-preserved tropical rainforest reserve and the “last human-free jungle on the planet.” It is home to jaguars, tapirs, giant otters and capybaras as well as over 800 species of birds and 1,200 different species of butterflies. Rafting the Rio Tambopata, through the very heart of this national park, has recently been described by the scientific world as “The Ultimate Jungle Experience.”
LOCAL OPERATOR: AMAZONAS EXPLORER
For more than three decades Amazonas Explorer has led high-quality trips and alternative adventures throughout South America. Based in Cusco, its professionally trained guides, cooks and support crew bring their passion and skills to the travelers they serve and, in turn, build rewarding careers for themselves. This talented staff of local experts is focused on providing you with safe and comfortable adventures, all centered on making your holiday as memorable as possible.
Caron S –
This was also a wonderful trip. The guides were good, the meals were fine as were the tents and the rafts. We were not comfortable with the driver at the start of the trip. He was driving too fast and probably too long at the wheel. The overall trip was exciting and fun.
kafindle –
This trip has everything, from cultural, natural and historic wonders to whitewater adventure. Accommodations range from comfortable hotels in cities like Cusco and Puno to fairly primitive lodging in backcountry villages to rustic (but nice) open air lodging at the Tambopata Research Center to tents on the Tambopata River. The trip is an expedition, but can be handled by anyone with an adventurous spirit who doesn’t mind getting wet and dirty and doesn’t need comfort all the time. I went with both my 13-year-old son and my 67-year-old mother and they both loved it (although admittedly my mother is a tough one). I have done a fair bit of traveling throughout the world, and this is probably the most memorable and exciting of all my travels. We saw incredible sites, including Inca ruins, Machu Picchu, and more wildlife than I have seen anywhere before. While rafting the Tambopata River through stretches of the rainforest inaccessible to humans except by raft we saw tapir, caymans, monkeys, capybarras, macaws, parrots, parakeets, giant river otters, and even a jaguar. Oh, and our local guides were great!