INKATERRA RESERVA AMAZONICA

SUGGESTED ITINERARY 4 DAYS / 3 NIGHTS

Travelling to Tambopata National Reserve offers a rare opportunity to discover a lively biodiversity of birds, mammals, reptiles, insects and trees. Record-setting numbers of animal species are concentrated within small areas, and the variety of plant life is greater than almost anywhere in the world. To help you experience the wonder of this magic place, we have prepared a suggested itinerary for your stay at Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica.

DAY 1

Welcome in Puerto Maldonado. You may visit the Butterfly House near the airport and in only 15 minutes you can get to the boarding wharf. Begin to experience the enchantment of the rainforest as you take a 45-minute boat ride along the Madre de Dios River, to arrive at Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica lodge. After a short briefing, settle into your beautiful cabaña and enjoy your lunch in the dining room. Take a siesta, share a refreshing tea time and get ready for the afternoon excursion. After gathering with your Inkaterra Explorer Guide, choose from the 14 different excursions available at the Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica. On your first day, we recommend a guided walk along the Trail system, into the Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica natural area, where you will discover the Amazon Basin. This trail offers an excellent introduction to the forest environment, winding past impressive trees such as the Shihuahuaco, and the strangely beautiful strangler fig, offering excellent opportunities for bird watching and observing exotic insects. We also recommend on the first night our Twilight River excursion — a guided afternoon boat ride on the Madre de Dios river. Witness the transformation from a diurnal to a nocturnal world: animals and birds of the daytime give way to species specially adapted to the night. As you enjoy their paradise, you will learn about their habits, while you search for nightjars, owls, capybaras and up to three different caiman species. Enjoy dinner served in the main dining room from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. After dinner, you may retire early to your own cabana, or share your experience in the rainforest with other guests and interpreters, as you listen to the intriguing sounds of the jungle at night.

DAY 2

Wake up late or rise early — the choice is yours. Breakfast begins at 5:30 a.m., for those who want to avoid the heat, and enjoy nature at its fullest. A full buffet breakfast is served from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. During the morning you may visit the Lake Sandoval excursion into the Tambopata National Reserve. Glide in a wooden canoe, across a beautiful, mirror-like oxbow lake that is home to the endangered giant river otter, as well as red howler monkeys, red-bellied macaws, anacondas, side-neck turtles and black caimans. Return to the Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica for lunch. After lunch, consider the remarkable Inkaterra Canopy Walkway. Ascending the first tower, 29 meters above the forest ground, you begin your encounter with the treetop realm. For more than a quarter of a mile, you will literally walk through the rainforest canopy on a suspension bridge network linking eight observation platforms. During this hour-and-a-half expedition, be on the lookout for colorful toucans, woodpeckers, trogons, monkeys, and sloths. If you wish you may extend your excursion and watch the sunset from one of the towers. Once at the lodge, enjoy the daily nature presentation in the Eco Center and the Happy Hour.
Dinner starts at 7:30 p.m.

DAY 3

Enjoy a trip to Gamitana Creek, located 25 minutes by boat from the lodge. For one and a half hours, explore the rainforest along the banks of a winding, dark-water creek that is home to many piranha, caiman, turtles and birds, until the Sanipanga landing point. Navigate your way back downstream, observing the abundant flora and fauna along the way. You will return to Gamitana Farm to do a short guided tour to see how local farmers grow fruits and vegetables. Return to the lodge for lunch. After lunch, enjoy the Hacienda Concepcion excursion, with over 200 different plant species, and learn about the uses and benefits of local flora. This is followed by a 30 minute canoe trip to look for turtles, sun grebes, nightjars and exotic herons. Return to the lodge. Then consider the Rainforest by Night excursion through the Inkaterra Ecological Reserve at night for an approximately 2 hour excursion. Venture into the forest and experience the mystery of the animal activity that awakens in the rainforest after dark, enhancing animal resources to create new adaptation mechanisms. Listen to nocturnal forest sounds and spot species that only emerge at night. Return to the lodge.

DAY 4

Enjoy a full breakfast before departure. A 45 minute return trip by boat on the Madre de Dios River takes you to Puerto Maldonado, where you may visit the Butterfly House. Peru boasts the greatest variety of butterflies in the world, with 3,700 known species. Many of these can be seen at the Butterfly House, a showcase for the variety, beauty and adaptability of these fascinating insects.

ITINERARY IN BRIEF

Welcome to Puerto Maldonado / Transfer to the boarding wharf / After 45 minutes by boat, arrive at Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica / Enjoy the Trail System adventure and the Twilight River excursion or the nature presentation at the Eco Center / Dinner at the main dining room / Overnight / Breakfast starting at 5 a.m. until 10 a.m. / Enjoy the excursion to Lake Sandoval and the Inkaterra Canopy Walkway / The Eco Center nature presentation / Happy Hour / Dinner / Overnight / Breakfast / Gamitana Creek excursion / Lunch at the lodge / Hacienda Concepcion Excursion / Rainforest by Night / Dinner / Overnight / Breakfast / Visit the Butterfly House / Transfer to Puerto Maldonado or airport.