Peru Amazon Extension

Our extension trip starts at the airport in Puerto Maldonado. If you're joining from another of our tours, and we're booking these international flights for you, we'll book the internal flight from the end point of your trip to Puerto Maldonado. It's worth noting that even if you're booking your own international flights, we can still book this connecting flight to Puerto Maldonado for you - please speak to our customer services team. Otherwise, we ask that you arrive at the airport no later than 3pm to avoid taking your boat journey by night. The Amazon Basin sprawls over two-fifths of South America, including a massive 60% of Peru, and is the most bio-diverse environment in the world. After Brazil, Peru is home to the largest section of the Amazon Rainforest, of which only a fraction is easily accessible. From the port in Puerto Maldonado, we'll travel along the Tambopata River by motorised canoe (a journey of approximately 25 minutes) and check into our Amazon lodge. Although this lodge is a premium accommodation, due to its remote location the electricity is provided by a generator and is only available for certain hours of the day. Depending on the arrival time, this afternoon, we'll have a guided walk through the jungle and the local guide will explain the tropical trees, medicinal plants, insects, butterflies and other animals we see en route. Then we'll make a quick stop at a lookout point to hopefully spot toucans, macaws and other birds. In the evening, we'll enjoy a twilight boat journey searching for animals including caimans and capybaras. Please note, this is a stand-alone extension and can be booked on any date of your choosing, subject to availability. Whilst this itinerary has been designed to complement several of our group tours, we'd like to point out that it's not a group experience and you're unlikely to be travelling with other Explore customers.

We'll spend this morning on the Inkaterra Canopy Walkway, which is a 1,129-foot system of two observation towers, eight platforms and seven hanging bridges 30 metres/100 feet above the ground. The walkway is designed to perform scientific research on the ecosystems inhabiting the rainforest canopy and gives us an unobstructed view of the wildlife and birds. The activities and tours at the Inkaterra are planned for the morning and afternoon when it's cooler. Each day there'll be a few hours of downtime after lunch to relax or read in the heart of the rainforest. During the afternoon, we'll take a 30-minute boat ride, entering the territory of the Tambopata Reserve. We'll walk 5 kilometres/0.6 miles through the dense vegetation of the tropical rainforest, looking out for snakes, monkeys and birds, to Sandoval Lake. Numerous species of animals live near the lake - keep your eyes out for kingfishers, cormorants, squirrel monkeys, and capuchin monkeys. At the lake itself, we might see giant river otters, black caimans and piranhas. This is also the habitat of the giant arapaima, a fish of more than 2.5 metres, weighing in at more than 200 kilograms.

We'll spend this morning visiting the Native Farm close to the lodge, where we'll learn local techniques of cultivation and taste some of the products of the farm. We'll then visit the Botanical Garden, discovering the variety of medicinal plants, and traditional remedies. After lunch at our lodge, we'll enjoy a dugout canoe ride on the natural pond and try native fishing techniques while enjoying the scenery. We'll disembark at the remains of Fitzcarraldo Steamboat, and learn about its history and how it's inspired the lodge. This evening, we'll take a night walk through the jungle, listening to the sounds of the birds, mammals, insects and amphibians that wander the forest at night, using the expertise of our local guide to try and spot them.

Our Amazon adventure comes to an end today after breakfast and we'll travel back to Puerto Maldonado by motorised canoe before transferring to the airport. If you prefer, you can end your trip at the office in Puerto Maldonado and arrange a taxi transfer to the airport yourself at a time that better suits your itinerary. The office is a short taxi ride from the town and about 20 minutes by taxi from the airport. If you're booking your own flights, you should ensure that they depart from Puerto Maldonado no earlier than 11am.