CHUNCHO CLAY LICK & SANDOVAL LAKE

• Departures: Daily
• Price: $650 per person (Minimum 2 people)
• Duration: 4 days / 3 nights
• Locations visited: Chuncho Macaw Clay Lick and Sandoval Lake (Tambopata National Reserve)

Day 1

After pickup from the airport or bus terminal in Puerto Maldonado, we will get ready to travel in our private vehicle for about 1.5 hours. We will drive 44 kilometers along the Interoceanic Highway and then take an 18-kilometer dirt road through the rainforest, farmlands, and cattle fields until we reach the banks of the Tambopata River. Next, we will board a motorized boat heading to the jungle lodge. Following a warm welcome, room distribution, and lunch, we will hit the trails for an afternoon jungle hike. Our destination is a 40-meter canopy tower, where you can enjoy the Amazonian landscape and spot typical canopy birds such as macaws, toucans, tanagers, and oropendolas. At the end of the afternoon, we will return to the lodge for dinner and rest.

Day 2

Our day starts very early at 4:30 AM with a 1.5-hour boat ride down the Tambopata River to a magical place: the “Chuncho Macaw Clay Lick,” considered the largest in the world. Here, you will witness a spectacular sight as colorful macaws, parrots, and parakeets gather in the trees in synchronized flight before gathering on the clay wall to feed on mineral-rich soil. This spot is also where we will enjoy our breakfast. Along the river journey, it is common to spot capybaras, turtles, caimans, herons, and monkeys—and with some luck, tapirs, deer, or felines like the ocelot, puma, or the majestic Jaguar.

Upon returning to the lodge, we will pack up and head back to Puerto Maldonado to begin our expedition to Sandoval Lake. From the city, we will board a motorized boat for a 40-minute ride down the majestic Madre de Dios River to the trail entrance. After a brief 150-meter walk, we will check in at the Tambopata National Reserve control post and begin a 1-hour (2.7 km) hike, where we can observe monkeys, birds, reptiles, and butterflies. At the end of the trail lies the lake dock. We will board a paddle canoe for a 30-minute ride to our lodge on the lakeshore, where you will be settled into comfortable rooms with private bathrooms. After lunch and a short rest, we will explore the lakeshore by canoe to search for wildlife such as monkeys, herons, wild ducks, hoatzins, caimans, and the wonderful giant river otter. We will wrap up the day marveling at the Amazonian sunset before returning to the lodge for dinner and rest.

Day 3

Early in the morning, we will have breakfast and set out on a 3-hour hike through a forest filled with giant Brazil nut trees. You will learn about this unique species and its economic importance to local families. Meanwhile, we will look for wildlife and discover Amazonian secrets, including medicinal plants and toxic or therapeutic fungi. After this engaging hike, we will return to the lodge for lunch and some rest.

In the afternoon, we will explore a section of the lake by canoe towards an observation tower to enjoy the lake scenery and active wildlife, followed by another beautiful sunset. After dinner at the lodge, we will embark on a 1-hour night walk—an exclusive opportunity to encounter nocturnal creatures such as insects, spiders, tarantulas, frogs, reptiles, and hopefully nocturnal birds or mammals like armadillos, sloths, kinkajous, or night monkeys. We will then return to the lodge for a good night’s sleep.

Day 4

Very early in the morning, we will visit the lake to experience the sunrise and the radiant morning sun while enjoying wildlife activity, including macaws, parrots, toucans, howler monkeys, caimans, kingfishers, and giant otters. We will then return to the lodge for a delicious breakfast before packing up and heading back to the city of Puerto Maldonado, concluding our Amazon expedition.