The Amazon Rainforest & Puerto Maldonado in Peru

A visit to the small city of Puerto Maldonado lays the Peruvian Amazon at your feet. It acts as a port for travelers to take boats along the Madre de Dios River to their eco lodges, which will act as a base for canoe trips, treks into the virgin jungle, and more. It’s an amazing combination of vibrant forest, huge rivers and swamps, and diverse flora and fauna. You’ll see exotic plants, animals, and insects that you never knew existed, such as pig-like capybara and pink river dolphins.

A yellow fever vaccination card is officially required, but only occasionally checked. Even though the risk is low and you might not be asked to produce the card, it’s recommendable to vaccinate for your well-being and to avoid travel inconveniences.

You can reach Puerto Maldonado by a 30-minute domestic flight from Lima or by a bus trip or tour that leaves from Cusco. Even choosing to go by a relatively comfortable car in a private trip from Cusco can be daunting, because the trip takes 10 hours along a winding road. (A bus from Lima takes 36 hours- if in the capital, treat yourself to a flight; you can get good deals on prices.)

Travel around Puerto Maldonado itself it mostly by motorcycle and mototaxis. If you have a free day in Puerto Maldonado, consider visiting the market to see the exotic produce and meats, and to sample some wonderful fresh fruit juices and smoothies; stopping by the Rescue Snake House, climbing the Obelisk for a view of the city, surrounding jungle, and rivers; and going for a walk around Monkey Island. If you’re schedule allows, a daytrip to Lake Sandoval is the very best way to spend the time you have, because the lake is home to large endangered sea otters as well as a great amount of other wildlife- it’s one of the best ways to see a lot in a short amount of time.

To see the best of the Amazon, however, you need to get out of town. Boat trips from Puerto Maldonado to the various eco-lodges take around one to two hours, and allow for good wildlife spotting as wildlife gathers by the riverside to drink. Once at the lodge, be prepared for vibrant macaws and screeching monkeys! Guides take guests out for both day and night hikes, so that they can see both sides of the rainforest. During the night, there are a plethora of nocturnal reptiles and insects, and you can see how the eyes of black caiman glow in dark. There are also hikes to learn about local trees and plants and the medicinal uses to which local indigenous groups have put them for centuries.

 

What else can you do during a stay? A lot: walk along pathways at canopy level, zipline, swim with river dolphins, fish for piranha, camp further out in virgin forest for a night, learn to make traditional local handicrafts from nuts and seeds, watch the sun as it sets over the rainforest and the river, visit a local indigenous group, and more!

Contact Pirwa Travel at pirwatravel@gmail.com to learn what the Peruvian Amazon has to offer, and what options are available.