Puerto Maldonado & Tambopata
A gateway to the Amazon rainforest just an hour's flight from Cusco, with dawn macaw clay licks, giant otter oxbow lakes, canopy walkways and nighttime caiman spotting.
Puerto Maldonado, capital of the Madre de Dios Region in southeastern Peru, sits at the confluence of the Madre de Dios and Tambopata rivers and is the gateway to the southern Amazon rainforest. The Tambopata National Reserve adjoins Bahuaja-Sonene National Park, and the area ranks among the most biodiverse on the planet, famous for its macaw clay licks, giant otter oxbow lakes and nighttime caiman spotting. The town itself has few sights, but you can climb the Obelisk lookout tower and stroll the Plaza de Armas and the central market. Most visitors book jungle lodge packages: lodges near town along the Madre de Dios River offer trips to Lake Sandoval, canopy walkways and Monkey Island, suitable for 2–3 days; lodges on the middle Tambopata River give access to the Chuncho clay lick and Lake Tres Chimbadas; research stations further upriver reach the Colorado clay lick and require 4–5 days. The dry season (May–Oct) is ideal; in the rainy season (Nov–Apr) rivers rise and trails turn muddy, but the vegetation is lush. Flights from Lima or Cusco take about 1–1.5 hours, and the airport is about 15 minutes by car from the river port. A yellow fever vaccination is required and you should seek advice on malaria prevention; bring long sleeves and trousers, a rain jacket, a headlamp and insect repellent, respect reserve rules, and never buy wildlife products.
Top sights
- Tambopata National Reserve – A roughly 270,000-hectare Amazon lowland rainforest reserve, dense with macaws, giant otters, monkeys and caimans, with many rainforest lod…
- Lake Sandoval – The closest classic oxbow lake to town. Paddling here you may see giant otter families, caimans, screamers and monkeys. Ideal as a day trip.
- Colorado Clay Lick – Considered one of the world's largest macaw clay licks, located deep upstream on the Tambopata River and requiring an overnight stay at a n…
- Chuncho Clay Lick – A large clay lick on the Tambopata River where hundreds of macaws and parrots gather at dawn to peck at mineral clay, a riot of colour.
- Bahuaja-Sonene National Park – A pristine national park adjoining the Tambopata reserve, protecting Peru's only tropical savanna, the Pampas del Heath, and vast tracts of…
- Lake Tres Chimbadas – An oxbow lake on the Tambopata River where you drift quietly on a raft in search of a family of giant otters, with hoatzins, caimans and he…
- Lake Cocococha – Another oxbow lake in the Tambopata reserve, famous for a resident family of giant otters, its surface mirroring the tall rainforest canopy.
- Lake Valencia – A large oxbow lake on the lower Madre de Dios River, close to the Bolivian border, known for fishing and Indigenous community experiences.
- Monkey Island – A small island on the Madre de Dios River, home to capuchins, squirrel monkeys and others rescued and then released, making it a half-day t…
- Inkaterra Canopy Walkway – A canopy walkway about 344 m long, roughly 30 m above the ground, linking several tree platforms for watching birds and monkeys in the rain…
- Taricaya Ecological Reserve – A conservation centre on the Madre de Dios River running wildlife rescue, river turtle hatching and rainforest volunteer programmes, with a…
- Madre de Dios River & Port – The broad Amazon tributary north of town, where it meets the Tambopata River at the city's edge; the wharf is the departure point for rainf…
- Obelisk of Puerto Maldonado – A commemorative tower about 30 m tall in the city, with murals of the region's history inside, and a top-floor observation deck offering 36…
- Plaza de Armas of Puerto Maldonado – The city-centre square, with a central clock tower surrounded by tropical trees; nearby churches, banks and restaurants make it the place t…
- Billinghurst Bridge – A large suspension bridge across the Madre de Dios River, a key link on the trans-oceanic highway connecting Peru and Brazil, and especiall…
- Tambopata Butterfly Farm – A butterfly breeding centre near the airport, with netted enclosures housing blue morphos, owl butterflies and other Amazonian species, sho…
Where to eat
- Burgos Restaurant – The most reviewed restaurant in Puerto Maldonado, with Amazonian patarashca and tacacho with cecina as its signature di…
- Gustitos del Cura – An established café and dessert spot beside Plaza de Armas, known locally for house-made rainforest fruit ice cream and…
- El Califa Restaurant – A rainforest home-style restaurant packed with locals, open for daytime only. Tacacho with cecina and palm heart salad…
- Cacao Center – A healthy café featuring Amazonian cacao and copoazu, where the hot chocolate, acai bowls and poke bowls earn strong pr…
Itineraries
- Inca Trail & Tambopata Amazon Rainforest 11-Day Adventure – Trek the classic 4-day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, then fly into the Amazon rainforest to spot macaws and giant river o…