SANDOVAL/TAMBOPATA TOUR
Tour Overview
PERU
BIRDING TOUR
ANY TIME*
| Duration: | 10 days, 9 nights |
| Group Size: | 2-4 |
| 2-3 Price: | $5350 |
| 4+ Price: | $5150 |
| Single Suppl: | $650 |
| Est #Species: | 300-350 |
| Pace: | Easy |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
| Best Time: | June-September |
| * This tour is available for any dates of your choosing provided guide services and accommodations are available. | |
The Tambopata National Reserve in southeastern Peru is a vast protected wilderness covered by lowland varzea (seasonally flooded) and terra firme forest interspersed with tributaries and lagoons of the Tambopata River. Over 650 species of birds have been recorded in the reserve including nsome 90 species not found in the Manu Biosphere Reserve. Our tour of this biodiverse region takes full advantage of this diversity.
Our tour is based out of the port city of Puerto Maldonado, located in southeastern Peru. It begins with a boat transfer to Sandoval Lake Lodge, a rather remote lodge that offers excellent birding. After nearly 3 days birding there, we transfer by boat to the Posada Amazonas Lodge. From there we go to Rufugio Amazonas lodge for a 4-night stay. While there we'll have 3 full days of birding, including a visit to the Chuncho Clay Lick, largest of the parrot and macaw clay licks in the Tambopata region. On the last morning we transfer by boat back to Puerto Maldonado, where the tour ends after lunch.
Tour Considerations
PACE - Easy.
DIFFICULTY - Birding is by boat and along forested trails that are pretty much level. There is a moderately long hike of over a mile to reach Sandoval Lodge from the boat landing.
CLIMATE - Dry season is May to October. Wet season is November to April. During wet season, heavy downpours are frequent and rivers are swollen. The heaviest rains are in late January and all of February.
BIRD ACTIVITY - During dry season macaw clay licks are most active and rainfall is infrequent so trails are dry. Also, mixed species flocks are most frequent during dry season. During wet season, the forest is more lush, making views of canopy birds more difficult, and heavy rains can make birding miserable as well as difficult. On the positive side, varzea forests are more flooded, making them easier to explore by boat.
PHOTOGRAPHY - Opportunities for bird photography are excellent at clay licks and around feeders at the various lodges. Photographing birds in the forest is more opportunistic but feasible for birds in the understory.
TOUR NOTES
This tour can be combined with any of our other Southeast Peru tours. It can be shortened and made easier by leaving out Sandoval Lodge. The tour begins in Puerto Maldonado. Flights there from Lima or Cusco are not included in the tour price.
ACCOMMODATIONS
We'll be staying at comfortable ecolodges throughout this tour.fi