An ideal tour for birds and non-birders, with Giant River Otter.

Sandoval Lake is one of the most beautiful rainforest oxbow lakes in Peru, a large body of water surrounded by flooded palm forest (Mauritia flexuosa) and protected by the Peruvian government in the Tambopata National Reserve. Here you can find the endangered Giant River Otter, various species of monkey color-full  parrots and macaws and many other birds species. On our forest hikes we visit the two kind of forest terrain, flood plain forest and terra firme, between which gives us a good chance to find a variety of wildlife.

This makes it a top choice for a few days visit the rainforest, for birders and tourists in general. We include night walks for those who are interested.

We like to make our trips active, for you to make the most of your visit, but that does not mean that your vacation will be torturous as there will also be time to rest and to enjoy the surrounding nature in more relaxed ways. We are happy to try an accommodate individuals with mobility issues, so please make your inquiries and learn about the possibilities.

We try and make every trip as personalized as possible, according to customer’s requests, and are more than happy to accommodate groups well.

Day 1: Puerto Maldonado to Lake Sandoval. Our staff will welcome you at the airport in Puerto Maldonado and drive you through the city to the boat dock on the Tambopata River. Here we board a motorized canoe and head towards the nearby confluence with the mighty Madre de Dios River, the source of the Amazon River. Just 50 minutes down river is the landing port that will lead to Sandoval Lake. We walk a trail of 2 km along which we may find monkeys, birds and butterfly’s. At the end of the hike we take a paddle canoe along a narrow canal through flooded palm tree forest which leads to the open waters of the peaceful Sandoval lake. (motors are prohibited on the lake). Paddle across the lake to our lodge which is beautifully set on the lake edge.  Hot showers are available. (L & D included)

Day 2 -3: We will spend our days exploring in the forest to see it’s impressive flora, with trees such as Brazil Nut and Kapok, the two largest trees in the area. We will visit both flood plain and terra firme forest, a habitat combination makes for great wildlife viewing opportunities,   and of curse go out and explore the lake to maximize our probability of encountering the endangered Giant River Otters. In the evenings we will go and paddle around the lake to look for another endangered species, the Black Caiman a reptile as the North American Alligator. Sandoval lake and the surrounding provides great opportunities to see magnificent animals, particularly monkeys which are everywhere. (B & L & D included).

Day 4 / 5: One morning we will start very early to visit the largest macaw palm lick in the area which can be one of the trip highlights for some people. We will see about 100 parrots and macaws at this natural spectacle, which we will compliment with jungle walks to the best places we know to find rainforest animals. (B & L & D included)

Day 5 we return  to Puerto Maldonado, hotel or airport, enjoying  on the way out  the last sights, sounds and humid aroma of the rainforest !!!! only (B, included)

What to look out for:

Red Howler Monkey, Large-Headed Capuchin, Black-Headed Night Monkey, Weddell’s Saddle-Back Tamarin, Bolivian Black-Capped Squirrel Monkey, Toppin’s Titi Monkey, Shock-Headed Capuchin, and other mammals such as Capybara, Giant River Otter, Tyra, Brow Agouti, Red Brocket Deer, Bicolored-Spined Porcupine, Sloth, Southern Tamandua, Armadillo, and maybe some wild cats.

Top birds include White Throated Toucan, Emerald Toucanet, Amazon Kingfisher, Red-Necked Woodpecker, Blue-Crown Trogon, Paradise Tanager, Blue-Crowned Motmot, Yellow-Tufted Woodpecker, Red-Capped Cardinal, Horned Screamer, Hoatzin, Capped Heron, Wattled Jacana and, King Vulture,

Our trip does not include:

Air Tickets.

Personal expenses such as beverage, telephone call, tips, etc.

Extras not mentioned in the itinerary.