Great Escapes
Rainforest Expeditions

Rainforest Expeditions

Madre de Dios, Peru

  • Forest
  • Waterside
  • Rural
  • Wildlife
  • Nature
££pp / nightVisit website

Four Amazon lodges co-owned with the Ese Eja community of Infierno

Rainforest Expeditions runs four lodges along the Tambopata River in Madre de Dios, on the edge of the Tambopata National Reserve and Bahuaja Sonene National Park, some of the most biodiverse forest on earth. Posada Amazonas is the best known, a joint venture with the Ese Eja community of Infierno signed in 1996 that shares ownership and profits with the village. Further upriver, Refugio Amazonas suits families, and Tambopata Research Center sits alone beside the Chuncho clay lick, where hundreds of macaws gather at first light.

Rooms are open fronted onto the forest, screened by mosquito nets, lit softly and cooled by the river air, with hot showers and, improbably, good wifi. Guides are almost all local and outstanding. Days are yours to choose: canopy towers, oxbow lakes with giant otters, night walks, clay licks, medicinal plant trails, and citizen science with the researchers who run the long standing Tambopata Macaw Project.

Sustainability

Climate & conservation

  • Habitat protection, The lodges sit beside the Tambopata National Reserve and are managed as wildlife refuges, with concessions kept under forest cover.
  • Sustainable build, Lodges are built from local timber and thatch, open sided to cut cooling needs, with low impact water and waste systems.
  • Limits plastic use, Guests use refillable bottles rather than single use plastic through the trip.

Community & culture

  • Indigenous-led, Posada Amazonas is co-owned and co-managed with the Ese Eja Native Community of Infierno.
  • Employs local people, Guides, boat crews and lodge teams are recruited and trained from nearby communities.
  • Education, Resident researchers run talks and citizen science with guests, and local young people train as guides.

Commercial

  • Reinvests back into the community and or environment, Posada Amazonas shares profits with the Infierno community under a long term agreement, and research is funded from tourism.

In brief

Price bracket
££
Type of property
Rainforest ecolodge operator
No. of rooms
Open fronted rooms across four lodges, from around 30 rooms at Posada Amazonas to 24 at Tambopata Research Center.
Max guests per room
Cabin-style rooms, mostly for 2
Facilities
Bar, Massage centre, Boutique, Canopy tower, Oxbow-lake access
Activities
Guided jungle hikes, Birdwatching, Wildlife/jaguar spotting, Community visits, Canopy tower, Zipline
Setting
Rainforest, riverside, national reserve

Best time to visit

  • Jan
  • Feb
  • Mar
  • Apr
  • May
  • Jun
  • Jul
  • Aug
  • Sep
  • Oct
  • Nov
  • Dec

Dry season May to October is most comfortable, though wildlife viewing is good year round

Kids

Family friendly; promotional offers have included up to 2 children under 10 free sharing with parents, with extra children discounted; the open-air room design suits families comfortable with basic jungle accommodation

Accessibility

Lodges are accessed by flight, road transfer and river boat, with a 10-15 minute walk from the river; rooms are open-fronted with no windows and reached via wooden walkways, not step-free or suited to limited mobility

Madre de Dios, Peru

££pp / night Visit website

Guide price · £ <£100 · ££ £100–300 · £££ £300–800 · ££££ £800+ pp / night