Peru Amazon Wilderness Wildlife and Whitewater Rafting Expedition Tambopata River responsible travel adventure holiday- Aqua-Firma

Wilderness Wildlife and Whitewater - Amazon Rafting expedition

The Rio Tambopata passes through one of the best preserved areas of tropical rainforest in the Amazon. This is an expedition where aside from those in your rafting team, you will not see another human being for days. Travelling by raft and camping along the river edges is one of the most epic wilderness and wildlife journeys you can find in Latin America.

Our expedition begins in the high Andean town of Juliaca, driving down through the Andes and into the spectacular Tambopata canyon. Here exciting rapids take us deep into Peru's Amazon wilderness and areas that are only accessible by raft or canoe.

Previous expeditions have been lucky enough to encounter jaguars, tapir, giant river otters and capybaras. The birdlife is also incredibly rich as this expedition passes through several different climatic zones. The rafts serve as perfect wildlife watching platforms as we enter lush lowland tropical forest.

The journey ends in a comfortable eco-lodge beside the world's largest macaw lick - an unforgettable fusion of colours, feathers and noise. One of the many highlights of your stay here will be a visit to a macaw lick, where these birds comes to eat the earth to top up on their mineral salts.

From the lodge, we take you upriver to the town of Puerto Maldonado. From here we fly you back to Lima to connect with your flight home. If you have time and you would like to explore more of southern Peru, then we can alternatively fly you back to Cusco and arrange further travels such as a trek along the Inca Trail and visit to Machu Picchu.

For further information and more detailed information, please call us on 0844 412 0848 or +44 1428 620012.

Photographs kindly provided by: Paul Cato, Paul Cripps, Ralph Pannell

Adventure Travel - Peru - South America - Wilderness Wildlife & Whitewater - Holiday - Responsible Travel - Rio Tambopata - Lima - Cusco

Draft Itinerary

Day 1

Arrive Lima where you will be met upon arrival and taken to your hotel.

Day 2

Free day in Lima.

Day 3

You will be collected from the hotel and transferred to the airport for your flight to Juliaca. You will be met upon arrival by the rafting team with whom you will drive through the Andes, past llama herds and often glacier topped mountains. You will then descend through Inca terraces and the treeline, and into cloud forest where you will camp for the nigfht or stay at a basic guest house.

Day 4

Early morning you will drive down challenging roads to the permit office. Depending upon water levels and road conditions you will either start rafting from here or descend further to a small village called Curva Alegre. Before rafting starts, you will be able to observe a full expedition set up and receive a detailed briefing in the art of white water rafting. You will be provided with helmets and a life jacket - any gear you don't need in the river can be stored in water tight containers…. and what you don't need until you get to Cusco can be sent ahead on the vehicle.

Days 5 - 9

By day 5 you will have left all civilisation behind you. Your earliest rapids will be class II - III, which are relatively modest but provide plenty of opportunities to practise and get teamwork going on the rafts.

As you descend, more and more tributaries will join the Tambopata. Increased river volume leads to a corresponding increased power in the river so rapids reach peak at Class IV. If you look behind you, you'll see great walls of water close in behind you and thrust you eastwards into a true Amazon wilderness rich in wildlife and devoid of people. You will have plenty of time to find vantage points from which to photograph the following raft … or be one of those in the lead raft being photographed.

You will also have plenty of opportunities to watch for wildlife, walk into completely virgin rainforest and take torch lit night walks into forest which will be growing ever taller along your route. You are likely to see a wide variety of monkeys as well as tapirs, coatamundis, caiman and capybara swimming in the river in front of you. The range of birdlife you will travel amongst will be spectacular, ranging from hummingbird rich cloud forest to the land of macaws, toucans and parakeets in the lowlands. Peru has the second greatest diversity of birds on the Planet and you will have travelled almost a complete transect of Peru's 1,800 species of bird!

Day 10

Your last riverside camp will be where the Rio Tavara joins the Tambopata. The volume of river water will still be increasing, but the incline is quite flat now so added paddling is needed to maintain good progress.

Day 11

Today marks the end of rafting as you transfer to a motorised dugout canoe to comfortable jungle lodge. Here local expert guides will take you for guided walks and there will be plenty of opportunity to enjoy an ice cold drink.

Day 12

Visit the World's largest macaw lick and later take boat to Puerto Maldonado. Overnight in a hotel in this frontier town.

Day 13

Fly Puerto Maldonado - Lima for your international flight home … or if you would like to explore more of southern Peru, then we can fly you back to Cusco and from here we can arrange trips such as a trek along the Inca Trail and to Machu Picchu.

For each person who joins this expedition, we sponsor ¹/₂ acre rainforest on your behalf with our conservation partner, Rainforest Concern.