PROGRAMS SANDOVAL LAKE LODGE

The Tambopata National Reserve and the adjacent Bahuaje-Sonene National Park, is home to over 20,000 plant species, over 900 species of birds (more than all the species in the continental USA), 91 mammals, 1230 butterflies, 127 amphibians and reptiles, and much more! It is also a haven for the Amazon's largest, most spectacular and most endangered predators - the Jaguar, the Giant Otter, the Harpy Eagle and the Black Caiman.

In the following you find examples for a 2-day, 3-day and 4-day program.

Day 1: Puerto Maldonado - Sandoval Lake Lodge
Transfer from Puerto Maldonado airport to the river port on the Madre de Dios River. A 25 minutes journey down the Madre de Dios River by motor canoe brings you to the end of the trail in to Sandoval Lake Lodge. From here the trail takes you on a 2-mile walk/or rickshaw ride through secondary forest, until you reach a small canal where you board canoes and are paddled through a flooded forest of 100-foot tall Mauritia palms. As the canal opens onto the shimmering surface of the lake, you are transferred to a catamaran and are leisurely paddled across half the lake to the lodge. After lunch and a brief rest you board once again the catamaran and set off to explore the entire west end of the lake. Here, in the flooded palm forest you drift on the boat to the sounds of hundreds of Red-Bellied Macaws as they return to the palm forest for the night. You return to the lodge around nightfall for dinner. Afterterwards you return to the canoes to look for the large and extremely rare Black Caimans. If it is a clear starlit night, you are also able to float in the middle of the lake and marvel at the brillance of the sky.

Day 2: Paddle tour - Puerto Maldonado
After a dawn breakfast you take a final, shorter paddle around the west end of the lake to try and glimpse the Giant Otters before returning to Puerto Maldonado.

TOP

Day 1: Puerto Maldonado - Sandoval Lake Lodge
Transfer from Puerto Maldonado airport to the river port on the Madre de Dios River. A 25 minutes journey down the Madre de Dios River by motor canoe brings you to the end of the trail in to Sandoval Lake Lodge. From here the trail takes you on a 2-mile walk/or rickshaw ride through secondary forest, until we reach a small canal where we board canoes and are paddled 220 yards through a flooded forest of 100-foot tall Mauritia palms. As the canal opens onto the shimmering surface of the lake, we transfer to a catamaran and are leisurely paddled across half the lake to the lodge.
After lunch and a brief rest to avoid the early afternoon heat, we once again board the catamaran and set off to explore the entire west end of the lake. Here, in the flooded palm forest we drift to the sounds of hundreds of Red-Bellied Macaws as they return to the palm forest for the night. We return to the lodge around nightfall for dinner. After dinner we will return to the canoes to look for the large and extremely rare Black Caimans. If it is a clear starlit night, we will also be able to float in the middle of the lake and marvel at the brillance of the sky.

Day 2: Fishing trip - Botanical tour
A pre-dawn wake-up call will enable you to be on the lake for sunrise and hopefully encounter the family of Giant Otters, which frequent the lake and are most active at this daytime. Most of the fish-eating water birds around the lake actively fish in the early morning as well. After returning for a late breakfast you set off into the cool understory of the tall virgin forest near the lake to see some towering wild Brazil Nut trees and a demonstration of how your hosts collect, open and commercialize this important natural product. After lunch you once again board the catamaran to explore the eastern part of the lake, where you might see one or more of the five species of monkeys, which live in the forest near the lake. There is a final chance after dinner to try and spot some Black Caimans on the lake, or to go on a short night walk through the primary forest.

Day 3:Paddle tour - Puerto Maldonado
After a dawn breakfast you take a final, shorter paddle around the west end of the lake to try and glimpse the Giant Otters before returning to Puerto Maldonado.

TOP

Day 1: Puerto Maldonado - Sandoval Lake Lodge
Transfer from Puerto Maldonado airport to the river port on the Madre de Dios River. A 25 minutes journey down the Madre de Dios River by motor canoe brings you to the end of the trail in to Sandoval Lake Lodge. From here the trail takes you on a 2-mile walk/or rickshaw ride through secondary forest, until we reach a small canal where we board canoes and are paddled 220 yards through a flooded forest of 100-foot tall Mauritia palms. As the canal opens onto the shimmering surface of the lake, we transfer to a catamaran and are leisurely paddled across half the lake to the lodge. After lunch and a brief rest to avoid the early afternoon heat, we once again board the catamaran and set off to explore the entire west end of the lake. Here, in the flooded palm forest we drift to the sounds of hundreds of Red-Bellied Macaws as they return to the palm forest for the night. We return to the lodge around nightfall for dinner. After dinner we will return to the canoes to look for the large and extremely rare Black Caimans. If it is a clear starlit night, we will also be able to float in the middle of the lake and marvel at the brilliance of the sky.

Day 2: Fishing trip - Botanical tour
A pre-dawn wake-up call will enable us to be on the lake for sunrise and a hopeful encounter with the family of Giant Otters which frequent the lake and are most active at this time of day. Most of the fish-eating water birds around the lake actively fish in the early morning, as well, and this outing should provide excellent views, and photographs, of the prehistoric- looking Hoatzins. After returning for a late breakfast we set off into the cool understory of the tall virgin forest near the lake to see some towering wild Brazil Nut trees and a demonstration of how our hosts collect, open and commercialize this important natural product. After lunch and an hour or so to relax we once again board the catamaran to explore the eastern part of the lake, where we might see one or more of the five species of monkeys which live in the forest near the lake, such as the Brown Capuchin Monkey. There is a final chance after dinner to try and spot some Black Caimans on the lake, or to go on a short night walk through the primary forest.

Day 3: Lake tour
Rising once again at dawn, you snack before boarding the catamarans to explore the western end of the lake in the hope of encountering Giant Otters. After a late breakfast you explore some of the rain forest trails with a knowledgeable resident naturalist guide. You return for lunch. In the cooler late afternoon you will once again board the catamaran to explore the eastern end of the lake, and hopefully experience a spectacular sunset over the lake before returning to the lodge for dinner. Later on there is the final chance to look for Black Caiman on the lake, or to go on a short night hike through the forest.

Day 4: Paddle tour - Puerto Maldonado
After a dawn breakfast you take a final, shorter paddle around the west end of the lake to try and glimpse the Giant Otters before returning to Puerto Maldonado.

TOP

Back to the Sandoval Lake Lodge
Back to additional rainforest programs

TOP