Just because you’ve settled down and had kids doesn’t mean the adventurous days are over. Traveling with the family can be an adventure unlike any other in all sorts of ways and a more valuable and meaningful travel experience for everyone!
This 4-day Family Adventure in Tambopata offers a perfect mix of adventure and education for the whole family, including age-appropriate activities and facilities with amenities designed for families on the go. Also, you will have the chance to support a local conservation program near Puerto Maldonado and make your trip to Peru even more significant!
And, if you want to discover other similar experiences in this part of Peru, we recommend having a look at our tours in the regions of Manu and Tambopata. Or, if you are unsure of where exactly you want to go yet, just have a look at all of our tours and activities in the Peruvian Amazon.
It will take approximately 3 hours to get from the pickup point* to the lodge, but don’t worry you will never get bored during this Family Adventure in Tambopata. You will drive through paved roads, looking at settler farms and old-growth forests. And also, you will navigate the Madre de Dios river for a while to reach your destination in the middle of the rainforest. Where later, the real adventure will begin…
You will spend a captivating and enigmatic adventure with your family. This is great for kids because it’s fairly short and there are lots of opportunities to explore. At first, you might feel a bit nervous about taking invisible steps in the dark through the jungle, but once you let go, you and your children are likely to soon get comfortable with the dark.
Get ready to see the other side of Amazon. After the sun goes down, the jungle takes on a different feel. It is still the same peaceful and fascinating forest that you saw during the day, but more mysterious. Prepare to wrap yourself in this environment and surround yourself with the deep darkness and the different sounds of the Amazon.
No one can tell you what kind of creature you will face during the night walk. You may have a chance to find some insects, spiders, frogs, reptiles, and mammals. But you can also spy on incredible and peculiar creatures with extraordinary adaptations to nocturnal life.
Ultimately, there will be a sense of bravery, joy, and relief. You won’t regret this first-night adventure.
* You can be picked up from the airport or the bus station of Puerto Maldonado (make sure to arrive before the tour starts to be able to take part in this experience)
On the second day, you will head downriver to a wonderful spot where you will have breakfast while hundreds of macaws feed on the mud and clay of a ravine. A one of a kind show that will arouse your curiosity and interest in learning more about the species that you can find in the jungle. Many children are fascinated by birds. Birds come in all colors of the rainbow and different shapes and sizes. Give your children the chance to see real, live birds right in front of them, this will be an exciting adventure.
Hereafter we will start the return towards the lodge on the Tambopata River where you can take a short break.
Gather your young ones and share some valuable time because, after lunch, you will go on an ethnobotanical walk. You will walk into a wilderness area and learn how, through thousands of years of trial and error, indigenous groups in the area yielded a wealth of knowledge of which plants are edible and nutritious, which are poisonous, and which have healing properties.
After a long but satisfying day, you will go looking for caimans along the banks of the Tambopata River, an exciting opportunity to keep discovering creatures the young ones can confuse with the all-time kiddie fave — dinosaurs. You will again sleep in the same lodge as on day 1.
Although on day 3 you will start your return trip to Puerto Maldonado, this Family Adventure in Tambopata is not over yet.
After breakfast, the guide will give you a talk and a brief training session before heading down the river with the kayaks until you reach a nearby beach, where you can bathe in the river. A rewarding experience for everyone in the family. Throughout the route, you will be surrounded by vegetation and will have the opportunity to observe wildlife.
This activity can be done by people of all physical conditions. But special measures will always be taken so that the little ones are not at risk. It will start little by little, trying to keep the stress levels of all participants low. You will navigate following the current, always accompanied by a guide and a rescue boat that will be watching at a certain distance.
After lunch and a little rest, you will go to the Amazon Adventure complex where you and your family will enjoy different adventure activities among the trees, such as crossing from one tree to another through suspension bridges, zip lines, ropes, etc.
It’s the last day of the Family Adventure in Tambopata. Wake up early and enjoy your breakfast, because after that you will be transferred back to the airport or the bus station to make your way home or to your next destination.
The Tambopata National Reserve has been especially vulnerable since the construction of the Interoceanic Highway in 2011. Tourism provides an economic alternative to people in the area that has a much lesser impact on the environment than other activities such as (illegal) logging, mining, farming, etc.
The lodge you will visit on this trip is located within the buffer zone of the Tambopata National Reserve, surrounded by the approximately 3,000-hectare conservation concession, close to the Bahuaja Sonene National Park. A portion of the receipts coming from your booking goes into the protection and the research projects of the area. In 2022, the German NGO Wilderness International partnered up with the lodge and is now helping to protect the area!
All the facilities are an example of local architecture and were built with materials from the area. It is a unique experience, helping to understand the natural surroundings better, as well as the importance of keeping the area protected for generations to come.
This Family Adventure in Tambopata is not very demanding, However, please keep in mind that the weather conditions in the jungle are not what most of us are used to: it gets hot and very humid and mosquitos love it here. So, don’t forget to stay hydrated, wear a hat or a cap and use insect repellent. Feel free to look at our general packing list for the jungle.
While navigating through the rivers near the Tambopata Natural Reserve you must be prepared for hot and humid conditions, which are more or less the rule. Still, rainy days can lower the temperatures quite a lot, or extraordinary events called “friaje” or Antarctic winds could ruin your plans of sweating the hell out of you.
Find more info about climates in Peru in our blog “Best Time to Travel to Peru“.
Passengers should carry preferably only a backpack for the first two days in the jungle lodge. The rest will remain at the hotel in Puerto Maldonado, where you will stay on the third night and then be able to retrieve your luggage.
Visit a travel doctor who can give you professional advice on what vaccinations may be necessary. If you go into the Amazon jungle, a yellow fever injection is obligatory and malaria recommended as well as a shot for the common flu might be requested by the local authorities.
All the facilities are an example of local architecture and were built with materials from the area. They are very well equipped and allows you to get a real jungle experience here, which is highly interesting.
The Family Adventure in Tambopata operates all year round except for Christmas (24th and 25th December). Also, we recommend you avoid traveling during the rainy season (December to March) in the area.
The use of drones is possible but restricted. In the lodge, it is possible to fly drones, but with prior authorization from the administrator, analyzing case by case. During the visit to the Reserve, the use of drones is terminally prohibited.
For questions about booking a tour, prices, preparation for your trip, health and safety or other themes, please check our Frequently Asked Questions page. If you can’t find your question & answer, email us and we’ll add it!
Alvaro was born in Peru and studied Tourism and Business. His parents, Mario and Abigail founded the lodge around the time he was born and they made it their life project, putting in a lot of work and passion. Now, they are retiring and leaving it in the hands of the next generation. Alvaro is more than happy and proud to continue their work.
He left his town to go study in Lima when he was younger, but he always wanted to come back. Chiefly because he wanted to work in the jungle, and help with the conservation of this area. He says some of the most beautiful memories he has are the ones from the jungle during his childhood years. Consequently, he is always excited to show the area to more people so they create their memories too.
“…when you are visiting a place as pristine as the Amazon rainforest you have to do everything you can to lessen the impact of your visit and help conserve the forest.” – Alvaro Troncoso
