dossier

Amazon Rainforest Extension

Day 1: Day 1
After flying to Puerto Maldonado on a scheduled flight we transfer to the Tambopata river port for a two hour boat trip by motorized canoe up the Tambopata River to the lodge, arriving early afternoon. The river trip is a good opportunity to observe caiman, turtles and riverine birdlife, such as black skimmer, pied lapwing, capped heron, jabiru stork, roadside hawk, kingfishers, swallows and fly catchers. After a full introduction to the lodge we visit a small parakeet clay lick, where dozens of blue headed parrots, orange cheeked parrots, cobalt winged parrots and sometimes the rare rock parakeet congregate to ingest clay, a riotous and colourful wildlife spectacle.

Day 2: Day 2
We get up at dawn for a short hike to the Tres Chimbadas oxbow lake where we paddle around the lake in search of giant river otters, turtles, hoatzin and wading birds. After lunch we have an ethnobotanical walk with an Ese'eja native who will explain the everyday uses of forest resources. The Ese´eja ethnic group belongs to the Tacana language family, and has traditionally inhabited the Tambopata, Heath, Beni and Madidi river basins in Perú and Bolivia. In 1948, the Ese´eja population was estimated to be 15,000 individuals. Presently, the Ese´eja Community of Infierno, on the Tambopata River has around 400 members, and although other Ese´eja communities exist along the Heath river, a drastic decrease in the population has occurred due to diseases introduced by foreigners and to the atrocities committed during the rubber boom. Ese´eja means, in their tongue, "true people". The Ese´eja are superb river navigators, who traditionally shifted their settlements along the banks of the rivers in their territory, managing to travel up to the headwaters. Thus, Ese´ejas spread the intensity of resource use throughout a territory of millions of hectares, without permanently affecting any particular site: a sustainable use of forest resources. The Ese´eja cosmology holds that humans may live in harmony with nature. Optional night walk to look for amphibians and insects.

Day 3: Day 3
After an early breakfast we visit a second parrot and clay lick, with a different variety of parrots from the first lick. Some of the large macaws, like the red and green macaw, and larger parrots like the mealy and yellow crowned Amazons, visit this lick as well as the smaller parrots and parakeets. We view the birds from a nearby hide. In the afternoon we visit a native slash and burn farm. The secret of the success of this sort of farming is mixed planting in small patches, so that the crops are not decimated by disease and pests spreading through monocultures, the use of a mixture of herbaceous and woody crops, and the genetic diversity of their crops. After our visit, we will be able to understand why the Ese´eja cultivation system is sustainable over the long term.

Day 4: Day 4
Early morning return by boat to Puerto Maldonado and the airport. Fly to Lima, overnight in Lima. (1 night hotel)

Day 5: Day 5
Free day in Lima. Evening flight out of Lima