Heath River Wildlife Centre itinerary
Day 1 Fly to Puerto Maldonado airport and transfer to the port on the Tambopata River. Here we board a motorized canoe for a four-and-a-half hour journey to the Heath River Wildlife Centre.
After descending the Tambopata River to the confluence with the larger Madre de Dios River, our boat heads east, downstream on the mighty Madre de Dios River, passing small gold prospecting barges before reaching the Peru-Bolivia border. This stretch of the Madre de Dios River is particularly attractive, as more than 75% of the riverbank is still covered by towering, virgin rainforest. We transfer to a smaller motorized canoe and head up the narrow Heath River, which forms the wilderness border between Peru and Bolivia, to arrive at the lodge.
Afternoon and evening walks to explore the forest surrounding the lodge in search for the various species of monkeys and hundreds of species of birds that make the rainforest home.
Day 2 Early this morning we journey up the Heath River to the Macaw and Parrot Clay Lick. During the river trip upstream, we nearly always see one or two families of Capybaras on the banks of the river. At 120 pounds (55 kilograms), this simply gigantic relative of the guinea pig is the largest rodent in the world.
Once at our floating blind, our breakfast is served as we see several species of emerald-green and electric-blue parrots and the large blazing Red-and-Green Macaws that arrive in shifts to eat the clay. Note some macaw licks are less active in May, June, and early July than in the rest of the months of the year.
Late morning our native guides take us on an ethno-botanical walk through the forest, explaining how they use many of the forest trees and plants in their daily lives, either as medicines or for bows and arrows and in home construction.
After lunch and a short rest we go first by canoe then a short walk to a natural forest of towering, 170-foot-tall (55-metres-tall) Brazil nut trees to learn how the slight, yet surprisingly powerful, men of the village harvest these nuts, which fall from the treetops encased in rock-hard brown spheres the size of small grapefruits. Our Ese Eja Indian hosts have harvested these delicious, valuable nuts for thousands of years.
Day 3 We breakfast in the floating blind at the macaw and parrot clay lick for a last round of looks and photos. Then we return to the lodge to explore some trails.
Afternoon dedicated to explore the trails. After dinner visit the Mammal lick where we will have good chances to see Tapirs.
Day 4 Early in the morning breakfast time to pack, and then back on the Madre de Dios River, for the trip to Sandoval Lake Lodge, located on the banks of one of the most beautiful lakes in Amazonian Peru. During the river trip back downstream, families of Capybaras are often spotted on the banks of the river. Weighing up to 120 pounds (55 kilograms), this giant, three-toed relative of the guinea pig is the largest rodent in the world.
On the journey to Sandoval Lake Lodge we will also visit the Ese'Eja native community of Sonene, where there will be an opportunity to gain an insight into the community’s life and purchase local handicrafts.
We embark at the trail head to Sandoval Lake Lodge and walk for 45 minutes on a wide, flat trail through the forest, stopping to look at birds, butterflies, and towering trees. At the end of the trail, we board dugout canoes or catamarans, and are paddled across the lake in the golden afternoon light. We drift through flooded palm forest and listen to the babbling of Red-bellied Macaws overhead as they roost in treetops for the night. We arrive at the lodge around nightfall, and walk up the torch-lit path to dinner in the dining hall.
Day 5 After a dawn breakfast, we paddle across the lake, perhaps encountering a family of macaws leaving their roost to forage or a troupe of monkeys greeting the day. We hike back out to the river and return to Puerto Maldonado for the flight back to Cusco or Lima.
You could extend your trip by trekking the Inca Trail. Check out our Peru group trips, or our many tailor made Peru options. You can always contact the office for more information on tailor made and group options.
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