THE TAMBOPATA RESEARCH CENTER

Also operated by Rainforest Expeditions, the Tambopata Research Center offers five- to seven-day packages where guests will experience a huge range of biodiversity that is comparable to the Parque Nacional Manu or Reserva Nacional Pacaya-Samiria. Compared to those areas, the seven-hour journey up the Río Tambopata is a relatively short trip. It is the only lodge near the Parque Nacional Bahuaja Sonene, a rainforest wilderness the size of Connecticut. The lodge is also 500 meters away from the world’s largest clay lick, where dozens of species of macaws, parrots, and parakeets come to ingest detoxifying mud.

The lodge has 13 double bedrooms with shared bathrooms (no hot water) and, like Posada Amazonas, one wall is completely open to the forest. Programs often include a night at Posada Amazonas, along with visits to a 35-meter canopy tower, oxbow lake with giant otters, the macaw lick, and platforms and observation points in different habitats (in Lima tel. 01/421-8347, postmast@rainforest.com.pe, www.perunature.com).