Rainforest Expeditions Upgrades Guest Comforts Adds New Activities for Spotting Creatures in Peruvian Amazon
OutdoorHub 01.21.13
Peru’s visionary leader in sustainable tourism, Rainforest Expeditions http://www.perunature.com/, announces accommodations upgrades and additions at two of its three eco lodges, the addition of sunset river trips, a new and secluded bungalow in the Amazon jungle offering total immersion with surprising luxury, and more.
Rainforest Expeditions has since 1980 created a work-in-process for exploring the miracles of the Tambopata–Candamo Reserved Zone, 1.5 million hectares of pristine, still-wild tropical rainforest encompassing an area of land the size of Connecticut and stretching from the Andean highlands to the Amazon lowlands.
Accommodations Upgrades
Most recently, six rooms of Posada Amazonas’ 30 rooms and eight rooms of Refugio Amazonas’ 33 rooms will be converted by May 13 to a new Superior category inclusive of added comfort and amenities.
All Superior rooms are single, double or twin, as requested, and come with a signature windowless verandah. They are built of such local materials as wood, bamboo, adobe mud and palm trees. The rooms are appointed with a bed with a mosquito net, a spacious private bathroom with on demand hot water, a hammock and bedside table. Electric lighting is available evenings when electronic devices can be charged. Free internet is available in all guest rooms. The décor of the Superior rooms at both lodges is based on Yanchama, a natural bark that is harvested by artisans from the indigenous Ese’eja Community of Infierno. Each visitor has access to a personal safe-deposit box, an umbrella for rain and a special set of eco-friendly amenities.
An upgrade at all Rainforest Expeditions accommodations is a low-consumption, on-demand, propane-heated hot water system installed in all guest accommodations.
New Amazon Villa
An Amazon Villa scheduled to open this winter is a 15-minute boat ride up the Tambopata River from the Refugio Amazonas Lodge, then another 10 minutes by trail. This 180-square-meter bungalow in the middle of the nowhere wraps guests in views of the surrounding forest. There are no neighbors and contact with the non-Amazonian world is optional. The secluded accommodation has a king bed with optional additional double bed, a large closet, two hammocks, luxury towels and sheets, hypoallergenic pillows, a fully equipped private dining lounge, spacious bathroom with hot water and bathtub, 24-hour electricity, a ceiling fan, free Internet and cable TV upon request. Guests have access to a personal safe, an umbrella for the rain, a special set of eco-friendly amenities, a rechargeable flashlight and a courtesy bottle of white wine. Services include private dining, a private guide, telescope and binoculars.
Sunset Cruises
A new sunset wildlife spotting add-on can now be arranged with a trained guide on a two-hour boat ride from the Tambopata Research Center. Light snacks are provided. The per person rate (in a shared boat) at each of the lodges is $85. See: http://www.perunature.com/tambopata-sunset-cruise.html
New Transfer Boats and Shorter TRC Package
New motorized canoes with high tech 75 hp, 4 stroke engines can now make trip downstream from the most distant lodge, Tambopata Research Center (TRC) to Puerto Maldonado in just 5 hours. New scheduling now allows for a three-night jungle adventure at the TRC (instead of the previously required five). The per person double rate is $665. http://www.perunature.com/tambopata-research-center-4d3n.html
Rainforest Expeditions is a Peruvian company that through conservation and ecotourism is helping to protect some of the last untouched lowland and premontane tropical humid forests in the Amazon.
Since 1989, guests of first one and now three Rainforest Expedition eco-lodges have added value to the region’s standing tropical rainforest. A sensitively conceived and managed (in some cases by native communities) touristic infrastructure creates a competitive alternative to such unsustainable economic uses as clear cutting the forest for timber or for cattle grazing. The partnerships Rainforest Expeditions has forged with local people eager to share Amazonian traditions with guests provide connection, expertise, adventure and access to wildlife in the jungles of Tambopata. Rainforest Expeditions has been verified and certified “a sustainable tourism business” by the Rainforest Alliance http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/.
Rainforest Expeditions’ string of three jungle lodges is accessed from Puerto Maldonado airport with flights arriving daily from Lima or Cusco. Motorized wooden canoes then take guests on a 45-minute trip to the first lodge, Posada Amazonas. Refugio Amazonas, the second lodge, is a 3.5-hour boat trip from Puerto Maldonado. The third and most remote is Tambopata Research Center, requiring a 4-hour additional upriver boat ride from Refugio Amazonas. Each lodge is only a few minutes on foot from the river bank.
