Puerto Maldonado Amazon Tours take you on a tour of a fantastically diverse tropical paradise. Dotted with more clay licks than anywhere else in the Amazon Rainforest, Puerto Maldonado is gifted with almost guaranteed wildlife sightings to show off the rainforest’s wildlife - from large and brightly colored macaw parrots to the mysterious tapir, the largest land mammal in South America. Other animals enjoy these licks as well, such as monkeys, parakeets and capybara.
Clay licks are areas of exposed clay that are usually found along the banks of rivers. Also known as colpas due to their salt content, the licks are where many different animals feed on medicinal clay, which helps neutralise toxic chemicals found in a diet of diverse fruits and seeds. Not only eaten for medicinal properties, the clays are also great places to replenish much needed salts.
Many animals are known to visit clay licks and the most famous in the Amazon are the flocks of parrots and parakeets. After noticing the animals that visit the different areas of exposed clay, tour lodges have been quick to show off the best ones for iconic Amazon animals, such as the large macaws and other parrots, parakeets, and tapir.
Not only a great place to see clay licks, Puerto Maldonado’s Amazon is also home to fantastic lakes, such as Sandoval Lake near the Sandoval Lake Lodge where you can see many different Amazon Rainforest animals. Oxbow lakes are where the tributaries of the Amazon once flowed but changed direction. Sometimes this leaves a fantastic arc-shaped lake that draws an abundance of forest life to the fresh water and fruit trees. The lake areas are usually home to abundant animals, such as monkeys, water birds, hoatzins, caiman, arapaima, and you can sometimes find resident, highly social giant otters. The closest, most attractive and wildlife-rich lake to Puerto Maldonado is Sandoval located inside the Tambopata National Reserve. The best way to visit this lake is to enjoy a short stay at the wonderful Sandoval Lake Lodge to make the most of your visit.
One of the special features of Puerto Maldonado over other Amazon areas is that fantastic wildlife sightings are found only 20 minutes from Puerto Maldonado itself. Usually in the Amazon, you will need a 3 or 4 hour boat ride before reaching your base lodge, but here you can be at Sandoval Lake Lodge or Posada Amazonas after a 20 to 40 minute boat ride. These are two of the top Amazon lodges for short tours and offer fantastic lake tours for sightings of lake birds, caiman, macaws, several different monkeys and giant amazon otters.
The Posada Amazonas Lodge
Puerto Maldonado, PeruAt the Posada Amazonas Lodge, enjoy a comfortable experience of Peru’s Amazon Rainforest from Puerto Maldonado. Because of the position inside the Es...
- Comfort Lodge, Short Travel Time
From $ 760
/ personThe Amazon Rainforest around Puerto Maldonado is protected by the Tambopata National Reserve, which is part of one of the world’s largest tracts of intact and protected tropical forest. Here you can find an inexhaustible treasure trove of wildlife sightings with the forests containing one of the highest levels of animals and plants on Earth. Because of the clay licks, magnificent lakes and protected areas, sightings of big cats increases, as well as sightings of macaw parrots, different monkeys, giant river otters, and a multitude of other tropical life.
The Tambopata section of this incredible forest contains around 1500,000 hectares of tropical forest protecting a great number of animals, including many species hard to spot in other Amazon areas due to hunting. Explore deep rainforest areas of Puerto Maldonado’s rainforest from excellent lodges such as Tambopata Research Center located near large macaw clay lick.
The Tambopata Research Center
Puerto Maldonado, PeruPositioned in the middle of the wildlife-rich Tambopata National Reserve, near one of the largest macaw clay licks in the Amazon Rainforest, you will ...
- Deep Rainforest Lodge, Access to Tambopata's Macaw Claylicks
From $ 1,350
/ personIn short, the Puerto Maldonado Amazon is a fantastic section of Amazon Rainforest to visit and will provide a lifetimes of memories. Enjoy a great taste of the Amazon Rainforest while staying at some the Amazon’s best rainforest lodges.
Ash Card
Tour Advisor @TourTheTropicsAsh Card is a frequent visitor to the Tropics and has a passion for helping visitors get the best experiences from tropical locations. Ash is a contributor and tour advisor at TourTheTropics.com. Feel free to contact Ash for tour help in the tropics. When not helping tourists with tours and info, Ash can be found traveling, on wildlife tours or salsa dancing. Ash has completed a BSc in Biology, a Master’s degree in Zoology, and has undertaken a research scholarship at a world-class university on animal behavior. He has published scientific research in the Australian Journal of Zoology and the Journal of Behavioral Ecology. His goal is to help a global society live in balance with the natural world.
