The Tahuayo Lodge Tour
From the Tahuayo Lodge, you will explore the Amazon Rainforest’s wildlife-rich Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Reserve with a private guide on a custom itinerary.
On our Tahuayo Lodge Amazon tour, you will be met by Tahuayo Lodge staff at Iquitos airport and will travel 150 km from Iquitos city, northern Peru, and deep into the rainforest. Since 1981, the award-winning lodge has operated highly acclaimed tours of the western Amazon Rainforest to find many different animals and plants.
Researchers have found that this side of Amazonia contains the most wildlife, which makes it a great place to experience this incredible forest. You will experience one of the world’s most wildlife-rich areas to see many different monkeys, colorful birds, interesting reptiles, and much more.
On tours of 6 days and over, you can enjoy both the Tahuayo Lodge and the Tahuayo Lodge Amazon Research Center where you can find a 1000 acre monkey research grid to see different monkeys and other wildlife. However, if you choose to spend fewer days at the lodge, you will be limited to the main Tahuayo Lodge area where there is still a lot of things to see and do, such as canoeing the lakes, wildlife walks, and enjoying the canopy zipline.
The Tahuayo Lodge is one of the only Rainforest Alliance Certified lodges in the Amazon Rainforest and the only lodge in the wildlife-rich Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Reserve. There are enough qualified English speaking men and women guides so every guest can have an itinerary customized to their needs and interests.
If you have specific things to see and do in mind e.g. family tours, photography or bird watching, let us know using the ‘check availability’ tab and we will assign a guide with this specialty.
Our guide Aladino was extra special. He is an extraordinary human being with his deep knowledge and life experience of local culture and a fantastic communicator to visitors.
- Henry
For: The Tahuayo LodgeThe Tahuayo Lodge Accommodation
The Tahuayo Lodge accommodation is rustic yet comfortable. The lodge has 15 rooms, and you can be assigned either a honeymoon cabin (single large bed), a cabin with two beds, or a family cabin with one large bed and several single beds dependent on which you prefer and availability.
In addition to the bedrooms, dining room, laboratory, and library, there is also a hammock room to relax and socialize. Some electricity is provided for guests by solar panels and batteries. The lighting at the lodge is provided by solar panels, but it is best to bring a torch just in case. You can recharge batteries using the lodge generator, provided for this purpose. The electrical outlets are for Peru 220v plugs and US 110v plugs.
Dining
The Tahuayo Lodge culinary staff receive frequent compliments on food quality and special diets can be accommodated with prior knowledge. The staff prepares food under hygienic conditions so you can eat foods at the Tahuayo Lodge not recommended in other areas of South America, such as salads and unpeeled fruit.
The Tahuayo Lodge Tour Summary
Choose a tour from 4 days or more, but note that the Tahuayo Lodge also has the Tahuayo Lodge Research Center you can visit, which is located in more pristine rainforest.
With both of these excellent lodges in the Tamshiyacu and with so much to see and do, we recommend tours of a week and over. Because you have the option of customizing your tour, you will first sit down with your guide to discuss your interests and possible itinerary options.
After this, your tour is shaped around you. Please mention any specific interests on our inquiry form and we will aim to assign you a guide with this specialty. As the only accommodation in the Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Reserve, the Tahuayo Lodge provides a base to experience the reserve's rainforest and incredible wildlife.
The Tahuayo Reserve protects a high diversity of species and you will head out with your professional private guide to see many different animals, such as:
- Squirrel monkeys
- Capuchins
- Titi monkeys
- Small pygmy marmosets
- Three-toed and two-toed sloths
- Different tanagers
- Macaws
- Toucans
- Black caiman
- Many different kingfishers
- Iguana
- Pink dolphins
- Brightly colored poison dart frogs
Customize the activities to your interests or let our professional guides suggest a general experience. The activities you can choose from include walks in remote terra firma forest, viewing or swimming with pink dolphins, finding feeding macaw parrots, kayaking Amazon tributaries, visiting Amazon communities, finding poison dart frogs, jungle survival, observing abundant monkeys on our 1000 acre research grid, enjoying our canopy zipline system, and fishing for piranha.
Video Introduction
Tour Info
- Country: Peru
- Focus Area: Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Reserve
- Duration: 6 days+
- Start Point: Iquitos Airport (IQT)
- End Point: Iquitos Airport (IQT)
Tour Highlights
- Two Unique Lodges & Trail Grid
- You will be assigned a private naturalist jungle guide who will customize your itinerary to your daily needs and interests.
- New Canopy Experience
- We helped to establish the Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Regional Conservation Area and are still active in its management. Because of this, we are the only business permitted by the Peruvian Government to have a lodge inside the conservation area.
- Unparalleled access to the 1+ million-acre Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo Regional Conservation Area (ACRCTT). This region has been described by biologists as having the greatest biodiversity yet documented in the Amazon Basin.
- All guides certified in wilderness first aid, fluent in English, and frequently given classroom training by doctoral-level biologists.
More About The Tahuayo Lodge
- The Tahuayo Amazon Research Center is formally recognized and registered as a research institution by Peru’s scientific council, CONCYTEC (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacion)
- In December 2019, the Tahuayo Lodge was granted the Antonio Brack Egg Award (Premio Nacional Ambiental). This is the highest recognition Peru grants for contributions to environmental protection, sustainable management of natural resources. and environmental conservation.
- In 2018 the Tahuayo Lodge became Rainforest Alliance Certified
- The Tahuayo Lodge was the only jungle lodge out of Iquitos to win Trip Advisor’s Certificate of Excellence every year from 2012 to 2020.
- The Tahuayo Lodge was mentioned on the Places to Stay list (page 60) in the May 2012 issue of National Geographic Traveler “50 Tours of a Lifetime.
- A feature article in Science Illustrated describes the trail grid and work at the Tahuayo Amazon Research Center Lodge, investigating population dynamics of primate species and population density of jaguar, as important research in the conservation of these species.
- The lodge won Citation of Honor from Peru’s Dept. of Industry and Tourism for 'adherence to exceptional standards in the field of tourism.'
- The Guide to Peruvian Birds mentions the Tahuayo Lodge as the best place in Peru to see the Rufous-winged Wood Rail, the Rufous-necked Puffbird and other species.
The Tahuayo Lodge Itinerary
Choose your itinerary
Click a duration to see the day-by-day programme for this tour.
Other itinerary lengths may be available — send a request to check options and pricing.
Day 1
Arrive in Iquitos & Transfer to Tahuayo Lodge
Tahuayo Lodge staff meet you at Iquitos Airport and transfer you to their dock complex in the city, about 30 minutes by road. From there a speedboat takes you up the Amazon River and onto the Tahuayo tributary, a journey of up to four hours into the heart of the reserve. On arrival at the lodge you meet your private guide and get a full orientation. If you arrive in the morning you head straight out for an afternoon excursion followed by a night outing of your choice. Plan to land in Iquitos before 2pm to make the most of the first day.
Day 2
Explore the Tahuayo Reserve
Your private guide builds the day around your interests, choosing from more than a dozen excursions across the Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Reserve. Morning birding sessions cover a region with more than 600 recorded species. Boat trips along the Tahuayo River turn up sloths, macaws, neotropical river otters and several monkey species including saki, titi, squirrel and the world's smallest monkey, the eastern pygmy marmoset. The flooded igapo and varzea forests offer a different kind of exploration entirely, while the Canopy Experience puts you on six platforms and four ziplines more than 30 metres above the forest floor. After dark, night excursions on foot and by boat go looking for caimans, tarantulas, snakes and tree frogs. Fishing, cultural community visits and dolphin lake trips round out the options. Just tell your guide what you want to see.
Day 3
A Second Full Day at the Lodge
Another full day at the Tahuayo Lodge with access to every excursion available yesterday. Most guests find two days here goes fast. The Despensa Creek Monkey Trail is a full day hike through several ecosystems rich in primates and birds, and the Frog Valley excursion travels up the Rio Blanco into terra firme forest to search for poison dart frogs, harlequin toads and leaf cutter ants. The Tahuampa flooded forest is worth a canoe trip for hoatzins, black caimans and giant fishing spiders. Dolphin Lake and the nearby Cocha oxbow lakes offer good chances for Amazon pink dolphins, ospreys and wading birds. Your guide plans the day around whatever you didn't get to on day two.
Day 4
Transfer to the Amazon Research Center
Depart the main lodge by boat this morning for the Amazon Research Center, about two hours further upriver into a far more remote section of the reserve. The ARC is formally recognised as a research institution by Peru's national science council CONCYTEC, and sits within a vast trail grid covering more than 75 kilometres of paths through igapo ecosystems, restinga and palm swamp. Accommodation is private and comfortable with shared bathrooms. This afternoon you begin exploring that trail grid. Camera trap records from this area confirm a high density of jaguar, and the forest holds brown and white capuchins, woolly monkeys, saki, titi and occasionally the rare red bald headed uakari. The lakes and river channels here are also among the best places in Peru to find giant river otters and anaconda.
Day 5
Deep Reserve Exploration from the ARC
A full day working from the Research Center, where the trails are quieter and wildlife pressure is lower than at the main lodge. The Uakari Camp hike pushes beyond the trail grid into Mauritia palm forest, a fruiting habitat that pulls in tapir, peccary and with some luck the red bald headed uakari. The Lake Yarina hike is a full day round trip with good sightings of blue and yellow macaws, nesting hoatzins and caimans. On the water, the cochas and river channels near the ARC are the best opportunity across the whole trip to find giant river otters. Night excursions on the trail grid and the Tahuayo River by canoe are consistently productive for caimans, frogs and snakes.
Day 6
Return to Iquitos
Depart the Amazon Research Center by boat in the morning, travelling back down through the reserve to the main lodge and continuing the speedboat transfer to Iquitos, up to four hours in total. Staff transfer you to the airport or your hotel on arrival. Plan for a departure flight of 4pm or later to allow comfortable time for the river journey. If you need an earlier flight, let your guide know the night before and the team will work with you to sort it out.
Day 1
Arrive in Iquitos & Transfer to Tahuayo Lodge
Tahuayo Lodge staff meet you at Iquitos Airport and transfer you to their dock complex in the city, about 30 minutes by road. From there a speedboat takes you up the Amazon River and onto the Tahuayo tributary, a journey of up to four hours into the heart of the reserve. On arrival you meet your private guide and get a full orientation. If you arrive in the morning you head straight out for an afternoon excursion followed by a night outing of your choice. Plan to land in Iquitos before 2pm to make the most of the first day.
Day 2
Explore the Tahuayo Reserve
Your private guide builds the day around your interests, choosing from more than a dozen excursions across the Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Reserve. Morning birding sessions cover a region with more than 600 recorded species in lowland Amazon forest. Boat trips along the Tahuayo River turn up sloths, macaws, neotropical river otters and several monkey species including saki, titi, squirrel and the eastern pygmy marmoset, the world's smallest monkey. The flooded igapo and varzea forests reward slower exploration, while the Canopy Experience puts you on six platforms and four ziplines more than 30 metres above the forest floor. After dark, night excursions on foot and by boat go looking for caimans, tarantulas, snakes and tree frogs. Fishing, cultural community visits and dolphin lake trips are all on the table. Just tell your guide what you want to see.
Day 3
A Second Full Day at the Lodge
Another full day at the Tahuayo Lodge with access to every excursion available yesterday. The Despensa Creek Monkey Trail is a full day hike through several ecosystems rich in primates and birds. The Frog Valley excursion travels up the Rio Blanco into terra firme forest to search for poison dart frogs, harlequin toads and leaf cutter ants. The Tahuampa flooded forest is worth a canoe trip for hoatzins, black caimans, horned screamers and giant fishing spiders. Dolphin Lake and the nearby Cocha oxbow lakes offer good chances for Amazon pink dolphins, ospreys and wading birds. Your guide will plan the day around whatever you didn't get to yesterday.
Day 4
A Third Full Day at the Lodge
A third full day based at the main lodge, with the same choice of excursions across the reserve. By now your guide will have a good read on what you want to see and can push further into the forest or focus on specific species or habitats you haven't covered yet. Guests who haven't yet done a full day hike often use this day for Despensa Creek or Frog Valley. Those who want more time on the water tend to combine a morning river trip with a night excursion by canoe. The itinerary is yours to shape.
Day 5
Transfer to the Amazon Research Center
Depart the main lodge by boat this morning for the Amazon Research Center, about two hours further upriver into a more remote section of the reserve. The ARC is formally recognised as a research institution by Peru's national science council CONCYTEC, and operates within a trail grid covering more than 75 kilometres of paths through igapo ecosystems, restinga and palm swamp. Accommodation is private and comfortable with shared bathrooms. This afternoon you begin exploring the trail grid. Camera trap records here confirm a high density of jaguar, and the forest holds brown and white capuchins, woolly monkeys, saki, titi, giant tayra weasels, tamandua anteaters and occasionally the rare red bald headed uakari. The lakes and river channels are also among the best places in Peru to find giant river otters and anaconda.
Day 6
Deep Reserve Exploration from the ARC
A full day working from the Research Center. The Uakari Camp hike pushes beyond the trail grid into Mauritia palm forest, a fruiting habitat that pulls in tapir, peccary and with some luck the red bald headed uakari. The Lake Yarina hike is a full day round trip with good sightings of blue and yellow macaws, nesting hoatzins and caimans. On the water, the cochas and river channels near the ARC give the best chance across the whole trip of finding giant river otters. Night excursions on the trail grid and by canoe on the Tahuayo River are consistently productive for caimans, frogs and snakes.
Day 7
A Second Full Day at the ARC
Another full day at the Amazon Research Center, with the same excursion options as yesterday. With 75 kilometres of trail to cover and several full day hikes on offer, there is plenty left to explore even after two days here. Guests often use this day for whichever of the Uakari Camp or Lake Yarina hikes they didn't do the day before, or push further into the trail grid with their guide to look for species not yet encountered. Night excursions remain an option and are worth doing again given how different the forest can be after dark.
Day 8
Return to Iquitos
Depart the Amazon Research Center by boat in the morning, travelling back down through the reserve to the main lodge before continuing the speedboat transfer to Iquitos, up to four hours in total. Staff transfer you to the airport or your hotel on arrival. Plan for a departure flight of 4pm or later to allow comfortable time for the river journey. If you need an earlier flight, let your guide know the night before and the team will work with you to sort it out.
Day 1
Arrive in Iquitos & Transfer to Tahuayo Lodge
Tahuayo Lodge staff meet you at Iquitos Airport and transfer you to their dock complex in the city, about 30 minutes by road. From there a speedboat takes you up the Amazon River and onto the Tahuayo tributary, a journey of up to four hours into the heart of the reserve. On arrival you meet your private guide and get a full orientation. If you arrive in the morning you head straight out for an afternoon excursion followed by a night outing of your choice. Plan to land in Iquitos before 2pm to make the most of the first day.
Day 2
Explore the Tahuayo Reserve
Your private guide builds the day around your interests, choosing from more than a dozen excursions across the Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Reserve. Excursions are planned on arrival taking into account current water levels, weather conditions and animal activity patterns. Morning birding sessions cover a region with more than 600 recorded species in lowland Amazon forest. Boat trips along the Tahuayo River turn up sloths, macaws, neotropical river otters and several monkey species including saki, titi, squirrel and the eastern pygmy marmoset, the world's smallest monkey. The flooded igapo and varzea forests reward slower exploration, while the Canopy Experience puts you on six platforms and four ziplines more than 30 metres above the forest floor. After dark, night excursions on foot and by boat go looking for caimans, tarantulas, snakes and tree frogs. Fishing, cultural community visits and dolphin lake trips are all on the table. Just tell your guide what you want to see.
Day 3
A Second Full Day at the Lodge
Another full day at the Tahuayo Lodge with access to every excursion available yesterday. The Despensa Creek Monkey Trail is a full day hike through several ecosystems rich in primates and birds. The Frog Valley excursion travels up the Rio Blanco into terra firme forest to search for poison dart frogs, harlequin toads and leaf cutter ants. The Tahuampa flooded forest is worth a canoe trip for hoatzins, black caimans, horned screamers and giant fishing spiders. Dolphin Lake and the nearby Cocha oxbow lakes offer good chances for Amazon pink dolphins, ospreys and wading birds. Your guide will plan the day around whatever you didn't get to yesterday.
Day 4
A Third Full Day at the Lodge
A third full day based at the main lodge with the same choice of excursions across the reserve. By now your guide will have a clear picture of what you want to see and can push further into the forest or focus on specific species or habitats not yet covered. Guests who haven't done a full day hike often use this day for Despensa Creek or Frog Valley. Those who want more time on the water tend to combine a morning river trip with a night canoe excursion. The itinerary is yours to shape.
Day 5
A Fourth Full Day at the Lodge
A fourth full day at the Tahuayo Lodge before moving to the Research Center tomorrow. With four days here in total, most guests have covered the main excursions and can use today to revisit favourite spots, go deeper on a particular interest, or try something they skipped earlier in the trip. Your guide can also tailor the pace, combining shorter outings across different habitats rather than committing to a single full day hike if you prefer variety.
Day 6
Transfer to the Amazon Research Center
Depart the main lodge by boat this morning for the Amazon Research Center, about two hours further upriver into a more remote section of the reserve. The ARC is formally recognised as a research institution by Peru's national science council CONCYTEC, and operates within a trail grid covering more than 75 kilometres of paths through igapo ecosystems, restinga and palm swamp. Accommodation is private and comfortable with shared bathrooms. This afternoon you begin exploring the trail grid. Camera trap records here confirm a high density of jaguar, and the forest holds brown and white capuchins, woolly monkeys, saki, titi, giant tayra weasels, tamandua anteaters and occasionally the rare red bald headed uakari. The lakes and river channels are also among the best places in Peru to find giant river otters and anaconda.
Day 7
Deep Reserve Exploration from the ARC
A full day working from the Research Center. The Uakari Camp hike pushes beyond the trail grid into Mauritia palm forest, a fruiting habitat that pulls in tapir, peccary and with some luck the red bald headed uakari. The Lake Yarina hike is a full day round trip with good sightings of blue and yellow macaws, nesting hoatzins and caimans. On the water, the cochas and river channels near the ARC give the best chance across the whole trip of finding giant river otters. Night excursions on the trail grid and by canoe on the Tahuayo River are consistently productive for caimans, frogs and snakes.
Day 8
A Second Full Day at the ARC
Another full day at the Amazon Research Center with the same excursion options as yesterday. With 75 kilometres of trail to cover and two full day hikes on offer, there is plenty left to explore. Guests typically use this day for whichever of the Uakari Camp or Lake Yarina hikes they didn't do the day before, or push further into the trail grid to look for species not yet encountered. Night excursions are worth repeating given how different the forest feels after dark.
Day 9
A Third Full Day at the ARC
A third and final full day at the Amazon Research Center. With three days here, you have had time to cover the main hikes and can use today to go deeper on what the forest has been turning up. Your guide may take you back to productive areas spotted earlier in the trip, or push further along the trail grid into sections not yet visited. Water levels permitting, some trail sections become canoe routes in the rainy season, adding a different way to move through the igapo forest. A night excursion rounds out the last evening before the return journey tomorrow.
Day 10
Return to Iquitos
Depart the Amazon Research Center by boat in the morning, travelling back down through the reserve to the main lodge before continuing the speedboat transfer to Iquitos, up to four hours in total. Staff transfer you to the airport or your hotel on arrival. Plan for a departure flight of 4pm or later to allow comfortable time for the river journey. If you need an earlier flight, let your guide know the night before and the team will work with you to sort it out.
The Tahuayo Lodge Activities
The Two Lodges
Cabins have private bathrooms Greater variety of activities
The Research Center Lodge (ARC)
Cabins have shared bathrooms Better hiking, over 50 miles of trails through a variety of ecosystems More wildlife Lodge is more remote, in more pristine forest
Canopy Experience
Igapo and Varzea Forest Exploration
Pygmy Marmoset Observation
Tahuayo River Exploration
Cultural Visit
Despensa Creek — Monkey Trail
Tahuampa Flooded Forest Excursion
Frog Valley — Terra Firme
Dolphin Lake
Cocha Ecosystems
Birding
Fishing
Night Excursions
Trail Grid Exploration
Available at the Amazon Research Center only — minimum 6-day stay required.
Cochas — Lakes and Rivers
Available at the Amazon Research Center only — minimum 6-day stay required.
Uakari Camp Hike
Available at the Amazon Research Center only — minimum 6-day stay required.
Lake Yarina Hike
Available at the Amazon Research Center only — minimum 6-day stay required.
Night Excursions — Research Center
Available at the Amazon Research Center only — minimum 6-day stay required.
Rates & Inclusions
4 days / 3 nights
Per Person : $895
6 days / 5 nights
Per Person : $1,295
8 days / 7 nights
Per Person : $1,695
10 days / 9 nights
Per Person : $2,065
Notes
- Minimum trip length: 4 days
- Recommended trip length: 8 days +
- Additional costs apply for camping, survival, fishing, and birding itineraries.
- Tours of 6-days and over include the main Tahuayo Lodge & Tahuayo River Amazon Research Center
- Discounts for children age 16 & under – Up to 50% per child
Included
- All transfers from Iquitos
- Lodging
- All meals
- Excursions-customized for your interests
- Entrance fees
- Tourist taxes
- Laundry and tips
Operated By Amazonia Expeditions
About Amazonia Expeditions
The Tahuayo Lodge story began in the early 1980s. This is when American biologist Dr. Paul Beaver founded Amazonia Expeditions. Paul had years of prior experience as a guide leading research trips for his students.
First, camping expeditions were organized to the rainforest for nature lovers and adventurers. Then, after 15 years, in 1995 Paul and his wife Dolly began construction of the Tahuayo Lodge in a region of impressive wildlife. Following this success, in 2006 a second lodge was added to the portfolio even deeper in Amazonia and is known as the A.R.C or research center.
The Tahuayo Lodge and Amazonia Expeditions have become one of the leading tour operators in the rainforest. They consistently receive high praise from guests. And the lodge is regularly featured in travel and outdoor publications, including National Geographic and Outside Magazine.
Amazonia Expeditions Details
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