Refugio Amazonas is a simple, 24 room lodge located in a 120 hectare private reserve surrounded by the community of Condenado, 3 hours by boat from the nearest town, Puerto Maldonado, and 2 hours up-river from Posada Amazonas. Puerto Maldonado can be reached in 30 minutes on daily commercial flights from Cusco and 90 minutes from Lima. Thanks to its location in the Tambopata National Reserve buffer zone, Refugio Amazonas is an excellent option for introductory nature tours and the ideal stepping stone for longer explorations to the Tambopata Research Center. Refugio Amazonas will play an important role coalescing the communities around it to support the conservation of the buffer adjacent to the Tambopata National Reserve. By working together with the surrounding river communities a more effective protective belt can be established to shield the fragile habitat bordering onto the Tambopata Reserve. Involving the communities in the project provides alternative sources of income that are based on conservation and sustainable development rather than on exploitation, poaching or habitat destruction. Refugio Amazonas is already operating, though the building work will be completed in May 2006.

WHO IS IT FOR?

Refugio Amazonas is ideal for a three night intorductory excursion to the Tambopata rain forest, for family trips or as a stop-over for those travelling on to Tambopata Research Center because:

* It takes over three hours to get there from Puerto Maldonado and most of the your first afternoon is spent on the river. Therefore you should spend at least three nights at Refugio Amazonas to have enough time to fully explore the surrounding primary forest.

* The extra hours of travel time are well worth it in terms of your increased chances to view wildlife since you are further from Puerto Maldonado.

* Refugio Amazonas offers all the activities of Posada Amazonas with one great addition: an authentic Brazil nut trail and camp.

* For those travelling to Tambopata Research Center, it brings you two hours closer to your final destination (see TRC programs for details.)

* For those travelling with children it offers the only attraction especially made for children by children, in the Peruvian Amazon - The Children's Rainforest Trail.

ACCOMMODATIONS AT REFUGIO AMAZONAS

Refugio Amazonas has been built using a combination of traditional native materials (wood, palm fronds, wild cane and clay) and architecture and modern day eco-lodge technology. The lodge itself consists of a complex divided into sections: rooms, dining area and kitchen, relaxation area and internal support facilities. The entire roof of the lodge is constructed using high quality crisneja palm fronds, whereas the floors are of tropical mahogany.

The room's complex is built of four 9 X 24 meter structures. The rooms are 7 x 4 meters so they can comfortably hold three beds, although they are set up for two. The walls dividing each room are built using cane and clay, and extend from the floor to about 2.5 meters height making each room private. The combination of clay and cane achieves two important objectives: regulating heat and providing a charming final appearance. However, sounds can be heard from room to room. The side that looks out to the forest does not have a wall or screening of any kind, acting as a large window facing the forest.

The reason we have been able to incorporate this design into our lodge is because mosquitoes are not really a problem around the lodge clearing and the open section allows for an intimate contact with the rain forest. A second small window on the opposite side, set up very high, keeps the rooms well ventilated. Beds are sized for Americans or Europeans (1.05m X 2.05m) with mosquito nets. Each room has a private bathroom with cold water only. Rooms and bathrooms are separated by drapes. The dining room and lounge is spacious and offers ample area for resting and socializing.

ACTIVITIES AT REFUGIO AMAZONAS

ETHNOBOTANICAL TRAIL

The Ethnobotanical Trail begins outside the lobby. As it meanders through the primary rainforest behind the lodge it zigzags towards plants with medicinal and practical uses that have been identified by staff of the Centro Ñape. The Centro Ñape is an organization within the community of Infierno that produces medicines based on forest plants and adminsters them to community members who choose to use the services of their little clinic.

Farm

Five minutes down-river from the lodge lies a farm owned and managed by a charismatic farmer from the neighboring community of Condenado. The owner grows a diverse variety of popular and unknown Amazon crops. Just about every plant and tree has a purpose.

Brazil Nut Trail and Camp

A few minutes walk from the lodge is a beautiful old growth patch of Brazil Nut forest that has been harvested for decades and where the remains of a camp used two months a year by Brazil Nut gatherers can still be experienced. We will be demonstrating the whole process of the rain forest's only sustainably harvested product, from collection to transportation and drying.

Nocturnal Walks

You will have the opportunity to hike out at night, when most of the mammals are active, though difficult to see. Easier to find are frogs with shapes and sounds as bizarre as their natural histories.

Presentations

Video presentations or lectures are available every night at the interpretation center. Video topics are on the macaw project (trc). Presentations cover the threats to the Tambopata National Reserve.

ACTIVITES INCLUDED IN PROGRAMS:

Optional services, such as private hire of birdwatching guide or handicraft workshops are available on request.

Please also see the suggested itinerary.

For further information and booking inquiries, please contact Sacred Earth.