Puerto Maldonado: A Birdwatcher’s Paradise

Advice from a Peru travel expert at Peru For Less on taking an excellent value tour of Peru’s rainforest in search of exotic birds

The Amazon rainforest is a great place for aviary enthusiasts to stretch their wings and learn about the many beautiful bird species that nest in the region – many of which have yet to be discovered and classified. The Madre de Dios region of Peru’s Amazon basin offers some of the richest birdlife, with at least 500 species.

Macaws, toucans, parrots and parakeets often steal the show, as they are the most colorful of the Amazon’s bird residents. But a trip into the jungle interior may also reveal the hoatzins, a member of the phesant family; woodpeckers; and the rare black-faced cotinga. 

One terrific place to start your birdwatching adventure is at the Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica Lodge, located down the Madre de Dios River on an ecological reserve, about an hour boat ride from Puerto Maldonado, the city that acts as a launch point into the Amazon interior.  At this luxury lodge (about as luxury as it gets in the Amazon!), you can take a boat tour of Sandoval Lake and the Tambopata Reserve, which refuge red-bellied macaws, herons, and ospreys, as well as many other jungle animals, such as red howler and squirrel monkeys, anacondas, turtles, giant river otters, and caimans.

Also at Inkaterra, you can take a canopy walk, starting at the Inkaterra Canopy Interpretation Center. Then you can climb up the tower to the series of hanging bridges, along which you can walk through the tops of the trees, putting you on the same level as the Amazon canopy, where many birds are visible. You can watch toucans, woodpeckers, and many other stunning species, as well as the sunset, if you stay out long enough.

The Posada Amazonas Lodge is another great destination for bird lovers, since you can take a tour of a nearby collpa, or clay lick, where parrots descend to feed on the nutritious salt deposits. From your perch, you can watch the 50 or so scarlet macaws, blue-headed parrots, and dusky-headed parakeets that swirl around the embankment.

Sandoval Lake Lodge is also a good choice, as this river-front lodge is home to a variety of birds like toucans, macaws, parrots, and egrets. The lake, lined by 100 feet tall Mauritanian palms, is large enough to explore over the course of several days.  Red-bellied macaws, hoatzin pheasants, and over 40 other tropical bird species call this lake their home. You can also go on guided hikes day or night – at night, keep your eyes out for nightjars – along the network of trails that surround the lodge. 

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