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Itinerary

DAY 1: AMAZON RESOURCES CONSERVATION CENTER
Morning airport transfer for flight to Puerto Maldonado. Meet our rainforest naturalist guide and drive to a local port to ride a motorized dugout canoe across the Madre de Dios River to the small jungle town of Alegrai [50 min.]. We transfer to a comfortable, a/c van to drive on the new paved Amazon highway connecting to a short turnoff to the Las Piedras River 1 hr. He we board another comfortable motorized canoe for the 2 hour journey to the Amazon Resources Conservation Center. Enroute watch for wildlife along the riverbank like capybara, caiman, turtles, brown capuchin and howler monkeys and shore birds including horned screamers, kingfishers, black skimmers, or red and green macaw flying overhead. Arrive mid-afternoon at ARCC, a well-constructed lodge just steps from Lake Soledad. Walk the trails around the lodge at dusk, relax and refresh at the bar, or lounge in hammocks before dinner. Overnight at ARCC.

DAY 2
A popular first activity is a Daytime Catamaran tour of Lake Soledad: On lake Soledad we use a catamaran canoe with comfortable chairs and powered by two local paddlers who keep a lookout for the giant otters and other wildlife on the lake. Tours depart from the boat jetty close to the center, and last 1-3 hours. The catamaran provides an excellent mobile viewing platform, suitable for photography and telescopes. Lake excursions will normally leave early in the morning or late afternoon. Guests to ARCC often opt to have several lake trips during their stay at ARCC, as it is a relaxing way to get good observations of wildlife on the lake and the surrounding forest. Lake Soledad harbours good fish stocks, including piranha and catfish. A canoe tour of the lake gives good opportunities for seeing the giant otters, the wildlife highlight of the lake trips. Most visitors to ARCC have good observations of the lake’s resident giant otters, fishing, playing, grooming or resting. Bird life on the lake is plentiful; the lake attracts many species which include; blue and yellow macaws, grey-necked wood-rails, rufrescent tiger-herons, wattled jacanas, amazon and pygmy kingfishers, green ibis, black-collared hawk, black capped mockingthrush and yellow-rumped casiques. You might also spot hoatzins, green ibis, red capped cardinals, and ringed kingfishers. Other lake wildlife includes black caiman, side necked turtles, and dragonflies.
An alternative activity for the first afternoon is a guided forest walk: Led by your naturalist guide and often accompanied by a native Piro indian, you explore the trails around Lake Soledad and the forest surrounding ARCC, learning about medicinal plants, ecology, conservation, and spotting birds, mammals, butterflies and other wildlife. Trails cover a variety of habitats from rich floodplain to stands of bamboo, giving you a broad introduction to the diversity of wildlife in the rainforest. Tours to ARCC regularly afford good observations of black spider monkeys, a species sensitive to human disturbance and absent from destinations closer to more populated areas. At ARCC, they are often seen in the forest immediately surrounding the eco-lodge clearing or on a short walk from the lodge. Other monkey species at ARCC are howler monkeys, brown capuchins, white fronted capuchins, squirrel monkeys, night monkeys, dusky titi monkeys and saddle-backed tamarins. The rich fruit-laden floodplain forests surrounding Lake Soledadsupport high mammal densities.
Other mammals in the forest include white-lipped peccaries, sometimes in huge groups passing through the forest; tayra, agoutis, and anteaters may also be encountered. Animal tracks give an indication of the existence of harder-to-see species such as Brazilian tapir, jaguar, red or grey brocket deer, armadillo and paca. The ARCC clearing is ideal for leisurely bird watching - sightings might include long-billed woodcreeper, yellow-tufted woodpecker, crimson-crested woodpecker, cream-coloured woodpecker, cuviers toucans, curl-crested aracaris, white-bellied parrots, blue and yellow macaws, paradise tanagers, white-vented euphonia, swallow tanager, blue dacnis, gilded barbet, fork-tailed woodnymph, rufous-breasted hermit (hummingbirds), bluish-fronted jacamar, striated puffbird, blue-crowned motmot, pale-winged trumpeter, and blue-throated piping guan. There are stands of Guadua bamboo easily accessible on the ARCC trail system, close to the centre. The hollow bamboo segments are full of water, and are the perfect breeding ground for insect larvae which in turn support a number of rare endemic bird species, only found in these special bamboo stands. Such secretive species include Peruvian recurvebill, rufous-headed Woodpecker, white-lined Antbird and Goeldi’s antbird. In the evening there is a first opportunity for a night walk. A short excursion into the forest at night is quite a different experience to a daytime walk. Accompanied by your guide, you experience the sounds and sights of the rainforest at night, with the chance to see elusive nocturnal creatures, particularly if you visit a mammal clay lick in the forest. A good flashlight is essential for night excursions. At night there is the chance to see night monkeys, armadillos, porcupines, brocket deer or tree frogs. There are an incredible array of nocturnal noises -from large crickets, the lake resonating with croaking frogs, the hooting of owls, the ‘coughing’ of the roosting hoatzins, the loud ‘belching’ of large caimans and even the occasional roaring of a jaguar can all be heard from your bungalow!

DAY 3 – 4 two full days at the Amazon Rainforest Conservation Center to continue the activities; in addition to the above activities you can select from the following, with activities programmed for early morning, late morning, afternoon and evening- and you can opt for some un programmed time for relaxation, too!
Night time excursion of Lake Soledad to spot caiman: A catamaran tour at night after dinner is a good opportunity to experience the lake and forest at night. Flashlights can pick out the eye shine of the otherwise difficult to see black caiman, and other nocturnal species. Night tours typically last an hour.
Ascend to the tree platform: The ARCC tree platform is a sturdily built wooden structure, 35m (120 ft) up an ironwood tree at the edge of Lake Soledad, giving impressive views of the forest canopy and the lake below. Ascent is by a comfortable cage chair raised by a pulley system by the attentive staff, or for the more athletic, a cable ladder can be climbed. All ascents are carefully supervised and safety harnesses are used, allowing any guest with a head for heights to enjoy this rarely seen view of the rainforest canopy. Once up on the platform, you are secured with a safety rope and are free to enjoy the view and the chance to see the tree top wildlife at eye-level. Ascents at dawn and dusk are popular, but the platform can be enjoyed at any time of day. From our spectacular canopy platform at ARCC, the undisputed highlight is the colorful mixed flocks of tanagers and other birds which pass close to the platform. Species include blue dacnis, plum throated cotinga, paradise tanager, green and gold tanager, white shouldered tanager, turquoise tanager, opal crowned tanager and masked crimson tanager. Other species include aracaris, scarlet macaws, bare necked fruit crows and swallow-wing puff birds. Monkeys can be seen high in the canopy; the acrobatic spider monkey is often seen here swinging through the trees in search for fruit, or the passive howler monkey just laid out on a branch. Looking down from the 35m (120 ft) high platform you are undetected by the lake wildlife- the otters are regularly seen from the platform, and sometimes the rare and elusive black caiman, one resident individual of Lake Soledad is almost 5m long, an impressive sight if it surfaces and reveals its full size before subsiding into the water moments later.
Macaw clay lick excursion: There are 4 clay licks accessible from ARCC, the most impressive is a macaw and parrot clay lick just 20 minutes by boat up river from the center. A hide (blind) on top of the cliff just 25m (80 ft) from the clay lick affords excellent opportunities for observations and photography. Macaw clay licks are best experienced early in the morning, hence tours usually leave the lodge pre-dawn to catch the best of the day with a few hours of high quality bird watching. The species regularly visiting this clay lick include red and green macaws, sometimes a flock of 20 or more at a time, and flocks of up to 200 others including dusky headed parakeet, cobalt winged parakeet and tui parakeet. Other species visiting the clay lick include chestnut-fronted and red-bellied macaws; mealy, blue headed and yellow-crowned parrots, white-eyed parakeets, orange-cheeked parrots, white-bellied parrots, scarlet macaws, blue and yellow macaws, piping guans, and chachalacas.

Conservation activities: Las Piedras Amazon Tours encourages guests to actively participate in conservation. ARCC has a mahogany reforestation project in which young mahogany trees are grown, transplanted and maintained to augment the numbers of this species which has suffered from the attentions of illegal logging in the past. ARCC guests can help with planting and caring for these trees, hence you are directly contributing to the conservation of the forest.
Fishing demonstrations: Fishing is not a major activity for visitors at ARCC- we prefer to leave the fish for the giant otters! But our native staff can give a demonstration of their traditional fishing technique with bow and arrow, and if you want to see that famous Amazon fish, the pirahna, the guides can try and catch one- returning the live fish after the demonstration.

DAY 5 Puerto Maldonado - Lima
Rise before dawn for an early breakfast and depart ARCC to journey down river connecting by car and boat again in order to catch the flight from Puerto Maldonado to Lima.


INCLUDED SERVICES
• All guided tours and excursions
• English-speaking naturalist guides
• Meals as indicated [B-Breakfast, L-Lunch, D-Dinner]
• Las Piedras Amazon Tours travel consultation and pre-departure services

NOT INCLUDED SERVICES
• Tips and gratuities
• Airport departure taxes
• Drinks, alcoholic beverages, and meals other than listed above
• Personal expenses for extra services, optional activities, or changes in your itinerary for reasons beyond our control.
• Travel insurance for trip cancellation, medical services, or evacuation
• Any other items not mentioned above

PRICE:
Due to global cost fluctuations that affect Peru as it does many other countries, we are adjusting our prices on a regular basis. Please, ask for our current prices by e-mail or phone.