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Heath River Amazon Wildlife Center Tours

The wild Heath River marks the remote Amazon-region border between Peru and Bolivia. Bordering two radically different ecosystems of rainforest and lowland savannah, it runs through the heart of the Tambopata-Madidi reserve areas of Peru and Bolivia, a vast and largely inaccessible wilderness totalling more than 13,700 sq. km./5,290 sq. miles. Heath River Wildlife Center is the only eco-lodge on this river. And it offers the world's only large macaw clay lick reachable in half a day from a jetport with daily connections to the outside world.

Only ten minutes by boat from the lodge, a comfortable floating hide just 30m/100ft from the lick allows us to witness one of nature’s most spectacular displays – a tumultuous gathering of brightly-colored macaws and parrots. Visitors have seen up to 260 macaws there at one time, which makes it one of the top five of the world's 100 known licks.

The lodge also offers an array of options almost too numerous and varied to be taken in on one visit. We can walk or bicycle through the abrupt and astonishing transition between two radically different ecosystems, on the trail to open lowland savannah of the Pampas del Heath. Here the rainforest suddenly melts away, offering a startling, open vista reminiscent of East Africa -- an excursion that also takes in a rare nesting site frequented by hundreds of Red-bellied and increasingly endangered Blue-and-yellow Macaws.

On other outings we can spot wildlife and learn the ways of the forest, along the lodge’s extensive and lightly-used trail network, and perhaps stake out a hide-platform on one of the lodge’s mammal clay licks, in search of an elusive Lowland Tapir, the Amazon’s largest mammal. We can visit the abundant birds and monkeys of Cocha Moa, as we paddle by canoe on this secluded oxbow lake.

By night we can spot caiman (a kind of Amazonian alligator), on the riverbanks. By day we can travel upriver to the limits of navigation, and float stealthily downstream with the engine off, spotting birds and monkeys, and hoping to score a stellar wildlife encounter with a Jaguar on the beach, or a Lowland Tapir swimming across the river.

We may also pay a visit downriver to the village of Sonene, one of the surviving communities of the Ese’Eja indigenous people, where we can meet these descendants of nomadic forest tribes, buy their handcrafts, and catch a glimpse of those traditional lifeways that they manage to maintain in the modern world.

The lodge itself offers a small, comfortable and intimate environment, built of environmentally-sound local materials, such as “driftwood” mahogany, and palm-thatch, with just ten double (or triple) private bungalows, with private bathroom/toilets and hot showers, and a spacious, high-roofed dining, bar and lounge area.

Now Heath River Wildlife Center offers a new attraction a double platform in a big tree that offers you the chance to admire birds, monkeys and also a nice landscape.

Now you can choose from two programs :

Two Ecosystems * Rainforest & Savannah

Includes Visits the Puerto Maldonados’ closest larga macaw clay lick (from a comfortable floating blind) at the Heath River Wildlife center (HRWC) – visit the extraordinary biodivese Pampas del Heath (Savannah). Accommodations, full board, excursions and visit to an Indian community.

4 days/3 nights

Day 1 - Puerto Maldonado to Heath River Wildlife Center
Staff welcome you at Puerto Maldonado airport and we drive through this bustling Upper Amazon Basin city to the Tambopata River boat dock. Here we board a powerful motorized dugout canoe and set off to the nearby confluence of the mighty Madre de Dios River, where we head downstream for approximately three hours to the Peru-Bolivia border at the mouth of the remote Heath River. Even beneath the vast sky of this major Amazon tributary we glimpse the diversity of the riverine environment, with its forest-capped red-earth cliffs, alternating with low banks thick with Cecropia trees and giant grasses. Now, after brief frontier-crossing formalities, we motor for about two more hours up narrower and wilder waters, suddenly enjoying the intimacy of mysterious forest looming close on either side. Occasional views of native villages and children splashing by the banks, are interspersed with long, quiet stretches where we may spot herons, hawks, cormorants, Orinoco Geese, and perhaps a family of Capybaras -- the world’s largest rodent, weighing up to 55kg./120lb, and looking like an enormous Guinea Pig. We reach our simple, charming and comfortable quarters at the Heath River Wildlife Center in time for dinner. (Please note that the lodge is located on the Bolivian shore of the Heath River, so passports are required to clear Bolivian passport control.)

Day 2 - Heath River Wildlife Center
Today we make an early start to visit the the lodge’s most spectacular feature: the Heath River parrot and macaw lick. Here these colorful birds gather to eat a type of clay from the cliff-like river banks that neutralizes certain toxins in their diet. They congregate early each morning, sometimes by the hundreds, jostling and squabbling over the best eating spots on the clay lick. This noisy and unforgettable show can go on for two or three hours, and may begin with up to five species of parrot and two varieties of parakeet, followed by Chestnut-fronted Macaws and their larger, more boisterous cousins, the Red-and-green Macaws. This extraordinary wildlife display occurs at only a handful of sites in the Upper Amazon Basin, and nowhere else on the planet. Our floating hide platform provides comfort and complete concealment, so that we can eat a full breakfast here during pauses in the bankside spectacle. For ultra-close-up viewing, our guides carry a tripod-mounted spotting scope, which can also be used to get telephoto pictures with even the simplest camera.

On our return we can land partway downriver and walk back along a section of the lodge’s extensive network of forest trails. We encounter numerous gigantic Brazil-nut, kapok and fig trees, along with the scary strangler fig, whose life strategy is as sinister as its name suggests. Our guide will point out and explain the medicinal and commercial uses of dozens of plants and trees, while we keep our eyes and ears open for birds, or one of the eight species of monkeys found in this region. We might come upon a small herd of White-lipped or Collared peccary – two kinds of wild pig that are quite common in this area. For purposes of territorial marking they deploy a “stink gland” so potent that they are often smelled long before they are seen.

After lunch we typically hike or bicycle along a major trail to a point where the forest abruptly gives way to the spacious plains of the Pampas del Heath, part of Bolivia’s Madidi National Park. This unique environment -- the result of very poor soils, plus an extreme seasonal cycle of dryness and flooding -- is the largest remaining undisturbed tropical savannah in the Amazon, and is home to rare endemic birds and mammals, such as the Swallow-tailed Hummingbird and the highly endangered Maned Wolf. Shortly beyond the edge of the forest we can climb a raised platform that allows us a grand view of this vast expanse of grassland and shrub, studded with palm trees.

We can continue another hour or so to a swampy area thick with Mauritia flexuosa palm trees, whose oil-rich palm nuts and hollowed-out dead palms provide vitally important food and shelter for nesting pairs of Red-bellied and increasingly rare Blue-and-yellow macaws. We aim to arrive toward dusk, when the macaws are returning from their day’s foraging to congregate in this very special breeding site.

We return to the lodge by night, using our flashlights, and perhaps pausing here and there in total darkness, to listen to the ever-changing orchestra of animals, frogs and insects, and to experience the magic of the night-time rainforest. We may come upon such bizarre nocturnal creatures as camouflaged frogs disguised as dead leaves, toads the size of rabbits, hairy tarantulas peering out of their dirt holes, night monkeys lurking among the tree branches, and a teemingly unpredictable array of other nightlife.

After dinner some guests may choose to visit one of our mammal lick hides, in hopes of seeing a Lowland Tapir, the rainforest’s largest mammal. Hardy adventurers can choose to camp here with their guide, in order to experience a full night in the heart of the rainforest and increase their chances of a major wildlife sighting.

Day 3 - Heath River Wildlife Center
Our second full day at the lodge allows us to choose from a wide range of activities available in this exceptionally diverse tropical environment. Many people choose to make a second visit to the macaw clay lick. Later we can take a canoe tour around Cocha Moa, an oxbow lake that lies a short way downstream from the lodge. The reeds, fallen trees and forested shoreline of this lake teem with birds and other wildlife. Red Howler Monkeys may peer at us through the branches of the giant trees above us, while herons lie in wait among the fallen trees, cormorant-like Anhingas watch from the forest branches, and an Osprey may circle overhead. Flocks of brilliant Red-capped Cardinals gather on dead branches, and a colorful, primitive bird, the Hoatzin, hops its ungainly way along the swampy water’s edge.

In the afternoon we may travel an hour or so downriver to visit the Ese’Eja native community of Sonene, where we can meet these descendants of nomadic forest tribes, and catch a glimpse of those traditional lifeways that they manage to maintain in the modern world. We can also purchase their handcrafts, made from a wide range of seeds collected from the forest.

After dinner we can board our canoe once more, for an evening of spotting for caiman, the Amazonian cousin of the alligator. This region is home to the endangered black caiman, and we nearly always pick out a few with our powerful spotlight as we patrol the river.

Day 4- Heath River To Cusco or Lima
We leave at dawn for the return trip downstream. This is peak hour for wildlife so we keep a sharp eye on the riverbanks, often spotting families of Capybara, and perhaps being rewarded with a rare jaguar sighting, or a tapir swimming across the current. We reach the Madre de Dios River, re-enter Peru, and set off upstream for Puerto Maldonado, where we are transferred to the airport for our flight to Cusco or Lima.

Rates per person double: 2011-2012 - for departures on Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri.- US$575 , SINGLE SUPP. - $150.
For other start days - $830 per person with 2 people, $715 per person with 3-4 people or $575 per person for 5-9 people.

5 days/4 nights

Days 1-3 - same as above

Day 4- Heath River Wildlife Center
Today we follow pathways new to us, and explore fresh areas along the lodge’s extensive network of forest trails, deepening our acquaintance with the forest and its ways, and searching for birds, mammals, and other creatures we may not yet have seen. Perhaps we will run across peccary for the first time, or add two or three species to our monkey list. Our guides will point out new species of trees and plants, explaining their medicinal, commercial or ritual uses. Towards the end of our walk we will visit one of the lodge’s several mammal clay licks, which may provide a surprise encounter with a tapir, or a Red Brocket Deer.

After lunch we plunge deeper into the wilderness, boating up the Heath River into areas that are completely unpopulated, and seldom visited by anyone except an occasional park ranger, and the indigenous Ese’Eja river people. This journey is always an adventure – especially in the dry season months of June through October, when our crew may frequently have to push the canoe across sandbanks and gravel shallows. Wildlife spotting from the canoe is comfortable, effortless and productive, as many birds and animals patrol the river banks, and not infrequently swim across the river. Along with countless bird species, we usually spot families of Capybara, the giant three-toed relative of the guinea pig, which can weighs up to 55kg./120 lbs., and is the world’s largest rodent. We are often even more successful after we reach the upper limits of canoe navigation, when we can turn the engine off for long spells and float soundlessly downriver, catching the forest wildlife unawares.

We return to the lodge for some leisure time before dinner. Later we have the option of a night trail walk in search of the numerous creatures, including frogs, toads, owls, nighthawks, spiders and night monkeys, that make the forest such a busy and different place during the night.

Day 5- Heath River Wildlife Center
We leave at dawn for the return trip downstream. This is peak hour for wildlife so we keep a sharp eye on the riverbanks, often spotting families of Capybara, and perhaps being rewarded with a rare jaguar sighting, or a tapir swimming across the current. We reach the Madre de Dios River, re-enter Peru, and set off upstream for Puerto Maldonado, where we are transferred to the airport for our flight to Cusco or Lima.

Rates per person double: 2011-2012 - for departures on Mon., Thurs. - US$745 , SINGLE SUPP. - $200.
For other start days - $990 per person with 2 people, $890 per person with 3-4 people or $745 per person for 5-9 people.

Sandoval Lake Lodge and Macaw Clay lick

Combines a pleasant trip to Sandoval lake Lodge (SLL) plus a visit to Puerto Maldonados’ closest larga macaw clay lick (from a comfortable floating blind) at the Heath River Wildlife center (HRWC) – visit the extraordinary biodivese Pampas del Heath (Savannah). Accommodations, full board, excursions and visit to an Indian community and Tambopata National Reserve entrance fee

5 Day Tour

Days 1-3 -same as above

Day 4- Heath River Wildlife Center to Sandoval Lake Lodge
We leave at dawn for the return trip downstream. This is peak hour for wildlife so we keep a sharp eye on the riverbanks, often spotting families of Capybara, and perhaps being rewarded with a rare jaguar sighting, or a tapir swimming across the current. We reach the Madre de Dios River, re-enter Peru, and set off upstream for the boat landing near Lake Sandoval Lake Lodge.

We walk the 3km/2 mile trail to the narrow boat channel through flooded palm forest that leads to the open waters of this peaceful lake, stopping as we go to spot birds and butterflies. As our crew paddle us across to the lodge (motors are prohibited here), we may see the lake’s surface boken by a massive Paiche – an Amazon fish that can reach 100kg/220lbs. Or perhaps we will hear the strange and haunting calls, and see the heads bobbing above the lake’s surface, that will signal our first acquaintance with Pteronura brasiliensis, the Amazonian Giant Otter.

After lunch at the lodge and a brief rest to avoid the early afternoon heat, we once again set off by boat or catamaran to explore the entire west end of the lake. Here, in the flooded palm forest we drift to the sounds of hundreds of Red-Bellied and Blue-and-yellow Macaws as they return to the palm forest for the night. Our viewpoint from the canoe often allows closer and more extended encounters with birds and mammals than on a typical forest trail hike, and we may witness intimate feeding and mating behavior. On Lake Sandoval monkeys, in particular, have almost lost their fear of humans.

We return to the lodge around nightfall for dinner. After dinner we take to the boats once more, in search of black caimans, which today are extremely rare in the Amazon, but still common in this protected lake. They grow up to 4m in length, and compete with the Giant Otters for their share of the fishing. On clear nights we take our boat further out into the lake to get an unimpeded view of the vast southern sky, with its unfamiliar constellations and superb vistas of the Milky Way.

Day 5: Lake Sandoval to Puerto Maldonado.
After a dawn breakfast we take a final, short paddle along the palm swamps of the west end of the lake in search of the resident Giant Otter family. From here, on clear mornings, we will see a glorious sunrise and its reflection in the open waters of the lake. Returning once more down the trail to the Madre de Dios River, we return to Puerto Maldonado to catch the flight to Cusco or Lima.

Rates per person double: 2011-2012 - 5 days - for departures on Mon., Thurs., .- US$745 , SINGLE SUPP. - $200.
For other start days - $990 per person with 2 people, $890 per person with 3-4 people or $745 per person for 5-9 people.

6 Day tour

Days 1-4 - same as above

Day 5: Sandoval Lake Lodge
We rise early to tour the lake shore by canoe once more, in quest of new wildlife sightings. Our viewpoint from the canoe often allows closer and more extended encounters with birds and mammals than on a typical forest trail hike, and we may witness intimate feeding and mating behavior. On Lake Sandoval monkeys, in particular, have almost lost their fear of humans.

We return to the lodge for breakfast and rest for a while, perhaps enjoying the panoramic view from our high point on the lake shore, before setting out to walk a special circuit where we investigate and learn the uses of dozens of Amazonian medicinal plants. We will see palmicho, the plant that supplies the roof-thatch material for our lodges, Candlestick Ginger for anti-inflammatory medicine, the historically important Chinchona, or Quinine tree, whose bark has saved countless thousands from the throes of malaria, and numerous other vital plants. This route includes both wild forest and a small botanical garden dedicated to cultivation of some of these species.

After the mid-day heat subsides we canoe our way around the shore to the western end of the lake, and encounter the flooded palm swamps where macaws make their home and monkeys abound. As we make our way back to the lodge later, it is getting dark and we can use our flashlights to spot the brilliant red eyes of caimans and get close to them as they lurk along the bushy shoreline with their snouts just above water.

Day 6: Lake Sandoval to Puerto Maldonado.
After a dawn breakfast we take a final, short paddle along the palm swamps of the west end of the lake in search of the resident Giant Otter family. From here, on clear mornings, we will see a glorious sunrise and its reflection in the open waters of the lake. Returning once more down the trail to the Madre de Dios River, we return to Puerto Maldonado to catch the flight to Cusco or Lima.

6 days - 2011-2012 price for departures on Mon., Thurs.- US$850 , SINGLE SUPP. - $250.
For other start days - $1135 per person with 2 people, $1000 per person with 3-4 people or $850per person for 5-9 people.
Prices per person in double accommodation with private bath. Based on a minimun of Two people traveling together.

Rates include:
Roundtrip transportation Puerto Maldonado to Heath River Wildlife Center
Private bungalows with private bathrooms
All meals and snacks
Purified drinking water and juices
Native and bilingual guide services
Visits to macaw clay lick
Lake and rainforest excursions
All park entrance fees

Price does NOT include domestic flights within Peru or international flights.

Important note : please note that all macaw and parrot licks in southern Peru are less active in May, June and early July than in other months.