Main Info
Overview and Highlights
One the most protected places into the Tambopata National reserve where you will have the chance to spot the Giant otters and other wildlife species in the Great Sandoval Lake, a place of almost 3000 square kilometers where flora and fauna are the real protagonists.
Lake Sandoval is a lake in Peru, near the city of Puerto Maldonado, capital of the department of Madre de Dios, in the Amazon jungle. It has clear and calm waters. There is a “Sandoval Site Plan” within the “Tambopata National Reserve Master Plan”, through which the Frankfurt Zoological Society protects the area.
Included
- Programs based on double occupancy.
- Includes all meal on the itinerary, accommodations, and services.
- All river transportation, and transfer from and to the airport of Puerto Maldonado.
Not Included
- International or domestic airfares.
- Airport departure taxes or visa fees, excess baggage charges.
- Additional nights during the trip due to flight cancellations.
- Alcoholic beverages or bottled water, snacks, insurance of any kind.
- Laundry, phone calls or messages.
- Reconfirmation of flights and items of personal nature.
- Tips.
What to bring and advices
- Binoculars (imperative).
- Flashlight with spare bulbs and extra batteries.
- Sleeping bag.
- Day pack.
- Long pants and long-sleeved shirts.
- T-shirts.
- Shorts/Bathing suit.
- Towel.
- Sweater or light jacket.
- 1 pair of hiking boots and 1 pair of light shoes or sandals.
- Long socks.
- Rain gear.
- Rubber boots (only in the rainy season—we provide them).
- Sunhat, sunglasses, sun block.
- Insect repellent (containing at least 25% DEET) and post-bite treatment.
- Toilet-paper.
- Plastic bags (to keep everything dry).
- Water bottle (with water for the bus ride into Manu).
- Copy of a valid passport.
- Copy of yellow fever and tetanus vaccinations.
- Money for soft drinks or beers and handicrafts at the Boca Manu landing strip.
- A light day pack with a change of clothes for the whole period of the trek – prepare for a vast range of changes in temperature.
- Rain gear (jacket and pants if available) or rain poncho. Plastic ponchos can be bought for about $1 in Cusco.
- Strong footwear, waterproof trekking boots recommended.
- Warm clothes, including jacket, fleeces, gloves, scarf and beanie/touk. Thermal clothing is also recommended, especially for sleeping.
- Camera, films and batteries (batteries consume more quickly under cold conditions).
- Hat or cap to protect you from the sun, rain and cold.
- Sun block.
- After-sun cream or hydrating cream for face and body.
- It is suggested to use an insect repellent containing at least 20% DEET, although no risk of malaria has been recorded.
- Snacks: biscuits, energy bars, chocolate, raw fruits, muesli, etc.
- Non-disposable canteen (Nalgene type) and water for the first morning.
- We recommend that you bring water sterilizing tablets if you plan to collect water from rivers or streams.
- Your own medical kit with any special medications that you might require, paracetamol, second skin for blisters etc.
- Small towel or sarong.
- Bathers/swimsuit (if you intend on swimming in hot springs).
- Cash – sufficient for snacks, tips and souvenirs.
- Original passport & ISIC (International Student Identity Card) if you have one.
- Walking sticks or poles (we can hire these to you. Please note poles with metal tips cannot be carried into Machu Picchu and should be left at your hotel on the final day).
- Binoculars (if you have them).
Itinerary
Transfer from Puerto Maldonado airport to the river port on the Madre de Dios River. A 25 minutes journey down the Madre de Dios River by motor canoe brings you to the riverside trailhead to Sandoval Lake Lodge. From here the trail takes you on a 2-miles (3,2-kilometers) walk through secondary forest, until we reach a small canal where we board canoes and are paddled 220 yards (201 meters) through a flooded forest of 100-foot (30-meters) tall Mauritia palms. As the canal opens onto the shimmering surface of the lake, we transfer to a catamaran and are leisurely paddled across half the lake to the lodge.
After lunch and a brief rest to avoid the early afternoon heat, we will learn about the history of the lodge and the philosophy of its founders. Then we once again board the catamaran and set off 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 Macaws as they return to the palm forest for the night. This macaw species is found locally in parts of the Amazon, always living in flooded palm forests such as the beautiful palm stand at Sandoval Lake. At 500-800 birds, this flock of macaws at Sandoval Lake is currently the largest reported in the world for this highly-specialized macaw.
As night falls, we will look for the large and extremely rare Black Caimans. If it is a clear starlit night, we will also be able to float in the middle of the lake to marvel at the brilliance of the sky and listen to the sounds of the forest.
A pre-dawn wake-up call will enable us to be on the lake for sunrise and a hopeful encounter with the family of Giant Otters who frequent the lake and are most active at this time of day. Sandoval Lake offers abundant wildlife including over 40 species of birds resident to its lake margins, most of the fish-eating water birds around the lake actively fish in the early morning as well, and this outing should provide excellent views, of the prehistoric- looking Hoatzins, These are easy to observe and also photograph from the paddled canoes or catamarans.
After returning for a late breakfast, we set off into the cool under story of the tall virgin forest near the lake to see some towering wild Brazil Nut trees and a demonstration of how our hosts collect, open and commercialize this important natural product.
After lunch and an hour or so to relax we once again board the catamaran to explore the eastern part of the lake, where we might see one or more of the five species of monkeys who live in the forest near the lake, such as the Brown Capuchin Monkey and Squirrel Monkey.
Before dinner we will again enjoy an informative natural history video or slide presentation.
We will leave after dinner to try and spot some Black Caimans on the lake, or to go on a short night walk through the primary forest.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.
Night: Sandoval Lodge.
- ACTIVITY LEVEL: Relaxed
- WALKING DISTANCE: 1km / 0.621371 mi
- WALKING TIME: 2 Hours
- MINIMUM ELEVATION: 182m / 597.113ft
- MAXIMUM ELEVATION: 182m / 597.113ft
After early breakfast we leave near dawn and we take a final, shorter paddle around the west end of the lake to try and glimpse the Giant Otters before returning by motor canoe for the 35 minutes return trip to the Puerto Maldonado Airport, taking advantage of valuable early morning wildlife activity along the river. From here you fly to Cusco or Lima, where your jungle adventure ends.
Meals: Breakfast.
Night: Not included.
- RIVER ON BOAT DISTANCE: 25mn
- MINIMUM ELEVATION: 182m / 597.113ft
- MAXIMUM ELEVATION: 183m / 600.394ft
