Sandoval Lodge & Heath River Wildlife Centre

Day 1-2: Arrive Puerto Maldonado/Heath River Wildlife Centre

Your adventure begins at Puerto Maldonado airport, just a 35 minute flight from Cuzco but already deep in the Peruvian Amazon. Lodge staff bring you to the port where you travel to the Heath River Wildlife Centre on a four-hour river canoe trip. The more remote outpost of Sandoval Lodge, the centre is the gateway to the largest uninhabited and un-hunted rainforest in the Amazon.
The intimate Heath River provides the fastest and easiest route to a vast 2.5 million acre (one million hectare) wilderness full of capybaras, oxbow lakes with Giant Otters, hundreds of birds and mammal species, and the five top predators of the Amazon: Jaguar, Giant Otter, Black Caiman, Harpy Eagle, and Anaconda. By comparison, the un-hunted region of Manu (the other great Peruvian nature reserve) is only 750,000 acres (300,000 hectares) and demands more money and time to visit. vHeath River features the world’s most accessible large macaw lick, which has registered up to 260 large macaws in one day, making it one of the five largest recorded macaw licks in the world. Though all five of these licks are spectacular, the Heath Lick is by far the most economical to visit, making it ideal for a short Amazon itinerary to combine with the Inca sites of Cuzco and Machu Picchu. Enjoy warm pancakes and coffee while viewing the Heath Macaw Lick from a comfortable floating blind anchored only 100 ft (30m) away.
Though very traditional, the lodge does not sacrifice comfort in the least. Guests enjoy roomy, private, double-occupancy bungalows with electric fans and en-suite facilities with hot showers. The combination of the most accessible and most photogenic large macaw lick and uniquely traditional hospitality make Heath River Wildlife Centre and Sandoval Lake Lodge the Amazon’s best value in wildlife and authentic rainforest adventure.

Day 3: Sandoval Lake Lodge

Getting to Sandoval Lodge is half the adventure! First, travel by boat along the Madre de Dios River to Sandoval Lodge’s pier. Climb the excellent, easy to negotiate steps up steep bank to a wide, well groomed, level trail 2 miles through the forest: about an hour’s easy walk. At several points there are benches or palapas to rest at or get out of the sun or rain. Once at the end of the trail, small canoes take you 220 yards along a narrow canal to the Lake and a special native catamaran for the leisurely float across the lake to the lodge pier. Sounds like a lot but it is easy, interesting and "do-able."
Located deep in Peru’s Tambopata National Reserve, Sandoval Lodge (SL) is perched above what many specialists feel is the most attractive lake in Peru: sparkling, palm-rimmed Sandoval Lake. This region of the Amazon, one of the most biologically diverse areas on the planet, is a haven for endangered species such as the jaguar and the black caiman, and affords visitors ample opportunity to view such diverse wildlife as giant otters, capybaras, macaws, parrots and 6 species of monkey. Activities at the lodge include hiking the lodge’s trails, canoe and catamaran trips on Sandoval Lake and night walks. Enjoy exclusive access to Sandoval Lake in the early morning and late afternoon, the best hours for wildlife viewing and photography. No other lodge in the region is on the banks of a protected oxbow lake.
The lodge is constructed almost entirely of ecologically harvested "driftwood" mahogany trees collected from the floods that naturally carry logs downriver out of Manu National Park. The lodge is one extended structure consisting of a large screened main dining room and lounge area, one wing with 16 rooms with private bathrooms and another wing of 9 rooms with communal bathroom facilities. The rooms are screened; all showers have hot water. All rooms and communal areas have electricity, supplemented by kerosene lamps and candles. There are several strategically placed sitting areas overlooking the lake.

Day 4: Depart Puerto Maldonado

Travel back upriver to Puerto Maldonado and transfer to the airport for your flight out of the jungle to Cuzco or Lima.