Choose your most comfortable pair of walking shoes, adjust them and tie the laces well, because in Madre de Dios you will become one with your footwear. This region, located in the southeast of Peru, keeps nature in its purest state. Trees that hug each other, while herds of monkeys speed through them. And while you appreciate this unique spectacle, you listen in the background to the melodious song of the macaws that nest in this area.
Your first stop will most likely be the city of Puerto Maldonado, the capital of Madre de Dios. Here, you will find an extensive hotel offer so that you can choose the ideal place according to your needs. Once installed in this city, take the opportunity to learn a little about its history.
You should not miss the Biodiversity Viewpoint, located less than two kilometers from the Plaza de Armas; the Tambopata Butterfly Garden, where you can witness unique specimens; and the Exhibition Hall of Archaeology, Paleontology and typical Amazonian clothing of the Ministry of Culture, which is a few minutes from the city center.
Where biodiversity is felt
All of the above may have shocked you. But, honestly, you still don't see the best of Madre de Dios: three huge sanctuaries await you, full of magic and nature. The third largest region of Peru, keeps in its territory the Manu National Park, recognized as a core area of the Biosphere Reserve by Unesco (1977) and declared Natural Heritage of Humanity (1987).
This natural space is not only a sight to behold. It is also considered a focus of concentration of flora and fauna species, many of them unique. For example, in its territory lives the national bird of Peru, the famous cock of the rocks. Even in its space there are still populations grouped into 30 different peasant communities, which still practice ancient techniques.
Likewise, the Tambopata National Reserve and the Bahuaja Sonene National Park are at your disposal. The first of those mentioned is described as a paradisiacal place, where nature merges with you after each step you take. This protected nature reserve is globally considered one of the most biologically diverse. In turn, it is not only a necessary trip for lovers of biology, it is also for adventurers: travel to the Sandoval and Sachavacayoc lakes, where you can take a boat ride and witness the macaw, chuncho and colorado clay licks, in their purest state.
The not so explored Bahuaja Sonene National Park is home to a great biodiversity: you will find hundreds of mammals, reptiles and fish, almost a thousand species of birds and more than 20 thousand species of plants. It is home to incredible species such as the marsh deer, maned wolf, black lizard and giant anteater.
If you want to connect with nature, Madre de Dios is the right place to become one with the environment.
Places to Visit in Madre de Dios
In Madre de Dios everything has to do with walking, observing and listening.
When advancing along its trails, the entire jungle comes out in your path; Observing carefully, you will find trees that embrace other trees in search of the sun; Listening carefully, you will discover macaw nests or herds of monkeys moving quickly through the treetops.
In Madre de Dios everything is a show and you will be the privileged spectator. Madre de Dios, where the Manu National Park, the Tambopata National Reserve and the Bahuaja-Sonene National Park are located. Live it yourself!
Tambopata Province
Main Square of Puerto Maldonado
City center. Puerto Maldonado, the capital of the department, is also known as the Biodiversity Capital of Peru and is an important economic center of the Amazon. The plans of this city and its Plaza de Armas were designed by the prefect Carlos León Velarde in 1923. The roundabout in the square is a legacy of the Japanese colony from the beginning of the 20th century.
Small square and viewpoint Miguel Grau
Plaza Miguel Grau (one block from the Plaza de Armas). It stands out for the impressive view of the confluence of the Madre de Dios and Tambopata rivers, and for an excellent location to watch the Amazon sunset
Billinghurst Bridge
City center (one block from the Plaza de Armas). Suspension bridge over the Madre de Dios River. It is part of the South Interoceanic highway, which connects the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. With its 723 m length, it is the longest bridge in the country.
Craft Tourist Center
Jr. Billinghurst 480 (two blocks from the Plaza de Armas). Attention: 9:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. It has stalls selling handicrafts from 5 native communities of Madre de Dios, a delicatessen where a variety of Amazonian products are offered, you can also taste Novo-Amazonian cuisine with a view of the Madre de Dios River.
Archeology, paleontology and typical dress exhibition hall
Jr. Gonzales Prada 222 (3 min walk from the city center). Attention: M-F 8:30-13:00 and 14:00-17:00. In the room, archaeological and paleontological pieces found in different places in Madre de Dios are exhibited, since the region has 11 sites declared as Cultural Heritage. Likewise, native dresses of the native communities are exhibited.
Market Model
Crossing of Ernesto Rivero and Fitzcarrald avenues (10 min walk from the city center). Ideal place to buy handicrafts, as well as to try the agricultural products of the area, chestnuts and exotic fruits, and its gastronomy.
Biodiversity Viewpoint
Crossing between Fitzcarrald and Madre de Dios avenues (5 min by car or motorcycle taxi). Attention: T-Tue 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. Entrance with ticket. Appreciate the city from above (47 m). You will be able to see how the Tambopata and Madre de Dios rivers converge, in addition to the green landscape of its surroundings.
Serpentarium Tropifauna
Kilometer 2 of the Triunfo sector (3 min by car or motorcycle taxi). Attention: Mon-Sun 8:00-18:00 h. Tel. (51) 956-382-618. Entrance with ticket. It is a place dedicated to conservation and local environmental education, with the purpose of contributing and promoting respect for wild fauna and flora among the population.
Tambopata National Reserve
47 km south of the city of Puerto Maldonado (2 hours by motor boat) or 18 km to the community of Infierno (in a 4×4 truck) and cross the river (2 hours by motor boat). Visits with authorization from the Sernanp to tel. (51) 954-175-848 / (51) 968-218-649. Between the basins of the Tambopata, Madre de Dios and Heath rivers is this natural refuge for 632 species of birds, 1,200 species of butterflies, 169 mammals, 205 fish, 103 amphibians and 67 reptiles. Its flora is typical of tropical regions.
Sandoval Lake
10 km east of the city center of Puerto Maldonado (25 min by motor boat) and 3 km from the shore of the Madre de Dios River to the lake (45 min on foot). Visits are made with authorized agencies. A wide variety of fish, otters and lizards inhabit its warm waters. The landscape is made up of aguajes (a local palm tree), orchids, platanillos and mahogany. In the surroundings you can see birds such as cormorants, toucans, macaws, herons and even a colorful wild chicken known as "shansho". There are also tapirs and turtles.
Macaw Clay Lick Chuncho
120 km south of the center of the city of Puerto Maldonado (7 hours by motor boat). Visits are made with authorized agencies. The erosion caused by the flow of the river has left on the surface soils rich in mineral salts and organic components. Every morning, starting at 5 a.m., flocks of birds come here to feed, an event that can be seen from the island of the Tambopata River.
Bahuaja Sonene National Park
90 km south of the city center of Puerto Maldonado along the Heath River (4-5 hrs by motor boat). Visits are made with authorized agencies. Its 1,091,416 hectares, between the departments of Puno and Madre de Dios, protect the only humid tropical savannah in the country. Some of the most fascinating species that inhabit it are the marsh deer, giant anteater, giant otter, bush dog, black lizard and harpy eagle.
Butterfly House
Avenida Elmer Faucett Km 7, west of the center of the city of Puerto Maldonado, near the airport (10min by car or motorcycle taxi). Attention: Mon-Sun 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Tel. (51) 982-353-117. Entrance with ticket. Extensive garden that exhibits a wide variety of butterflies in their natural habitat. It is recommended to visit before noon and on sunny days to enjoy the sight of butterflies flying.
Tambopata Ecotourism Corridor
7 km west of the center of the city of Puerto Maldonado (15 min by car or mototaxi). Attention: Mon-Sun 8:00-18:00 h. Entry cost in each venture (differentiated price for services). It is located in the buffer zone of the Tambopata National Reserve. Families have enabled their land to offer quality services in the midst of beautiful natural landscapes. Visitors can appreciate the typical flora and fauna from the comfort of its facilities, where they can carry out different activities such as paintball, camping, night walks, interpretation of medicinal plants, boat rides and taste exquisite Amazonian dishes.
Yacumama Lake
8 km north of the center of the city of Puerto Maldonado (15 min. by motorcycle taxi). Attention: L-D. It is recommended to hire an agency. It is an old meander and abandoned course of the Madre de Dios River. It has characteristics of the Pantanal Lake, the same one that is found in an immense aguajal. You can go boating, watch parrot and macaw nests, and fish for piranhas.
Cachuela sector
12 km northwest of the center of the city of Puerto Maldonado (20 min by motorcycle taxi). Attention: L-D. It is recommended to hire an agency. The proximity to Puerto Maldonado allows easy access to anyone interested in visiting and experiencing the intensity of the jungle. Here you can take tours of the trails, paddle a canoe, do the zip line and canopy (35 m high), make your own handmade chocolate, visit the Collpa de loros and other activities.
Manu Province
Manu National Park
By Cusco: 240 km along the Cusco-Paucartambo highway from the city of Cusco to Atalaya (9 hours by truck and minivan), downriver to Boca Manu (6 hours by boat) and continue along the Manu River until reaching the park . Through Puerto Maldonado: 140 km from the center of Puerto Maldonado along the Interoceanic highway to the town of Santa Rosa (1 h 30 min by car), cross the Inambari river with a boat to Puerto Carlos (5 min); then, advance 30 km by unpaved road to the town of Boca Colorado (1 h) and navigate the Madre de Dios River until reaching the Limonal checkpoint, on the Manu River (7 h by boat). It is also possible to reach the town of Boca Manu by plane from the city of Puerto Maldonado or Cusco on charter flights (45 min) or through some travel agencies with prior reservation. Visits are made with authorized agencies. The 1,692,137-hectare park spans the departments of Cusco and Madre de Dios. It is the habitat of a wide variety of animals: more than 800 species of birds (the harpy eagle, the jabirú, the cock-of-the-rock, for example), 200 species of mammals (the woolly monkey, the black maqui sapa, the jaguar, the tigrillo, the spectacled bear and the taruca, among others) and more than 100 species of bats. Trees over 45 m tall grow on its soil. Some of the most representative trees in the area are the cetico, the topa, the cedar, the tornillo, the white lupuna and the mata palo. Native Amazonian communities (Matsiguenka, Amahuaca, Yaminahua and Piro, among others) also inhabit the thickness of its forests, as well as 30 Quechua-speaking communities. For all these reasons, the park was declared by Unesco as a Natural Heritage of Humanity. Remember that to live a complete experience in Manu, you can stay in the hostels in the area for tourist use and the cultural area that surround it.
Amarakaeri Communal Reserve
By Cusco: 260 km from the city of Cusco to the city of Pilcopata. Through Puerto Maldonado: 140 km from the center of Puerto Maldonado along the Interoceanic Highway to the town of Santa Rosa (1 h 30 min by car), cross the Inambari River with a boat to Puerto Carlos (5 min); then 30 km by unpaved road to the town of Boca Colorado (1 h) and navigate the Madre de Dios River. It is recommended to hire a travel agency. The entrance is prior coordination with one of the 6 native communities that are located in the buffer zone of the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, they are the only ones that are providing tourist services. The Amazon region of Madre de Dios is home to indigenous peoples unique in their cultural diversity, beliefs, social organization, and economic and political systems. The Harakmbut, Yine and Matsiguenka ethnic groups are present in the reserve and in its area of influence; managers, direct beneficiaries and guardians of the conservation of this important natural protected area.
Tahuamanu Province
iberian city
165 km north of the center of the city of Puerto Maldonado along the Interoceanic highway (3 hours by car). The trip to this town covers beautiful landscapes of the Amazon. The main economic activity of its inhabitants is the extraction of shiringa and rubber, which is why it is represented in its Plaza de Armas.
Inapari City
223 km north of the center of the city of Puerto Maldonado along the Interoceanic highway (4 hours by car). Located on the triple border between Bolivia, Brazil and Peru, it has a Plaza de Armas with renewable energy, a Malecón and the tourist viewpoint from where you can see the bordering rivers Acre (Brazil) and Javerija (Bolivia).
Best Trekking and Tours in Peru
Many are the routes that take you to Machu Picchu, but none is like the Inca Trail Tours, the most famous pedestrian path in the Americas. After flying from the capital of Peru, Lima, you will arrive in Cusco to walk for four days along a path through forests and dense fog, millenary stone steps and discovering the ruins of ancient fortifications and Inca cities, and all the time enjoying majestic views.
- Sacred Valley Bike Tour
- Honeymoon in Machu Picchu
- 1 Day Inca Trail Hike to Machu Picchu
- Sacred Valley Tours
- Lares Trek to Machu Picchu 4 Days
- Huchuy Qosqo Trek to Machu Picchu
- Short 2 Day Inca Trail Hike to Machu Picchu
- 2 Day Inca Trail with Camping
- Apu Ausangate Trek 7 days
- 4 Day Jungle Trek to Machu Picchu
- Inca Quarry Trail to Machu Picchu
- Urubamba River Rafting
- 5 Days Salkantay Mountain Trek
- 3 Days Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu
- Huchuy Qosqo Trek to Machu Picchu
- 7 Lakes Ausangate Trek
If you want to visit Machu Picchu, we recommend you to book your Machu Picchu Ticket in advance, so you will enjoy your Vacation in Machu Picchu without any problem.
