Tahuayo Lodge

Operated by Amazonia Expeditions, Tahuayo Lodge (10305 Riverburn Dr., Tampa, FL 33647, tel. 800/262-9669, www.perujungle.com [1], eight days/seven nights US$1,295) is 145 kilometers south from Iquitos [2] on the Río Tahuayo, near the Área de Conservación Regional Comunal Tamshiyacu Tahuayo, where it has been operating since 1981, started by U.S. naturalist, Paul Beaver, author of the autobiographical book, Diary of an Amazon Jungle Guide.

Tamshiyacu Tahuayo is a communal reserve, created by the Peruvian government in 1991, to protect, among other species, the rare uakari monkey. Biologists have since recorded 500 bird species and exceptional levels of biodiversity in this area.

This lodge has 15 wooden rooms, some with private bathrooms. Amenities include a dining room where very good food is served, a hammock hall, a small library, and a laboratory with a terrarium that contains tarantulas and other creepy crawlies. There is access to both flooded and terra firma forest in the area, and a controlled zip line that allows guests to cruise safely through the canopy at 35 meters off the ground. With a good team of experienced guides, a wide variety of activities can be done upon request; they are listed on the website.

A stay in Tahuayo Lodge can also include one or two days at the Amazon Research Center (formerly Jacamara Lodge), 45 minutes upstream of the Río Tahuayo, a stone’s throw away from the reserve. Here, a trail grid has been completed covering almost 84 kilometers over an area of 400 hectares, with at least four different rainforest ecosystems. A vast amount of fauna can be spotted exploring this trail grid, including primates, birds, and small mammals.