Rainforest: Refugio Amazonas

Our Refugio Amazonas lodge lies deep within the rainforest — a luxurious oasis in the wilderness.
Located in a 200-hectare private reserve within the buffer zone of the Tambopata National Reserve, Refugio Amazonas is a secluded, 32-bedroom jungle lodge. The lodge is located about two hours from the Puerto Maldonado airport, in Southeastern Peru. Its wide variety of kid-friendly, adventure-focused, and science activities, Refugio Amazonas is great for nature-lovers and families. As the headquarters of our Citizen Science program, Wired Amazon, you even can contribute to science or discover a new species on your trip!.

At a Glance

Adjacent to the Tambopata National Reserve
In the heart of a Brazil nut concession
Stunning rooms with panoramic views of the forest
Home of the Wired Amazon, making science happen
Visit to a tropical fruit farm, run by Don Manuel
Over 20 different activities to choose
Access to a 30-meter (98 ft.) canopy tower for a bird’s eye view.

Why you'll love it here

Become a Scientific Explorer: Wired Amazon is our citizen science program. From discovering a new species to learning about Harpy Eagle behavior, guests at Refugio Amazonas can join the Wired Amazon team and participate in groundbreaking research that is advancing our knowledge of the rainforest. Each month (on average) a guest discovers a species new to science!
See Macaws in the wild: We take a boat trip to the spectacular Chuncho Clay Lick, inside the Tambopata National Reserve, to see hundreds of Macaws descend on clear mornings. It's an unforgettable sight!
Canopy Tower: Our 30 meter (100 foot) Canopy Tower offers spectacular views of the vast expanses of rainforest around the lodge. There's more than just trees to see — you'll often be able to spot Toucans, Parrots, Macaws, and other treetop birds!
Jungle Farm: We visit a working rainforest farm to learn about agriculture and local life. You can try exotic tropical fruits, chocolate, medicinal plants, and little-known relatives of the tomato!
Oxbow Lake Visit: Paddle around Lake Condenado on a catamaran, spying beautiful wildlife like Hoatzins and Caimans.
Rooms at one with nature: Our naturally-built rooms have a wall open to the surrounding jungle. This gives you a safe way to enjoy this diverse ecosystem, even during downtime. Wild animals, including monkeys, are often visible from the lodge. Our dining room is a huge open building as well, with a second-floor loft for a stunning view of the rainforest canopy.
Children's Rainforest Trail: Your kids can explore the Amazon rainforest's only trail specially designed for children, along with our lodge playground!
Wellness Center: Relax with fantastic massages and aromatherapy at our on-site wellness center.
Aerobotany: Discover where classic field biology and 21st-century technology come together in the rainforest. Join our resident Aerobotanist to fly drones over the canopy and classify the photos, helping with scientific discovery!

Getting Here: Location Map
To get here you must fly to Puerto Maldonado from Lima or Cusco on daily commercial flights lasting 30 or 90 minutes respectively. From the airport you are transported by truck to the Infierno River Port where you board our boats for the two and half hour trip to Refugio Amazonas. Refugio Amazonas is located ten minutes walking from the river.

Who should go to RefugoiAmazonas:
Refugio Amazonas is ideal for stand alone three night outings offering rich wildlife and many activities and as a break en route to and from the more remote Tambopata Research Center, and for families because it offers the only attraction especially made for children, by children, in the Peruvian Amazon – The Children’s Rainforest Trail.

Activities: click here for complete details
We offer an extensive and diverse activity list including some you can't find anywhere else in the world. Where else can you identify species new to new science?

Accommodations - click here for complete information and photos
Refugio Amazonas is built using a combination of traditional native materials (wood, palm fronds, wild cane and clay) and architecture and modern day eco-lodge technology. The lodge consists of four wings of 8 rooms connected by raised boardwalks to a central, two story, 20 foot tall common area. This area has distinct ambiences serving as lobby, dining room, bar, shop and lounge. This structure is the heart of Refugio’s atmosphere: it provides great canopy views of the surrounding forest – from a hammock … and a whistle away from a drink!

The entire roof of the lodge is constructed using high quality crisneja palm fronds, whereas the floors are of tropical mahogany. The rooms complex is built of four 32 meter long structures with eight rooms per facility, for a total of 32 bedrooms.

The rooms are 7 x 4 meters so they can comfortably hold three beds, although most are set up for two. The walls dividing each room are built using cane, and extend from the floor to about 2.5 meters height making each room private. The side that looks out to the forest does not have a wall or screening of any kind, acting as a large window facing the forest. The reason we have been able to incorporate this "luxurious" design into our lodge is because mosquitoes are not really a problem around the lodge clearing and the open section allows for an intimate contact with the rain forest. A second small window on the opposite side, set up very high, keeps the rooms well ventilated. Doors are replaced with drapes. Rooms are not soundproof.

Each room has a private bathroom with cold water only. Rooms and bathrooms are separated by drapes. Each room has beds, mosquito nets, bedside tables and hammocks or lounge chairs.

Cuisine
We provide self-serve three course meals at Refugio Amazonas. Meals consist of soup or appetizers, salad, main course, and desserts combining Peruvian and international cuisine. All fresh fruits and salads are thoroughly disinfected before serving. We also provide at all times unlimited amounts of boiled, filtered, cooled drinking water, coffee or tea and we provide fruit juices during the meals. If any visitor has special dietary requirements, we are happy to make individual arrangements, but please notify us.

Electricity
Electrical power at our lodges are run by generators that are on in the morning, around lunchtime and at night. When you arrive at the lodge, our staff will inform you of the exact hours. Hot water is available throughout the day and there are chargers in common areas where you can always re-charge your devices. Note that 110V appliances will not work in Peru.

WiFi & phone service
Is available in the common areas of our lodges. While the connection allows for email and social network perusing, it can be tough to upload photos or have a skype call. We advise you not to plan skype calls during your time at the lodges. Please note that our lodges do not have phones and there is no cell phone service.

L A D A T C O T O U R S
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