Puerto Maldonado is the main city of the Departemant of Madre de Dios, Peru. The city itself has not too many tourist attractions, but it is the starting point for jungle trips.

Get in

By Air

To get to Puerto Maldonado, one usually must travel from Lima - Cusco first before reaching the Padre Aldamiz (PEM) airport in Puerto Maldonado. Since domestic flights in Peru change to much, its useless to recommend carriers however the most reliable seem to be LanPeru, and Aerocondor. Commerical flights in and out of Puerto Maldonado are almost always in the morning or early afternoon. The phone number at the airport is +51 084-571531.

Make sure to have your Yellow Fever Vaccination Card on you; local officials often ask for it even though it may or may not be "officially" required.

By Land

I hope you aren't busy for a few weeks, because the road to Puerto Maldonado from Cusco is very time consuming (and treacherous) during the wet season. In the dry season, however, you can actually reach Puerto Maldonado from Cusco in a few days. Some lodges, including Wasai, even offer mountain biking tours from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado. This trip, however, is not for the casual beginner; its a serious trek for serious athletes.

By Water

You can reach Puerto Maldonado from either the Tambopata or Madre de Dios rivers, but this is not likely for tourists.

Get around

If you've booked a stay at one of the jungle lodges (Wasai, Sandoval, Posadas, etc) your guide will most likely meet you at the airport holding a sign with the lodge's name on it. They will transport you in van to the river (Puerto Tambopata) to wherever you are going (by boat)

If you are staying in town, taxis almost outnumber everyone else in Puerto Maldonado, so getting around the town in fairly simple. Motorcycle-driving taxis will take you anywhere you want to go, and the most likely destinations (airport - plaza de armas, airport - Puerto Tambopata, or airport - hotel) will cost you between 2 - 5 soles (about 1 dollar).

If you chose to rent a moped and ride around yourself, feel free. Motorcycle rentals are everywhere in town and cost by the hour.

See

Most of Puerto Maldonado's visitors use the town as a launching point, but if you are staying for a day or to make sure to see the following:

• Plaza de Armas. The main square in Puerto Maldonado is much like the main squares all throughout South America. Great for picture taking, eating ice cream, or just sitting around.
• Confluence of the Tambopata and Madre de Dios rivers. This is in the eastern-most part of town, next to the government buildings, and has a lovely courtyard great for picture taking.
• Lumber yard. Although this sounds silly, those interested in tropical conservation won't want to miss this first hand look at the economic drivers behind deforestation.
• Market. Here you can buy everything from a side of beef to Led Zeppelin cd's. This flea market is pretty cool.
• El Jaguar Zoo & Disco. Yes, you read that correctly. Puerto Maldonado has a modest zoo complete with local fauna, and at night the place is billed as a night club. Go get trashed with the Brown Capuchin Monkeys at this place.
• Reptile Park and Butterfly Garden. Located by the airport, this place is inexpensive and very cool. What else is there to do in this town?

Do

The relatively close Tambopata reserve park is famous for its great biodiversity but not even cheap to visit since you need a permit to enter. If you just want to see how jungle looks, you can do that outside the park much cheaper in the Tambopata Candamo Reserved Zone.

Jungle Lodges

Many jungle lodges in the surrounding area offer complete tour programs. Some of the available lodges are as follows:

• Taricaya Research Center This excellent lodge is located about 1 1/2 hours down the Madre de Dios river, and actually has the highest canopy walkway in South America (42 meters high). Run exclusively by Projects Abroad, you can arrange a day trip to this place. Besides the canopy, they have an animal release program and many other active conservation projects that make this a must see. Highly Recommended!!!
• Wasai Lodge This excellent lodge is located about 4 1/2 hours up the Tambopata river.
• Amazona Posadas Located adjacent to the Tampopata Research Center, this lodge has access to one of the largest macaw clay licks in the world. Owned and operated by the Ese’eja tribe, this is a very popular lodge. From the airport in Puerto Maldonado, you'll take a bus or taxi about thirty minutes to the native community Infierno, where you'll transfer to a boat for an hour long trip up the Tambopata before reaching the lodge.
• Sandoval Lake Lodge This one is very special because it is located on the beautiful oxbow Lake Sandoval, and is very comfortably accomodated with hot water, electricity, fabulous meals, and superb guides. Plus, it is only approximately 30 minutes by boat to the 5 km trail which leads to the lake, unlike most of the other lodges which need to be hours away from town in order to see wildlife. Its location on the lake (as opposed to the river) insures excellent wildlife views including the Giant Otter, Black Caimen, about a dozen species of primates, and tremendous avian variety, including the facinating Hoatzin.
• Mejia Family Lodge If a backbacker's stay is more your style and/or budget, try this place. They are located about 1 km from Sandoval Lake Lodge and rent their bungalow style rooms (meals included) considerably cheaper than Sandoval.
• Cusco Amazonico Lodge This one is located downriver on the Madre de Dios at about 12 miles (about 45 minutes).
• Explorers' Inn This lodge is 58km up the Tambopata river from Puerto Maldonado.
• Heath River Wildlife center This wonderful lodge is located in the Heath River in the Bolivian side. Nice options for those interested in macaw clay lick and visit other ecosystem like the savannah.

Private Tours

For small groups that like to do an individual jungle tour, it may be an idea to contact local guides that do not work with lodges. This is a less expensive alternative to the organized tours offered by lodges. However the professional tour operators offer a guarantee of service and they are under the supervision of the Peruvian tourism office.

You can contact any operator and the most important tour guides like Lonely Planet, South American handbook recommend companies like InkaNatura Travel (Sandoval lake Lodge and Heath River Wildlife Center), Rainforest Expeditions (Posada Amazonas and Tambopata reserach Center), Tambopata Jungle Lodge among others.

Local guides

• Arturo Balarezo works as a local jungle guide. He has grown up in this area and knows a lot about animals, plants and life in the jungle. Besides Spanish, he speaks reasonable English and some Hebrew. His big goal are individually shaped tours for small groups (2-6 persons) that give you a very good feeling how life in the jungle looks like. Don't expect a fully organized trip (for that, go to a lodge) and be prepared to some improvisation.

Address: (He lives in the old city on the river banks, where streets have neither names nor house numbers.) Following his advertising flyer, the address is: Prolungation Av. Cajamarca, baja el hospital, en frente de Pro Naturaleza (engl.: Prolongation of Av. Cajamarka, below the hospital, opposite Pro Naturaleza)

Contact: Ask in a small travel agency called Luly Tours, Av. Leon Velarde 620 (the main street), phone 572431 or in the Hotel Wilson.

Costs: 100 Soles (30 US$) per person and day, all inclusive.

Buy

• Laundry. If your clothes are wet, dirty, and disgusting, and you can't take it any longer, drop by one of the many laundry services in town (there's one on Leon Velarde). They charge by the kilo, but they'll wash all your clothes for a very fair price.
• Miscellaneous. Did you forget something? Camera batteries, perhaps? How about feminine hygiene products, guitar strings, sunblock, or some sugar-coated brazil nuts? No problem. There are dozens of shops up and down Leon Velarde, especially at the river bank (Puerto Tambopata) where you can pick up pretty much anything you would ever need.

Eat

• El Hornito, in the main Plaza next to the Banco de Credito. It doesn't open until 6:30 pm, but this excellent pizzeria is worth the wait. Highly Recommended!!!
• Tu Dulce Espera, on Leon Velarde between Dos de Mayo and the Plaza de Armas. Open most of the day (except in the hot part of the afternoon, when everything closes), this restaurant is excellent and very cheap.
• Burger Plaza, on the southwest corner of the main square. Excellent place with very cheap prices.
• El Tigre, southeast of the market, this place has absolutely the BEST CEVICHE in Puerto Maldonado, and is very cheap. If you aren't a ceviche fan, order the chicharron de pescado, served with fried yucca. Highly Recommended!!!

Drink

• Club Waititi. There is something about a Peruvian disco that makes South American travel worthwhile. Get completed bombed at this club. Don't stay out too late, though. Taxis get hard to find after midnight, and trying to explain to them where you are staying is pretty tricky after about ten beers, especially if you can't remember the name of your hotel. If this happens, just go back in the club. They stay open until about 5:00 in the morning, anyway.

Sleep

Budget

• Brombu's, Located just outside the airport, this place has a small pool and clean rooms. The people here are absolutely wonderful, and the price is very reasonable. Highly Recommended!!!
• Hotel Bahia, Between 4 an 6 US$, with or without private bath, some rooms are rather noisy.
• Libertador, Between 20 an 30 US$, with private bath, nice restaurant, and a pool. Very nice place, when compared to the alternatives.
• Hotel Wasai, 30 US$, with private bath, nice place on the Madre de Dios river on the northeast side of town.
• Hotel Wilson, Between 4 an 6 US$, with or without private bath, safe and clean.
• Tambo de Oro, Between 2-4 US$, without private bath. Safe and clean as you can expect, but this "house of gold" won't offer you much else. Great place if you aren't too picky and are on a budget.

Contact

• Internet Access. There are several places in town that offer internet access by the hour (3 soles, or about 1 $US per hour). There are two on the north side of the Plaza de Armas. Although Puerto Maldonado now has high speed cable internet, the speeds aren't quite as high as you may be used to. However, a reasonable person can check and send about a half dozen emails in about 15-20 minutes. This is much faster than it used to be.

Get out