Andes to Amazon

Meet your fellow travelers in Miami and take an overnight flight to Peru, arriving in Lima the next morning.

Welcome to your first day in Peru. Meet your program leaders and head to Lunahuana is tucked into the mountains along the pristine Cañete River, fairly removed from the tourist track, allowing you to have an incredible and unique experience in Peru. Our final destination is Huayllampi, a small rural village past Lunahuana where Rustic has been working for years. We have a close relationship with the local school and both the students and teachers here are eager to meet you.

Upon arrival, you will get settled into the schools sleeping quarters and participate in a welcome ceremony with the local school children. During the afternoon, students will get acquainted with their surroundings and prepare for the week of service.

Rustic Pathways has developed a strong working relationship with an underfunded boarding school for students from rural communities. Today the group with start working side by side with the local students on projects designed to improve their living conditions and educational quality. In the afternoons the group will tutor the local students in English and basic skills. When not working on service projects or with the students, you will be able to take a refreshing dip in the river that runs alongside the school to cool off from service, and visit nearby ruins and learn about the Inca Empire.

After wrapping up the service project in Huayllampi, the group will embark on an exciting expedition to the indigenous community of Tupe. This little know village nestled in the side of the Andes mountains, about a 2 hour hike from the road, has preserved its culture and language for centuries. The residents of Tupe have a very distinctive style of dress and speak Jacaru, a unique dialect only spoken by the 50 families that have populated this village for generations. This is sure to be a unique cultural experience and a highlight of your time in Peru.

After the day in Tupe, the group will head down the valley and spend the night in Lunahuana.

Wake up, grab breakfast, and get ready for a full day of adventure in Lunahuana. We will start the day whitewater rafting down the class II-III rapids of the Canete River. This raft adventure will keep you on your toes as your guide navigates you around rocks and through waves. Enjoy a delicious lunch and then head to your next adventure: zip lining. Fly through the desert hills on an exhilarating zipline, culminating with one of South America’s single longest zipline cables. At the end of the day, we will go back to the hotel for a special mystic dinner on the banks of the Canete River.

Today the group will start the journey back to Lima, making a stop in Cerro Azul to enjoy some delicious ceviche by the ocean. Upon arrival in Lima, check out an artisanal market and buy some souvenirs for family and friends back home. Enjoy the night in Lima and rest up for the second half of your program: exploring the Amazon rainforest.

After breakfast, hop on the bus to the airport and board your plane to Puerto Maldonado, our launching point into the Amazon jungle basin. After arriving in Puerto Maldonado, you will travel to an animal shelter where you will spend the the afternoon volunteering and helping with the care of the animals. You will work alongside the shelter employees assisting with cage maintenance, animal feeding, and if you’re lucky, take a picture with a monkey or two. All the animals at the shelter are being rehabilitated so that they can be released into the wild and return to their natural habitat. This will be an awesome opportunity to get up close and personal with a range of exotic creatures!

Spend the night at the animal shelter and get a taste for life in the jungle.

Say goodbye to the animals and head up the Tambopata River to our secluded jungle lodge located on the buffer zone for the Tambopata National Reserve. Upon our arrival to the lodge, we will get settled into our accommodations. Relax and listen to the sounds of the jungle until it is time to prepare for our first excursion into the jungle in search of animals and insects. The accommodations at the lodge are basic but very comfortable and their excellent staff makes sure we are well feed with amazing meals. After dinner, we’ll head out on a guided tour in search of the forest’s nocturnal life. The next three days will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to truly experience and learn about the Amazon rainforest.

Each day will head out on excursions to learn about the forest and those that live there. The daily schedule will vary based on weather and local conditions, but below are some activities you can expect to do during your time on the Tambopata. These excursions will be led by experienced local guides excited to help you explore the jungle:

Sachavacayoc Lake: One of highlights of the program, hike out to a remote jungle lake and camp at on an elevated platform. This definitely qualifies as a once-in-a-lifetime experience as you spend the night in the heart of the Amazon basin. During the day, be on the lookout for macaws and monkeys. After the sun sets, go out onto the lake in canoes to hopefully spot some nocturnal wildlife.

Colpe Visit: Rising before sunrise, head to the local clay lick, where parrot and macaws come to feed on the mineral rich clay to help counteract the toxins in the fruit they eat. Listening to the forest come alive with sound and movement is truly an unforgettable experience.

Jungle walks: Head into the forest in search of local fauna and learn about the medicinal uses of the plants and insects in the forest. The local guides are incredibly knowledgeable about the rainforest and you will be amazed by all the uses they have for almost every plant and animal in the forest.
 Tread lightly as you look for animal tracks and hopefully you will spot a few on your excursions.

Floating down the Tambopata: Constructing a raft and floating down the river as macaws fly overhead and the sun sets over the Amazon is the perfect way to end the day. There will always be a support boat with us as well for safety.

Visiting with local communities: The forest is home to amazing wildlife, but it is also home to people who make a meager living off the land. Learn about how they live their daily lives and the challenges they face in this remote area.

Today we will pack up our things and say goodbye to the friendly jungle staff before we board our boat and return upriver to Puerto Maldonado. Once in Puerto Maldonado, catch a plane back over the Andes to the Peruvian capital of Lima. Enjoy your last evening in Peru with your new friends and reflect on the last two weeks.

Wake up and head back to the airport, bid farewell to your guides, and board your flight to Miami. Say your final goodbyes to your friends in Miami and then board your connecting flight home. We hope you had an incredible time in Peru and that you have fond memories of Lunahuana and the jungle for years to come.