Day 1: Rurrenabaque – Chalalán Ecolodge

Welcome to Rurrenabaque! If you flew in the morning*, our guide will pick us up from the airport and transfer us to the Chalalan office in Rurrenabaque for a short briefing. For the next adventure, we will be taken to the port to board a motorboat that will take us to Chalalan Lodge. The trip will take 5 ½ hours sailing the Beni and Tuichi rivers. First, we will pass through the Canon del Bala (Bala George) in the Beni River. After, the boat will turn into the Tuichi river to enter the Madidi National Park. The richest biodiverse park in the world.  During this amazing boat ride, we will have a chance to appreciate and enjoy the spectacular scenery of the Amazon and will observe wildlife in the river’s bank, such as Capibaras, Tapir, Macaws, Toucans, Caimans and with luck a jaguar.  Once we arrive to the Chalalan port, we start a 25-minute walk to the lake where the cabins are located. There will be a reception and welcome in Chalalan Lodge, then the guide will show us to our rooms. Shortly after lunch, we will have a short walk through one of our trails where our guide will do rainforest interpretation and share about traditional use of natural resources. The return to the lodge will be by canoe, this will give us a chance to observe some species of monkeys and birds. (L, D)

*If you flew in the afternoon, we would welcome you and take you to your hotel.

Day 2: Chalalán Ecolodge – Madidi National Park

In the morning after breakfast, we will have a guided walk for (3 to 4 hours) by Tapare trail or similar, where we can observe animals such as, squirrel monkeys, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, capuchin monkey and many other species of birds such as toucans, macaws, parrots, eagles, guans. And then the guide will explain more about the rainforest interpretation. Upon return to the lodge, we will have lunch.

In the afternoon, we will visit to the Mirador, where we can observe the nice landscape of the Chalalán lake, and the extensive primary rainforest of the Madidi National Park. Also, we give us more information about the history of the community, Chalalán project and Madidi National Park creation. We will have dinner and after, we are invited for a canoe ride in the lake. This exciting ride will allow us to observe nocturnal wildlife, including some amphibians, nocturnal birds, fisher bats, and to look for the glowing eyes of caimans. (B, L, D)

Day 3: Chalalán Ecolodge – Madidi National Park

Today, we will have a longer walk for approximately 7 hours by the Silbador, Huaso and Penena until to the Colpa (or saltlick). A special rainforest place since wildlife comes here to eat minerals and salts. In this site, we will learn more about rainforest interpretation, some ecological processes, and some primary forest habitats. This walk offers more possibility to observe more species of animals like, black spider monkeys, capuchin monkeys, peccaries, macaws, and parrots. We will enjoy a box lunch before we return by boat to Chalalan’s port and hike for 25-minutes to the lodge. The rest of the day will be at the lodge where we can rest and/or enjoy a refreshing swim in the lake.

After dinner, we are given a couple options. We can take short walk in one of the close by trails or have a canoe ride in the lake. As we know, nocturnal activities offer the possibility of observing amphibians, nocturnal birds, fisher bats, and if canoeing, to observe the eyes of the caimans. (B, BL, D)

Day 4: Chalalán Ecolodge – Madidi National Park

After breakfast, we will have a 4 hour walk along the Silbador, Mutun and Anta paths into the River Rayamayu. This walk includes something for everyone: fauna watching, ecological processes, different habitats in primary forest and finally the chance to fish piranhas in the natural river pools.

After lunch, we will have an opportunity to engage and learn more about the Uchupiamonas community. We will watch a video about the history of the Uchupiamonas territory and people. This video will give allow us to learn about the lifestyle of the Amazon Indigenous peoples. If time allows, we will engage in handcraft activities with forest seeds to create necklaces and rings. Our guide will help us with our crafts. (B, L, D)

Day 5: Chalalán Ecolodge – Madidi National Park

After breakfast, we will have a longer hike in the Eslabon River trail, the walk itself takes approximately 6 hours walk. This time we will be diving deeper to the pristine rainforest and have more opportunities to observe more fauna, such as the black spider monkey, the tapir, deer, Peccary (troop of wild pig). It is also a chance to learn more about the Amazon rainforest. Our guides will give us a rain forest interpretation that will allow us to immerse ourselves in the experience of the forest. Box lunch in Eslabon River and after a short rest where we can observe the landscape and take some pictures, we will return to the lodge along the same trail. The rest of the day will be at the lodge where we can rest and/or enjoy a refreshing swim in the lake. (B, L, D)

Day 6: Chalalán Ecolodge – Rurrenabaque

This last day after an early breakfast, we will take one last short walk in the trails and have one more opportunity to observe wildlife. We will return to the lodge to have an early lunch. As soon as we are done, we start our walk to the port to go back to Rurrenabaque. This boat ride is only 3 hours long, as we will be going with the current. Keep your senses alert because there are always chances of spotting more wildlife in the riverbanks. Upon arrival to Rurrenabaque, the guide will take us to the airport if we have a return flight to La Paz scheduled or take us to the hotel. (B, L)