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’s 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. At night, after dinner there is an optional guided tour to observe some nocturnal wildlife, especially in the insect category. (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 animals including some caimans. nocturnal activities offer the possibility of observing amphibians, nocturnal birds, fisher bats, and if canoeing, to observe caimans’ eyes. (B, L, D)

Day 3: Chalalán Ecolodge –  Madidi National Park

After breakfast, we will have a longer walk approximately 7 hours by the Silbador, Huaso and Penena until to the saltlick (Colpa), special rainforest place. This special place is where the animals come 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 also offers more possibility to observe more species of animals, such us: the black spider Monkey, Howler Monkey, capuchin monkey, peccary, macaws, parrots. We will enjoy a box lunch before we return by boat to the Chalalán port and take the 25-minute walk 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 trails, or we can have a canoe ride in the lake to observe more nocturnal life and another chance to look for the eyes of caimans. (B, L, D)

Day 4: Chalalán Ecolodge – Madidi National Park

Today we start with an early morning trek –6 hours—that takes us through primary rainforest featuring old-growth trees on our way to the Rayamayo and Eslabon Rivers.  We will observe wild macaws, parrots, guans, and other birds from beneath the tall canopies, as well as brown capuchin and squirrel monkeys.  With luck we might see black spider-monkeys or cross a tapir or herds of white-lipped peccaries.  Our local guide will share his/her extensive knowledge of plants, natural history, and wildlife behavior on this half-day trek w/ box lunch.  We return to the lodge in the early afternoon, and after dinner we are invited to learn and participate in making traditional Tacana handicrafts, such as chonta seed rings. Also, our guide will explain the customs and rituals of the Uchupiamonas Indigenous people.  (B, L, D)

Day 5: 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)