PUERTO MALDONADO Tours

Puerto Maldonado is a small jungle town in the south of Peru, close to the Bolivian and Brazilian borders. It is also one of the main jungle destinations for foreign travelers to Peru, largely due to its easy accessibility from Cusco.

For visitors wishing to experience the selva, but who only have a couple of days, the area around Puerto Maldonado is a good option. There are many jungle lodges in close proximity and although the lodges closest to the city (those most appropriate for short stays) are far from virgin rainforest, they still offer a good opportunity to see some wildlife and jungle vegetation. Puerto Maldonado is also the entry point to the Tambopata-Candamo Reserved Zone, one of the areas with the greatest biodiversity in the world, including the world’s largest macaw clay lick.

Most travelers who visit this part of Peru do not stop in Puerto Maldonado, going straight to a jungle lodge. The town is in fact rather ugly,although it has an interesting frontier town feel about it. Many of the streets are unpaved, and it gets very muddy in the rainy season.

If you are after a shaman experience or perhaps the sacred ayahuasca, we recommend arranging your own transport to the nearby community of Infierno. This charming location about 45 minutes by car or private taxi from Puerto Maldonado, is set among the trees and jungle life, which really comes alive at night. Look for Ignacio, an authentic shaman and vegetalero, with half a century of practice in healing people.