Swimming with the Caimans

Bite-sized trip

Itinerary:
Rurrenabaque - Madidi - Rurrenabaque
Duration:
4 days / 3 nights (flexible)
Price:
From £ 470.- per person (excluding flights)

From the jungle village of Rurrenabaque it's 5 hours up the river to your lodge. Hidden away deep in the Amazonian jungle, your eco-lodge was built by locals using only jungle resources and traditional techniques. Four indigenous families from the community of San Jose of Uchupiamonas started the project and the lodge is still run exclusively by locals with all proceeds going directly to the local community. It’s also an excellent base from which to explore the Amazonian rainforest.

Day 1 – Arrival in Rurrenabaque

On arrival you’ll be met by a local representative and taken to your accommodation in Rurrenabaque village, a peaceful, laid-back atmosphere. Along the main strip you’ll find a couple of cafes and bars where you can have some lunch. The tropical fruit shakes are almost fresh from the tree. In the evening, you can laze around in a hammock at the hotel or hit the local nightlife.

Day 2 – Rurrenabaque – Madidi National Park

You’ll be picked up from your hotel early in the morning, for the short transfer to the harbour. From here, the motorised longtail boat is waiting to take you west across the Beni and Tuichi river into Madidi National Park. Along the way there’s a good chance that you’ll spot lots of tropical birds. From the park entrance, it’s another 30 minutes walk to the lodge. Your eco-lodge cabin is decorated in traditional style, with shared bathrooms with cold running water.

On your trips into the rainforest you’ll be accompanied by a guide from the local community. They’ll tell you all about the flora and fauna found here. The afternoon is a good time for a canoe trip; as the sun sets, the animals come out to drink and feed along the shores of the river. You might even spot turtles jumping off the dead tree trunks into the water, colourful macaws flying overhead and monkeys swinging from branches in the trees.

Day 3 – Madidi National Park

Today you’ll set off after breakfast on a four hour trek through the rainforest. Your guide will tell you about the unusual trees and plants of the rainforest and their uses. After lunch, your guide will take you on another walk around the lake up to a viewpoint at the top of the hill. You’ll see more wildlife here, from bee colonies and armies of ants to several species of monkeys.

Later that evening, after dark, you’ll head out in a small wooden canoe in search of caimans. The guide navigates the canoe across the water in dead silence. In the torch light, you might spot a pair of little red lights in the distance; the eyes of a caiman. Afterwards you’ll head back to your eco-lodge for your last night in the Amazon rainforest.

Day 4 – Madidi – Rurrenabaque

It’s a very early start on day 4 and the last day of your stay in Madidi National Park. From the lodge, it’s half an hour’s walk back to the river. Because it’s downstream to Rurrenabaque, the boat trip back takes just three hours. Early in the afternoon, you’ll be picked up at the little bus station in Rurre and transferred to the airstrip.