5 Best Sights in Tambopata National Reserve and Bahuaja-Sonene National Park, The Amazon Basin

Changes in the course of Amazon tributaries have created countless oxbow lakes, which are formed when the riverbed shifts and the abandoned bend fills with water. Lago Sandoval, created by the Madre de Dios River, lies just inside the Tambopata National Reserve, a short trip form Puerto Maldonado. It is a lovely sight, hemmed with lush jungle and a wall of aguaje palms on one end. It is also an ideal spot for wildlife-watching. Herons, egrets, kingfishers, and other waterfowl hunt along its edges; several species of monkeys forage in the lakeside foliage; and chestnut-fronted macaws fly squawking overhead. A family of elusive giant otters lives in Lake Sandoval, making it one of the few places you can hope to see that endangered species. The lake is a 30-minute boat ride east from Puerto Maldonado. Once you disembark, there's a flat-but-muddy 3-km (1.8-mi) hike to a dock in the aguaje palm swamp from where you'll be rowed to the actual lake. Unfortunately, Sandoval is very popular, so you'll see plenty of tourists on the trail and lake. Fewer people visit the lake in the afternoon, but it is best experienced by spending a night or two at the Sandoval Lake Lodge.

A vast expanse of protected wilderness stretches eastward from Puerto Maldonado to Bolivia and southward all the way into the Andean foothills. Its forests, rivers, palm swamps, and oxbow lakes are home to hundreds of bird and butterfly species, monkeys, tarantulas, turtles, and countless other jungle critters. This amazing natural diversity can be experienced from any of a dozen nature lodges scattered along the Madre de Dios River, the Tambopata River,which flows into the Madre de Dios at Puerto Maldonado, or the more distant Heath River.

Together, the contiguous Tambopata National Reserve and Bahuaja-Sonene National Park protect 3.8 million acres: an area the size of Connecticut. Several indigenous Ese'eja communites border the park; "Bahuaja" and "Sonene" are the Ese'Eja names for the Tambopata and Heath rivers, respectively. The Río Heath forms Peru's southeastern boundary with neighboring Bolivia, and the former Pampas de Río Heath Reserve, along the border, is now incorporated into Bahuaja-Sonene. It includes a looks-out-of-place "pampas" ecosystem that resembles an African savannah more than the lush Amazon forest that borders it.

Peru collaborates on conservation with Bolivia, whose adjoining Madidi National Park forms a vast, cross-border protected area that covers 7.2 million acres. Only environmentally friendly activities are permitted in Tambopata. In addition to participating in tourism, local communities collect castañas, or Brazil nuts, from the forest floor, and aguaje palm fruit in the swampland.

Elevations here range from 500 meters (1,640 feet) to a lofty 3,000 meters (9,840 feet), providing fertile habitat for an astounding diversity of animals and plants. The area holds a world record in the number of butterfly species (1,234). These protected areas contains Peru's largest collpas, or clay licks, which are visited by more than a dozen parrot, parakeet, and macaw species each morning. They congregate at dawn to eat the mineral-rich clay in the steep riverbank.

The largest collpa in this region is located in Bahauja-Sonene National Park, behind an island on the Tambopata River. On any given morning, hundreds of birds congregate here to eat the clay. The action starts at the break of dawn, when flocks of parakeets begin to arrive. They are followed by several parrot species and five macaw species, which first gather in the treetops and wait for a moment when it seems safe to descend to the clay lick. When they do, it is an amazing sight. Collpa Chuncho can only be visited on excursions from various lodges on the Tambopata River. You'll also see other wildlife along the river on the trip here.

This oxbow lake, a short hike from the Tambopata River, is a great place to see wildlife, including the endangered giant river otter. It is also home to side-necked turtles, hoatzins, sun grebes, jacanas, and dozens of other bird species. Its dark waters hold black caimans (reptiles that resemble small alligators) and a plethora of piranhas, so try to resist any urge you have to go for a swim. Most people visit Tres Chimbadas on an early morning excursion from the nearby Posada Amazonas.

Located near Peru's border with Bolivia, across the Madre de Dios River from the Tambopata Reserve, is the oxbow lake of Lago Valencia. It is much bigger than Lago Sandoval, but has less wildlife and a small community on one end of it. It's a good spot for fishing and bird-watching, but because it is so far away, few lodges offer tours to it.