4 Best Sights in The Amazon Basin, Peru

Collpa de la Cachuela

A 20-minute boat trip up the Madre de Dios River from Puerto Maldonado takes you to this small collpa on the riverbank. Each day, more than 100 parrots, parakeets, and chestnut-fronted macaws gather here from 5:30 am to 8 am to eat the mineral-rich clay.

Mariposario Tambopata

Tambopata's Butterfly Farm has a large screened-in area full of jungle plants where dozens of colorful butterflies float above the leaves and flowers, and caterpillars hide amidst the foliage. There is information about the biology of those delicate creatures and a chamber full of cocoons, chrysalises, and recently hatched butterflies. The Mariposario is located close to the airport and has a small restaurant that is a tranquil spot to for a drink or snack.

Mirador Turístico (Obelisco)

The southern Amazon has a skyscraper! The 35-meter (115-foot) strange tower, shaped like a prison-guard post and surrounded by sculptures, stands at the center of one of Puerto Maldonado's busier intersections. The top offers vistas of corrugated-metal roofs, an odd mix of buildings and, in the distance, the rain forest and river.

Sights Viewpoint
Fitzcarrald and Madre de Dios, Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios, Peru
Sights Details
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Plaza Grau

This grassy plaza one block northeast of the Plaza de Armas is dedicated to Miguel Grau, a Peruvian naval officer in the 19th century. But the attraction isn't the bust of him erected there: rather it's the sweeping view of the Rio Madre de Dios and the rainforest that lines its banks.

Plaza/Square Free
Jr. Bellinghurst at Jr. Arequipa, Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios, Peru