Puerto Maldonado Amazon tours, every bookable one into the Tambopata National Reserve, read off the operators' own listings in September 2026 and lined up on the four things that separate them: how many nights, whether the reserve fee is inside the price, which lake or clay lick you reach, and how late you can cancel.
Updated September 2026
Puerto Maldonado Amazon tours run from $56 for a half day on Sandoval Lake to $739 for five days upriver. The dividing line is nights: a day trip gets you onto the lake and back by dark, one night adds a night walk and a dawn on the water, three days is where a clay lick becomes realistic, and four or five is what the Chuncho macaw lick needs. Every tour must be booked through a SERNANP-authorised operator, there is no independent way into the reserve.
Key takeaways
The longest trips, and the only ones that reach the Chuncho macaw clay lick or give Sandoval Lake and a lick separate days. Prices, ratings and inclusions below were read from the operators' listings in September 2026; booking, payment and cancellation happen on GetYourGuide or Viator, not here.
The most-reviewed 4-day trip out of Puerto Maldonado, and the one that spreads its activities widest: a river search for three-toed sloths, an afternoon rather than a dawn visit to Sandoval Lake, a Machiguenga family on day three and a clay lick on the last morning. Reserve entry is inside the price; the first breakfast and the last lunch are not.
The cheapest four-day tour here, and the most active. The listing is unusually precise about what you get, tower height, zip-line length, bridge length, and the reserve entrance and every meal are inside the price. The trade-off is that the wildlife time competes with the adventure activities.
The highest-rated tour in Puerto Maldonado at 4.8, though on a small sample of eleven reviews. Its shape is the 3-day PVTravel trip with an extra night, a clay lick and a visit to a riverside family added. Entrance fees to every site are included; flights still have to fit the 13:00 windows.
A four-day trip at a fixed lodge with a small group cap of ten, run rain or shine. Two lines in the small print change the maths: the Tambopata entrance is charged separately at $20 a head, and a solo traveller who wants a room to themselves pays a 30% supplement.
Chuncho is the reason this tour costs more and moves you between two lodges: the lick sits hours upriver and the macaws come in at first light, so you have to sleep close. Everything else, canopy, zip line, Monkey Island, Sandoval Lake, night walks, is the standard Paradise Yakari circuit around it.
from $494
Smallest group Listing details checked September 2026
A lodge-based four days rather than a moving circuit, with the smallest group cap here, eight, and national park fees, transfers and every activity inside the price. Read the terms before you book: the free-cancellation window is 44 days, not 24 hours, and two people is the minimum booking.
from $544
For photographers Listing details checked September 2026
A photography-framed version of the Paradise lodge circuit: canopy walk beside a Lupuna tree, zip line, kayaking, Monkey Island, Sandoval Lake by rowing canoe, a community visit and a night walk. What you pay extra for is guide attention on spotting and positioning, not different places.
from $597
Community visit Listing details checked September 2026
A four-day trip that leads with culture as well as wildlife: the Matsigenka community visit sits alongside the canopy walk, the macaws and Sandoval Lake, and rubber boots and every entrance fee are included. The catch is the terms, this listing is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason.
from $645
Sleeps inside the reserve Listing details checked September 2026
The most expensive listing here and the one with the most careful kit list, snakebite antidote in the first-aid kit, boots supplied, a 05:00 start on day two. Two things to check before booking: it is titled a 4-day expedition but the listing's duration field says 3 days, and the last lunch is not included.
from $739
Longest itinerary Listing details checked September 2026
The longest itinerary on this page, and the only one that gives the clay lick and Sandoval Lake their own days instead of stacking them. Four nights, boots and a first-aid kit supplied, a 07:00 start on day one. Cancellation is three days out rather than 24 hours, so it is not a last-minute booking.
Two nights in the forest, which is enough for Sandoval Lake in the morning and a clay lick on the way out. The prices below span $250, and the gap is mostly lodge comfort, group size and whether the reserve fee is included.
The longest review record in Puerto Maldonado, 395 ratings, for a straightforward 3-day lodge trip: river to the lodge, caimans at rest on the banks, the walk in to Sandoval Lake and a canoe on it. Entrance fees to everything visited are included. The catch is the flight window: you must land before 13:00 and leave after 13:00 or the transfers do not work.
Cheaper than most 3-day trips and strong on reviews, but read the inclusions before you compare prices: the reserve entrance and the zip line are both sold as add-ons here, where several rivals fold them into the headline figure. Monkey Island sits directly opposite the lodge, so it is a short crossing rather than a separate excursion.
The cheapest three-night-free option from an operator with a solid record, and the shorter sibling of the same lodge's 4-day tour. Same two conditions apply: $20 per person for the reserve entrance on top, and a 30% supplement if you want a room to yourself.
The busiest three-day itinerary on the list: canopy and zip line on day one, Sandoval Lake on day two, the Cachuela parrot clay lick and fishing on the way out. The reserve entrance is included. If you dislike heights, note that the operator itself flags the tour as unsuitable.
from $325
Private river rooms Listing details checked September 2026
A quieter three-day trip: private rooms facing the Tambopata River, small groups, rubber boots supplied in the rainy season and vegetarian meals if you ask. The operator is upfront that early-morning activities mean waking before dawn.
from $550
Chuncho in 3 days Listing details checked September 2026
The only three-day tour that reaches the Chuncho clay lick, and it pairs it with Tres Chimbadas rather than Sandoval, a quieter oxbow lake with its own otter family. It carries the second-largest review base in town at 4.9 from 66, runs in English only, and confirms within 48 hours rather than instantly.
One night is the shortest trip that gets you a night walk, a dawn on the water and the sounds of the forest after dark. Every option here includes the lodge, meals and transfers; they differ on whether Sandoval Lake or a clay lick is in the plan.
Two days for $230 with a private room, private bathroom and hot water, which is more than several tours costing $70 more provide. It skips Sandoval Lake in favour of river time, a night walk and the parrot clay lick, and it carries the clearest weather clause here: a full refund if conditions force a core activity to be cut.
from $275
Cusco add-on Listing details checked September 2026
Priced for the Cusco add-on market and sold with the flight left out, which is why it looks cheap. Read the inclusions carefully: the Tambopata entrance is quoted separately at about $20, and the operator marks its own price as indicative and subject to change.
The best-reviewed two-day trip on the list, from the same operator as the 3-day and 4-day versions, so the lodge and guides are the same and only the length changes. Entrance fees are included. Flights have to fit: arrive before 13:00, leave after 15:00, or the transfers break.
from $300
Most active 2-day Listing details checked September 2026
The two-day cut of the Paradise Yakari itinerary, with the same tower, zip line and kayak session as its four-day sibling. Note the listing history: this product was sold as a Lake Valencia fishing trip and now sells a lodge stay under the same page, so older write-ups of it describe a different tour.
from $350
Clay lick in 2 days Listing details checked September 2026
The only two-day tour that gets you to a clay lick, Colpa de Loros on the Tambopata bank, where parrots gather from about 05:10 in good weather. Rooms are basic and private, the operator is local, and a share of the income goes to a parrot rehabilitation project it runs.
from $275
Discounted on Viator Listing details checked September 2026
The Viator listing of the same IZI Peru trip sold on GetYourGuide, and the two prices move independently, it was discounted 7% when we checked, ending 26 September. Two things to weigh: the reserve entrance is charged separately at $20, and the group cap is 30, the largest on this page.
No lodge, no night walk, back in town for dinner. These work as an arrival-day or departure-day filler, and four of the six are the same trip to Sandoval Lake at four different prices, which is the clearest illustration on this page of how little the headline number tells you.
from $59
Cheapest Sandoval day Listing details checked September 2026
The cheapest way onto Sandoval Lake, currently discounted from $65, and the earliest start of the day trips, which matters, because animals move in the morning. Swimming in the lake is offered at the guide's discretion. Reserve entrance and lunch are included; drinks are not.
from $66
Bilingual day trip Listing details checked September 2026
A middle option among the Sandoval day trips: cheaper than the $95 tour, English and Spanish guiding, group capped at ten and a box lunch or a lodge lunch by the lake. The operator states plainly that the 3 km hike needs a basic level of fitness and that boots help in the rainy season.
from $75
Spanish-guided day trip Listing details checked September 2026
A budget day trip to the same lake as the $95 version, and the trade-off is stated on the listing: the guide works in Spanish. Book at least a day ahead and give a WhatsApp number, because that is how the operator confirms the pickup.
from $75
Best-rated day trip Listing details checked September 2026
The best-reviewed day trip in Puerto Maldonado on either platform, at 5.0 from 22 reviews, and one of the few listings anywhere here that promises vegetarian and vegan food as standard. Groups are capped at nine, the reserve entrance is included and it starts and ends at the main square.
The day-trip version of what the multi-day tours build around, and the only one of them run by an operator whose own listing tells you the truth about wildlife: Sandoval is not a zoo, and some days you see very little. Pickup starts around noon and is confirmed by WhatsApp, so it works for a same-day arrival flight.
from $56
Sunset half day Listing details checked September 2026
Four hours in the afternoon rather than a full day, which makes it the tour to book when your flight lands at midday. One contradiction worth clearing with the operator: the inclusions mention a light snack and bottled water, while the notes tell you to bring your own.
from $56
Fishing half day Listing details checked September 2026
The one half-day here that is not a Sandoval Lake trip. A community-hosted lake reached in 25 minutes by road, traditional rods and bait supplied, lunch made from local produce, and the sunset over the water at the end. Good filler for an arrival or departure day.
Ten tours across every length, compared on the four things that move the real cost: how many nights you sleep in the forest, whether the Tambopata entrance is inside the price or charged on top, which clay lick you reach, and how late you can still cancel. Ratings and prices were read from the listings in September 2026.
| Tour | Nights | Reserve fee | Clay lick | Cancellation | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest Sandoval day, $59 | None | Included | No | 24 hours | Check Availability |
| Sandoval day with canoe, $95 | None | Included | No | 24 hours | Check Availability Details |
| Tambopata Wild 2-day, $230 | 1 | Included | Parrots | 24 hours | Check Availability Details |
| PVTravel 2-day, $280 | 1 | Included | No | 24 hours | Check Availability Details |
| Monte Amazonico 3-day, $300 | 2 | +$20 per person | No | 24 hours | Check Availability Details |
| Inka Altitude 3-day, $320 | 2 | Add-on at checkout | No | 24 hours | Check Availability Details |
| Paradise Yakari 4-day, $350 | 3 | Included | No | 24 hours | Check Availability Details |
| Green House 4-day, $445 | 3 | Included | Parrots and macaws | 24 hours | Check Availability Details |
| Chuncho clay lick 4-day, $500 | 3 | Included | Chuncho | 24 hours | Check Availability Details |
| Eco Amazonia 4-day, $494 | 3 | Included | No | 44 days | Check Availability |
Every GetYourGuide listing on this page is free to cancel up to 24 hours before the start and most let you reserve now and pay later.
Two listings sit outside the 24-hour norm entirely: the Eco Amazonia four-day needs 44 days' notice for a refund, and the Matsigenka four-day is non-refundable from the moment you book.
Live dates and prices for our overall pick, the four-day Green House tour. Everything else on this page was last read from the listings in September 2026.
Comparing a different length? PVTravel 3-day · Inka Altitude 3-day · Monte Amazonico 4-day · PVTravel 2-day · Sandoval day trip · Monte Amazonico 3-day · Sandoval budget day · Paradise Yakari 3-day · Paradise Yakari 4-day · PVTravel 4-day · Cheapest Sandoval day · Paradise Yakari 2-day · Chuncho clay lick 4-day · Photography 4-day · Peru Hidden expedition · Trip 360 3-day · Tambopata Wild 2-day · IZI Peru 2-day · Green House 2-day · Sandoval trek and canoe · Sunset capybara tour · Yacumama piranha · Viator Sandoval day · IZI Viator 2-day · JunglePro 3-day · Eco Amazonia 4-day · Peru Amazon Trips 4-day · Peru Amazon Trips 5-day
Every operator here runs the same handful of places: the Madre de Dios river, Sandoval Lake, a stretch of primary forest, a clay lick, sometimes Monkey Island. What changes with length is how many dawns and dusks you get, and those are the hours when the forest is awake.
A day trip gives you the middle of the day, which is the quietest wildlife window there is. One night buys a night walk and an early canoe. Two nights make a clay lick realistic. Three nights are what the Chuncho lick needs, because it sits hours upriver and the macaws come in at first light.
The steepest value jump is from a day trip to one night: for about $150 more you gain the two active wildlife windows a day trip skips entirely.
The figures below are the cheapest and dearest listing at each length on this page, read from GetYourGuide and Viator in September 2026, with the thing each step up actually buys.
| Length | Cheapest here | Dearest here | What the extra time buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half day, 4 hours | $56 | $56 | Sunset on the lake, or a fishing lake with no reserve walk |
| Full day, 6–8.5 hours | $59 | $95 | Sandoval Lake by canoe and back by dark |
| 2 days, 1 night | $230 | $350 | A night walk, a dawn, and one clay lick on the best of them |
| 3 days, 2 nights | $300 | $550 | Sandoval and a lick on separate days; Chuncho on one listing |
| 4–5 days | $350 | $739 | Chuncho, second lakes, community visits, unhurried mornings |
At roughly S/ 3.7 to the dollar that is about $8 for a day trip, $16 for a two or three-day tour and $40 for four days or more. Children under five go free, and local residents pay the reduced rate with ID.
Several operators quote the fee to you as a flat "$20 per person", Monte Amazonico and IZI Peru both do. That is more than the official tariff on a short tour and less than it on a long one, so treat it as the operator's own estimate rather than a government price, and ask what it covers on the length you are booking.
These are the published tariffs from SERNANP, the Peruvian protected-areas service that runs Tambopata, taken from its own visitor portal and checked on 4 September 2026. The fee is per person and scales with how long you stay inside the reserve.
| Length of stay | Foreign visitor | Peruvian adult | Peruvian child 5–16 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 day | S/ 30 | S/ 15 | S/ 8 |
| 2–3 days | S/ 60 | S/ 30 | S/ 15 |
| 4–30 days | S/ 150 | S/ 75 | S/ 35 |
Tambopata is open 05:00 to 19:00 every day, and entry is only permitted with an operator or guide authorised by SERNANP. There is no gate you can pay at on your own and no independent hiking. That single rule is why this page compares tours rather than telling you how to do it yourself.
It also means the fee is never the reason to pick one tour over another, $8 to $40 is small against a $300 trip. What matters is whether the operator was straight with you about it before checkout.
When a listing says "the lake", it means Sandoval: an oxbow inside the reserve, reached by boat and then a 3 km walk through flooded forest, paddled in wooden canoes. It holds a family of giant river otters, an endangered species that lives in groups of roughly three to twenty, along with black caimans, hoatzins and several monkey species.
No operator can promise you otters, and the honest ones say so. The full-day canoe tour puts it in its own listing: Sandoval is not a zoo, and there are days when you see very little. Two visits across a longer tour are the only real way to improve your odds.
A colpa is a river cliff of salt-bearing clay that parrots and macaws eat at first light. Three appear in the tours here, and they are not interchangeable.
Chuncho is the big one, hours up the Tambopata, and only the four-day clay lick tour and JunglePro's three-day trip sleep close enough to be there at dawn. Colpa de Loros, on the Tambopata bank, is close enough that the two-day Green House tour reaches it from about 05:10. Cachuela, a parrot lick, is on Paradise Yakari's three-day itinerary.
All of them depend on the weather that morning. Rain, and the birds do not come.
JunglePro's three-day tour skips Sandoval and uses Tres Chimbadas instead, a smaller oxbow with its own otter family and far fewer canoes on it. Eco Amazonia uses Lost Cocha the same way. If you have already seen Sandoval, or you want the version without other groups in the frame, those are the two listings to read first.
Padre Aldamiz International Airport (PEM) sits a few minutes from town and is served by two airlines, LATAM and Sky Airline. Lima is about 1 hour 40 minutes; Cusco is about an hour, which is why most travellers arrive here straight after Machu Picchu.
Overland, the Interoceanic Highway covers the 470 km from Cusco in roughly 8 hours 30 minutes to 10 hours, with several departures a day. It is cheap and it is long, and it arrives when it arrives, which matters more than usual here, because of the timing rule below.
Multi-day tours are built around one boat departure a day. PVTravel and its longer trips state it plainly: your arrival flight must land before 13:00 and your departure flight must leave after 13:00, after 15:00 on the two-day version. Book a flight outside that window and the transfer does not work.
Check this before you book the tour, not after. It is the single most common reason a Puerto Maldonado booking has to be moved.
The forest is open all year and the tours run all year. What moves is the rain and, in the middle of the dry season, the friaje, a cold push of air from the south that drops the nights to 12–13 °C and sends people into the fleece they did not pack. Figures are the SENAMHI and NOAA station normals for Puerto Maldonado.
Monthly normals from the SENAMHI/NOAA station record for Puerto Maldonado; friaje temperatures from SENAMHI's Madre de Dios bulletins and Agencia Andina reporting.
The CDC's 2026 Yellow Book recommends yellow fever vaccination for all of Madre de Dios, including Puerto Maldonado and the Amazon lowlands generally. Recommended is not the same as required: Peru does not demand a yellow fever certificate from travellers arriving from most countries, and tour operators here do not ask for one.
Madre de Dios is also a malaria risk area. CDC advises prophylaxis effective against chloroquine-resistant malaria alongside bite prevention. Which drug suits you is a conversation with a travel clinic, ideally four to six weeks before you fly, not something to read off a tour page.
Read enough listings and the same items repeat: repellent with 50% DEET, a torch, long sleeves and long trousers for dusk, and boots. Several operators supply rubber boots, and one supplies them specifically in the rainy season. One lists snakebite antivenom in its first-aid kit, which tells you something about how far upriver it goes.
Add a light fleece if you are travelling in June or July. The friaje is the one weather event visitors are never warned about.
Monkey Island, Isla de los Monos, is an island in the Madre de Dios about 30 km downstream, holding a few dozen monkeys taken out of the illegal pet trade. Several tours here stop there, and the listings are candid about the mechanics: the monkeys are drawn in with fruit, and visitors do the feeding.
Whether that is rehabilitation or a photo opportunity is a judgement each traveller makes. What this page can do is tell you which tours include it: Inka Altitude, Monte Amazonico, Paradise Yakari and IZI Peru all do. The Green House four-day and Tambopata Wild's two-day do not.
Two operators put something back in writing. Green House says a share of its income funds Casa de Loros, a parrot rehabilitation project, and supports local sports and environmental education. Paradise Yakari frames its Machiguenga family visit as income for a community adapting to tourism rather than a staged performance.
Neither claim is audited, here or anywhere. But an operator willing to write it down is at least accountable for it.
Verified reviews from the listings compared on this page, quoted as written. Ratings and counts were read in September 2026.
An amazing journey to the Amazon. Mirko and Victor were amazing hosts. We did every activity from seeing Cayman Alligators to tarantulas, scorpions, birds and capybaras. 100% recommended and value for money!
Absolutely fantastic trip. Great accommodation and food at the lodge. Saw so many amazing animals and our guide Frank was absolutely brilliant. His knowledge, expertise and ability to spot wildlife made the trip truly exceptional.
We liked the activities, the lodge, the food. All the personnel were very kind, polite and helpful. The activities were very nice, informative and funny for the whole family, we especially liked the excursion to the lake.
Guide was great. I was the only English speaker on the tour and he was very good at communicating everything in both Spanish and English.
Si was a great guide and we learned lots about the plants and animals in the area. He made the activities flexible to give us the best chance of seeing wildlife and we had an amazing time.
We were a group of five and we highly recommend this experience. Our guide, Fernando, was fantastic: he had so much knowledge and made the experience way beyond our expectations.
On the listings compared here, half days start at $56, full days at $59, one night at $230, two nights at $300 and the longest trip runs to $739 for five days. Price tracks nights first and lodge comfort second. Compare every option.
It is worth more than nothing and less than a night. A day trip gives you Sandoval Lake in the middle of the day, which is the quietest wildlife window. If your schedule can stretch to one night from $230, the night walk and the dawn canoe are what people remember.
CDC recommends it for all of Madre de Dios, but Peru does not require a certificate to enter from most countries and operators do not ask for one. Madre de Dios is also a malaria risk area. Talk to a travel clinic four to six weeks before you fly. What the guidance says.
Possibly. They live on Sandoval Lake in family groups and are seen regularly, but no operator guarantees them, and one listing states outright that some days you see almost nothing. Longer tours that visit the lake twice give you two chances instead of one. More on the lakes.
SERNANP charges foreign visitors S/ 30 for one day, S/ 60 for two to three days and S/ 150 for four to thirty days, roughly $8, $16 and $40. Some operators quote a flat $20 instead. The full tariff.
No. The reserve is open 05:00 to 19:00 but entry is only allowed with a SERNANP-authorised operator or guide, so every visit is a booked tour. That rule is the reason this page compares operators rather than routes.
June to August is driest at under 65 mm of rain a month and busiest; November to March brings 240–343 mm and mud. April, May, September and October split the difference. Pack a fleece for June and July, when a friaje can drop nights to 12–13 °C. Month by month.
LATAM and Sky Airline fly in from Lima (about 1 h 40 min) and Cusco (about an hour), and buses cover the 470 km Interoceanic Highway from Cusco in 8.5 to 10 hours. Watch the flight windows tours impose. Arrival timings.
Two: the four-day clay lick tour at $500 and JunglePro's three-day trip at $550. Chuncho sits hours up the Tambopata and the macaws come in at first light, so you have to sleep within reach of it.
Usually yes, up to 24 hours before, on every GetYourGuide listing here. Two Viator listings differ sharply: one wants 44 days' notice and one is non-refundable from booking. Read that line before you pay.
Planning guides
The detail that does not fit on one page: what each length delivers, what the tours include and what the reserve itself costs, each checked against operator listings and SERNANP's own figures.
Puerto Maldonado Amazon Tours
