Puerto Maldonado Amazon Tours4-Day Chuncho Macaw Clay Lick Tour from Puerto Maldonado
Chuncho is the clay lick people mean when they talk about macaws in Tambopata, and it is the reason this Chuncho macaw clay lick tour costs $500 and moves you between two lodges. The colpa sits hours up the Tambopata River, the birds come in at first light, and no itinerary that sleeps near Puerto Maldonado can get you there in time. Everything else, canopy, zip line, Monkey Island, Sandoval Lake, night walks, is the standard circuit arranged around that one dawn.
About This Clay Lick Tour
4 days and 3 nights across two lodges
$500 per adult, Tambopata entrance and nine meals included
Chuncho, the largest macaw lick in the region
Hours upriver on the Tambopata to reach the lick
Small group, capped at 9; English and Spanish guiding
Two different lodges, to sleep within reach of the colpa
Listing at a Glance
The same fields on every tour page here, read from Paradise Yakari's listing on GetYourGuide in September 2026. Prices, availability and cancellation terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout on their site.
- Tour name 4-Day Tambopata and Chuncho Macaw Clay Lick Adventure
- Operator Paradise Yakari
- Booking platform GetYourGuide
- Product ID 626885
- Starting price $500 USD per adult
- Price last checked September 2026
- Rating None stated
- Review count None stated
- Review source GetYourGuide verified bookings
- Duration 4 days
- Nights 3 nights across two lodges
- Guiding languages English, Spanish
- Group size Small group, limited to 9
- Hotel or airport pickup Included
- Tambopata entrance fee Included in the price
- What the fee note says Entrance to the Tambopata reserve is included.
- Meals Three breakfasts, three lunches, three dinners
- Sandoval Lake Yes
- Clay lick Yes, Chuncho
- Monkey Island Yes
- Night excursion Yes, night hike
- Canopy or zip line Yes
- Cancellation 24 hours before the start time
- Reserve now, pay later Offered
- Age and health limits None stated
- Difficulty Active, with very early starts for the clay lick
- Accessibility Not suitable for wheelchair users or people with back or heart conditions
- Ethical note Monkey Island is a rescue-and-release island where groups draw the monkeys in with fruit
- Weather note Macaw numbers at the lick depend on the morning's weather; there is no guaranteed show
- Alternative on this site Paradise Yakari 3-day wildlife tour
- Listing read on September 2026
Check Dates and Availability
Live dates and prices from GetYourGuide. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start. The $500 here was read from the listing in September 2026.
Quick answer Why the macaw lick needs four days and two lodges
This four-day tour costs $500 and is the only listing on this site built around the Chuncho macaw clay lick, the largest colpa in the Tambopata region. It uses two lodges so the group sleeps within pre-dawn reach of the lick, and fills the other days with the canopy walk, zip line, Monkey Island, Sandoval Lake and night hikes. The reserve entrance and nine meals are included; the group is capped at nine.
Key takeaways
- Chuncho is hours up the Tambopata, no two or three-day tour from town reaches it in time
- Two lodges, because sleeping close is what makes a first-light arrival possible
- Group capped at nine, the smallest of the GetYourGuide tours here
- The birds are weather-dependent: rain at dawn and the colpa stays empty
- JunglePro's three-day Viator tour at $550 also reaches Chuncho, using Tres Chimbadas instead of Sandoval
What a Clay Lick Morning Involves
Why the birds eat clay
A colpa is an exposed river bank of salt-bearing clay. Macaws, parrots and parakeets come down to eat it in the early morning, and the working explanation is minerals, sodium in particular, which is scarce in the forest diet.
What that means for you is an early start in the dark, a boat, and then sitting still while the light comes up. When it works, several species arrive in waves and the noise is the thing people remember. When the morning is wet, the birds do not come and there is nothing anyone can do about it.
Chuncho versus the smaller licks
Three clay licks appear across the tours on this site and they are not the same experience.
The difference between them is distance from town, which is why the tours that reach the biggest lick are the longest and dearest. Details are taken from the operators' own listings, read in September 2026.
| Clay lick | Which tours reach it | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Chuncho | This tour, JunglePro 3-day | Hours up the Tambopata, sleeping close, a pre-dawn start |
| Colpa de Loros | Green House 2-day | A 05:10 start from a lodge on the Tambopata bank |
| Cachuela | Paradise Yakari 3-day | A stop on the river cliff on the way back to town |
The Rest of the Four Days
Everything the standard circuit includes
Day one is the transfer to Paradise Amazon Ecolodge, the canopy walk, the zip line, kayaking on the Madre de Dios, Monkey Island and a caiman boat at sunset.
Day two is Sandoval Lake and a night walk. The lick sits on the day that follows the move to the second lodge, and the last morning is the run back to Puerto Maldonado. Nine meals, transfers and the reserve entrance are inside the price; tips, travel insurance and personal expenses are not.
Who should not book it
The operator excludes pregnant travellers, wheelchair users, and people with back or heart conditions. The early starts and the river hours are the reason.
If the macaws are the whole point of your trip but four days is too long, JunglePro's three-day is the only shorter route to Chuncho, at $550 with a 4.9 from 66 reviews.
Questions About the Chuncho Clay Lick Tour
How far is the Chuncho clay lick from Puerto Maldonado?
Several hours upriver on the Tambopata, which is why tours that visit it sleep at a lodge close by and start before dawn.
Are the macaws guaranteed?
No. Clay lick activity depends on the weather that morning; rain keeps the birds away. Any operator promising macaws is overselling.
Why does the tour use two lodges?
To put the group within pre-dawn reach of the lick without a punishing boat run in the dark from town.
What is included in the $500?
Airport transfers, the guide, transport, entrance to the Tambopata reserve, nine meals and accommodation at both lodges. Tips, insurance and personal expenses are extra.
Is there a shorter tour to Chuncho?
One: JunglePro's three-day Viator listing at $550, which pairs the lick with Tres Chimbadas Lake instead of Sandoval.
Page last reviewed September 2026. Price, rating and review count read from the listing on September 2026. Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
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