Tambopata Research Center — Hotel in Inambari

My husband and I recently had the opportunity to visit the Tambopata Research Center in the Amazon rainforest, and it was truly an unforgettable experience! We did the 5 day, 4 night experience, which was so worth it. I personally think this is the perfect amount of time as it gave us the flexibility to have more opportunities to see wildlife, but also moments of relaxing at the lodge. We booked the trip through Tambopata Travel, with Mike. He was extremely helpful, very organized, and answered all 5 million questions I had haha. He was a very effective communicator and I would recommend anyone and everyone use him to help plan your rainforest experience.

Before I get to my review, my only recommendation to the center would be for them to incorporate more of a variety of activities. A majority of the available activities are equivalent to walking around the rainforest looking for animals and learning about the surroundings. Which was amazing to me, but could lead to boredom for some. Thankfully, we had out guide Timo who made every walk through the rainforest interesting.

Reaching the lodge does take about 3.5 hours, but if you embrace this part of the journey it only makes everything better. Once we arrived, I found the lodge to be absolutely amazing given its remote location. There will be bugs and there will be loud animal sounds, I think it’s important to remember we are guest in these animals home. Having spent 11 days in Peru prior to this trip, I can confidently say that the food at the lodge was the best we had consistently enjoyed throughout our travels. We also had the opportunity to work with other guides in Peru, all of whom were booked through reputable companies, but none compared to our guide, Timo, in terms of his English proficiency and extensive knowledge. The bar manager was also a highlight; he was very knowledgeable about alcohol and offered great recommendations and was able to make a variety of drinks based on what we were wanting to experience. All of the staff at Tambopata were very friendly and always had a smile on their face, especially the busser, I unfortunately missed his name, but he was great and so friendly.

From start to finish, the trip was filled with incredible moments, largely thanks to our amazing guide, Timo. Timo was hands down the most knowledgeable guide I have ever encountered. His expertise about the rainforest was impressive, and he had an uncanny ability to spot wildlife that we would have completely missed without him. It was raining one day and we were willing to go out in the rain and Timo was right there with us. We had the chance to see a wide variety of animals, far exceeding my expectations.Timo also provided us with extensive knowledge about the plants and trees, helping us to understand the ecosystem as a whole. I was seriously blown away by how much he knew about the rainforest. Timo’s insights made the experience not just about the wildlife we saw, but also about the profound interconnectedness of life in the rainforest. We also appreciated Timo’s insight about the nature of wildlife viewing in the rainforest; some days were bustling with activity while others were quieter. I think it’s important for anyone wanting to travel to the Amazon to remember, this is a vast ecosystem with thousands of acres of wilderness- not a zoo.

Overall, my time at the Tambopata Research Center was filled with awe-inspiring moments, and I learned so much about the rainforest. I highly recommend this experience to anyone looking to connect deeply with nature. Just remember to go with the flow and appreciate the rainforest...

A hard review to write, because while there were positive aspects to our stay at Tambopata (4 nights in July 2024), the grand majority of our experience was boring or even a little miserable. Giving a totally honest list of positives and negatives:

Negatives The price tag of $900 per night was absurd for the value we received. We got pretty unlucky and had non-stop rain with cold for 2 of the 3 days straight. While of course that is not Tambopata's fault, they made 0 effort to ensure we enjoyed our experience despite the less than ideal circumstances. They had one activity over the entire two days - a 15 minute "Pisco Sour Lesson" where we watched the bartender made ONE DRINK. That's it. They didn't even offer a taste of the Pisco. You'd think for $900 per night for the basic room they would include one drink for the activity. Ridiculous. To add even more aggravation, you could hear the staff playing billiards/pool the entire day and night, but there was no such entertainment provided for the paying guests... Lastly, they had an onsite masseuse, who sat in the corner on her phone all day. The resort could have offered a 30 minute massage for free to each guest or even a discount on the pricey treatments, again given we're paying $900 per night to sit at the lodge and stare at the rain... The rooms were right next to each other and lacked a wall (which we were aware of in advance, just not the proximity to other rooms). On the left side I could hear a person coughing through the night and on the right, a person snoring. Furthermore, the room was tiny and lacked a fan so again, for $900, we were pretty unimpressed. The food was just alright. The hot soups were very bland and the food was pretty repetitive. They didn't have too many options for me as a vegetarian either. The claylicks, a highlight for most people, were so far away from where we were allowed to stand. You could barely see the birds even with binoculars. We spent sooooo much time waiting for something to happen. Even on the day we had good weather, the activities were long and we had 2 interesting wildlife sightings the entire day (squirrel monkeys and capybara). So, after three days, it's a little hard to remain optimistic and enjoy the scenery. The staff seemed completely indifferent, and no one, including our guide, checked in to see how we were doing the entire time.

Positives A group of about 4 macaws visit the lodge each afternoon around lunch. Getting to watch these animals up close was an exciting experience, and my husband got some great photos (see attached) I thought the Night Lectures were really interesting and I enjoyed attending 2 / 3. We were lucky enough to have 1 good day, and a few good pictures. The Amazon itself is a fascinating place.

This could have been a fantastic experience, but unfortunately, the price tag is absurd for the value, and the resort did nothing to ensure our experience was as positive as possible when we encountered inhospitable weather. It felt like we burned thousands of dollars....I'm sure plenty of other places in the Amazon care a bit more about guest experience than...

TRC certainly offers a very special and totally immersive Amazon jungle experience well worth the price. The lodge is very authentic and I really enjoyed the "no glass windows, let the forest enter the room" experience: I had a lovely tree-frog visitor on my bathroom door early one morning and bats coming and going at dusk, and of course the unforgettable soundscape. The staff were wonderful, particularly the manager Mary, and our guides, especially Timo, were super knowledgeable, friendly and very tech savvy (I am very grateful to Timo for his efforts at taking videos and pictures on our phones through the binocular lens with ultra fine precision!). The food was delicious, although on the last day lunch and dinner menu choices were less diverse (I stayed 3 nights). I thoroughly enjoyed the guided group tours, and you could join different groups depending on what you'd prefer to see on that day (we saw a lot of wildlife, but one has to remember that binoculars are essential - wild animals are exactly that - wild, they don't come close and are not at the beck and call for instagram pictures).That said, I did find not being able to take to any trail on my own without being cautioned about getting lost a bit restrictive. On my last day, while on a guided walk, we passed a beautiful spot near the river with a bench and a small football pitch (!) and I would have liked to have arrived there on my own, sat down for more than 5mins and observed the opposite bank for like an hour on my own - perhaps the jaguar would have come out or the capybaras! Giving visitors a small map with some of the trails marked would create a sense of personal adventure. having just done the 4 day Inca trail I also wanted to try the deep tissue massage to ease my overworked calf muscles, but this was a bit of a disappointment - way too light a touch, even after I asked the masseuse to go a bit stronger. I didn't feel much improvement after, just a fleeting spa treatment feeling. I booked my trip with Rainforest Expeditions and Monica was very helpful throughout advising me and explaining everything. Also a huge thanks to the smooth transfers from the Puerto Maldonado bus terminal to the Rainforest Expeditions HQ complex where I could get refreshed, and the lovely staff who called me a taxi to the centre of town and back so I could get a light breakfast before the bus & boat ride upriver. And on the last morning back to the airport. all in all a superb...