For three days during this trip you’ll be visiting the Amazon Jungle near Puerto Maldonado. Once again, we’ll only take what we need for these 3 days, and leave any excess luggage stored securely at your Cusco hotel for when we return. You’ll take a short flight from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado before boarding a boat down an Amazonian tributary to a jungle lodge – your home for the next three days.
We stay at a variety of jungle lodges and many are built from a combination of traditional native materials and modern day eco-lodge technology deep in the jungle. The modest facilities are built with wood, palm fronds, wild cane and clay. All rooms are separated by drapes (so they’re not sound proof) and each bedroom has beds, mosquito nets, bedside tables, hammocks or lounge chairs and a private cold-water bathroom. A generator is turned on once a day to recharge batteries for guests or lodge facilities. Light is provided by numerous kerosene lamps and candles. Common areas are open and spacey and offer ample area for resting and socialising, they include a dining room and bar, a reception lounge with souvenir shop, and an interpretation centre.
The climate here is very different to that of the Andes – hot and humid is a pretty accurate description! Some long sleeved/ legged clothes are a good idea for sun and bug protection, though we don’t recommend doing any washing while you’re here - it probably won’t dry. The amounts on the mini gear list below are guide for what to pack from April to October. If you’re travelling from November to March, you might like to bring a little extra clothing also as things can get a little more wet and muddy! Hiking boots are also better than shoes at this time of year. Some jungle lodges provide rubber boots in the wet season, but others don’t, so it’s better to come prepared!