Las Piedras Base Camp Expedition 7 Days

Duration
Difficulty
Adventure
Walking Distance
Boating Distance
Boating Duration
Comfort
Accomm
Water Quality
When to Go
Bugs?

7D6N
2.5 of 5
7 of 10
3km/2(opt)
424km/264mi
1-5 hrs/day
6 of 10
Hammock
Excellent
May-July
Yes

Day 1    Puerto Maldonado - Lucerna - Las Piedras River Campsite
We leave your hotel in Puerto Maldonado at 8 am in our private van and drive to the north, crossing the bridge over the Madre de Dios River near Puerto Capitania and continue for 1 hr to the town of Alegria where we turn left onto a logging road for another 1 hr to arrive at the small community and port of Lucerna on the Las Piedras River. At the riverbank your guide, captain and captain's assitant will load our boat with gear and then we will begin our journey upriver. Today will be our longest boating day of 80 km (50 mi) and 4.5 hrs on the river. Along the way we will immediately notice great herons, cormorans, little blue herons, taricaya turtles and possibly see white (speckled) caimans, capybaras and spider monkeys. After having lunch at a shady beach we will continue until the late afternoon when we will arrive at our campsite. Our crew will set up dining and kitchen mesh tents, your personal hammock and rain tarp while the group can enjoy a short hike along the beach into the forest for jaguar and ocelot tracks, manakins, toucans, guans, goliath and tortoise beetles, saki or howler monkeys etc. In the early evening during dinner prepared by our chef we will notice the night sounds come in, first beginning with 2 or 3 different species of crickets which turns into a crecendo of multiple species within a 15 minute time span. Soon we are surrounded by magical songs and a symphony of praise for the now cooling off forest at night. At night we can explore the nearby oxbow lake remnant, a meander scar which may or may not have water and or mud which can attract larger mammals such as capybaras, peccaries and tapirs. Night hammock camping.

• Hotel Reception in Puerto Maldonado
• Private Transfer to Lucerna (2 hrs)
• Motorboat Transfer (4.5 hrs)
• Afternoon Nature Hike
• Meander Scar Night Walk
• Meals - LD
• Accommodation - Hammock Base Camping

Day 2    Oxbow Remnant - Las Piedras River Clay Lick Campsite
Early this morning before or after breakfast we can return to the small oxbow lake remnant just a 600 ft bushwhack from the beach. This once oxbow lake now offers a walkable clearing about 2 km long and may show running or still water and muddy areas with mammal tracks, tadpole pools and other reptile and insect species which flourish in this kind of niche. We can also cross the river in packrafts to explore the nearby creek which offers clear, cooler water with spotted freshwater stingrays (Potamotrygons) and fishes from the Metynnis genera. There is also fishing on the main river from any one of our campsites for catfish, piranha, pacu and vampire fish (payara). At about 10:30 am we will board our motorboat and continue upriver soon reaching the river-wide waterfalls of "La Cachuela" where our captain and assistant will have to manuever the falls and retrieve us on the upper side. After stopping for lunch and boating a total of 60 km (40 mi) and 3.5 hrs we reach our next campsite across the river from a macaw clay lick. We'll pick a spot to set up camp which is ideal for watching these birds early tomorrow morning. In the afternoon we can watch any macaw activity from camp or relax on the nearby sandy beach, gather wood for a tonight's bonfire or explore the dense forest behind our camp. After dinner is served by our chef we can enjoy the fire on the beach or play card games in the spacious group mosquito and no-see-um-proof mesh tent. At night from your hammock you may hear the calls from nearby grebes, frogs and crickets over the constant soothing sound of the flowing river. Night hammock camping.

• Meander Scar Walk
• Creek Exploration
• Motorboat Transfer (3.5 hrs)
• Afternoon Clay Lick Activity
• Afternoon Free Time
• Beach Bonfire
• Meals - BLD
• Accommodation - Hammock Base Camping

Day 3    Clay Lick - Monte Salvado - Las Piedras River Campsite
Very early this morning from our camp we can watch the activity at the clay lick where we can watch white-eyed parakeets, blue-headed parrots, mealy parrots, yellow-crowned Amazons, blue and yellow macaws and red and green macaws congregate in flocks to land on the cliff face to lick the clay. The negatively charged clay helps in digestion of an acidic, positively charged diet of fruits and nuts. After this colorful show we'll have breakfast then continue upriver another 70 km (44 mi) and 3.5 hrs to our furthest upriver destination and turnaround point at the community of Monte Salvado. We have now reached the boundary for safe travel as any further upriver belongs to the indigenous Mashco-Piro tribe. The Monte Salvadians have about 20 recovered arrows to prove it. After arriving at the community around 12:30 pm we will have an informal visit and have the chance to learn about local customs and architecture. We may be able to meet the President, Ernesto if available and ask any questions we may have about the orgins of the communnity and future prospects. At 2:30 pm we will leave Monte Salvado and head downriver to our next campsite 700 ft from an old and very isolated small, well-established oxbow lake. After dinner is served we can make our way to the lake carrying packrafts (~ 5 lbs) for night rafting. Our headlamps make excellent tools for lighting up any eyes on the lake and lake's edge. If we do not see this lake tonight we can visit tomorrow morning. Tonight from your hammock you can enjoy the wonderful sounds of nocturnal crickets, night birds and see trails of bioluminescent insects. Night hammock camping.

• Macaw Clay Lick
• Motorboat Transfer (3.5 hrs)
• Monte Salvado Community
• Night Oxbow Rafting
• Meals - BLD
• Accommodation - Hammock Base Camping

Day 4    4 Oxbow Lakes - Las Piedras River Campsite
This morning before or after breakfast we can return to the small oxbow which is deep and well established. We may find small caimans, hoatzins, squirrel monkeys, toucans, flycatchers, limpkins, donacobius, red-capped cardinals or others. After returning to camp we can either raft or take our motorboat downriver 4 kms (2.5 mi) to a another oxbow / flooded area for more species and a different ecological niche. Further downriver still, another 19 km (12 mi), there is another lake to explore. (Visiting 1 to 3 of these lakes will depend on the group's preference and lake's accessibility which is dependent on season and river level. All require some machete work to reach.) From the third lake we will motorboat downriver another 19 km (12 mi) around 2 loops (newly-forming oxbows) to the final lake for the day known by the locals simply as "Lago" (Lake). This is the largest of the 4 lakes and 3 kms end to end and up to 800 ft wide. If we have the time in the afternoon we can explore this lake on packrafts or simply turn in after dinner and save the rafting for early tomorrow morning when the activity is at a maximum. We will set up camp between the Las Piedras River and "Lago". Night hammock camping.

• 4 Oxbow Lakes Rafting
• Meals - BLD
• Accommodation - Hammock Base Camping

Day 5    "Lago" - Puerto Nuevo - Las Piedras River Campsite
This morning before or after breakfast we can explore "Lago" in our personal inflatable boats. We can expect to see hoatzins, wattled jacanas, flycatchers, cardinals, herons, guans, ibis, parrots, capybaras, caimans etc. At 10:30 am we will pack up camp and head downriver to the community of Puerto Nuevo. We will stop here briefly to visit with the locals who, depending on the day of the week, may be out in their chakras (farms), the kids in school etc. We will most likely meet either the President, Moises or Vice President, Moises who can tell us more about the community. From here we will continue downriver another 80 kms (50 mi) and 3 hrs to our next campsite but before arriving, we will again stop at "La Cachuela". While our captain maneuvers the boat around rocky obstacles we can take turns going over the small falls in our rafts, a short adrenaline rush which is suitable for everyone. Our next campsite is located between the river and another newly-formed longer oxbow lake which the river created about 10 years ago. Behind this lake is another, much older meander scar. In the afternoon we can discuss plans to explore the area. Today's campsite is a great fishing spot for pacu. Tonight, in addition to the usual reflective-spotted moths you may have a giant preying mantis (15 cm / 6 in long) also land on your hammock's bug net then it may just hang from your tarp and stare down at you for a while. Enjoy! Night hammock camping.

• "Lago" Oxbow Lake Exploration
• Motorboat Transfer (3 hrs)
• Afternoon Free Time
• Meals - BLD
• Accommodation - Hammock Base Camping

Day 6    Long Oxbow - Old Meander Scar - Jungle Keepers Clay Lick Campsite
Today we have all morning for exploration up until lunchtime. The nearby newly-formed oxbow lake is almost 4 km around and depending on the river level may offer both inlet and outlet channels which connect to the Las Piedras River. Worst case, there is more walking to do than rafting but our inflatable boats are extremely lightweight and very portable. As a group we can decide on a plan for seeing the lake and possibly older oxbow remnant behind it. Our chef can also pack us a lunch for a longer trip. At 12:30 pm we will pack up to continue downriver for 68 km (42 mi) and 2.5 hrs to our final campsite opposite from the Jungle Keepers Clay Lick. While our crew sets up camp at a good location with a view to the clay lick, we will head to the northeast on a nature walk in search af anything we can find which could be a coati, anteater, pacman frog, agouti, tamarin, spider monkey, peccary, boa or howler monkey. In the late afternoon, almost dark, we will return to camp for dinner provided by our chef. At night we can decide on tomorrow's clay lick viewing location for the best opportunities for pictures of various colorful birds including the red and green macaw. A long lens is perfect for this special occasion! Tonight from your hammock you may hear something crushing the leaves in the distance which could be medium sized peccaries, large sized tapirs or even the smaller agouti which may come right up to your hammock. Night hammock camping.

• Long Oxbow / Meander Scar Exploration
• Motorboat Transfer (2.5 hrs)
• Nature Walk
• Meals - BLD
• Accommodation - Lodge

Day 7    Clay Lick 2 - Dos Cascadas - Lucerna - Puerto Maldonado
Today, very early at 5 am we will wake to the squawking of large macaws, in fact the y are so noisy there is no sleeping late at this camp. In addition to red and green macaws, we may see blue and yellows, yellow-crowned amazon parrots, parakeets and more. After the activity settles we'll have breakfast at the river then pack up camp and boat downriver a few minutes to a special place where 2 adjacent waterfalls are dumping into the Las Piedras River. We'll stop here for a few minutes to have a cool morning shower and to take photos. From here it's another 10 mins to Lucerna our final stop. We will have about an hr before lunch at the local restaurant where we can relish in the accomplishment of our journey and share stories. Our private van will arrive at the restaurant to take us back to Puerto Maldonado and your hotel arriving 2:30 - 3 pm.

• Macaw Clay Lick
• Dos Cascadas
• Motorboat Transfer (30m mins)
• Private Van Transfer (2 hrs)
• Meals - BL