Bolivia and Peru wildlife tour

Environment
All trips and lodges in our tours in Bolivia and Peru are located in remote locations in the high Andes or hidden rainforest or savannahs, where the value of biodiversity conservation, efforts in saving water and energy are highly precious. Trip routines will explore amazing places respecting wildlife and local people and environmental policies. Lodges were built using local materials, based on traditional architecture that resulted low-impact or non-invasive with spectacular pristine ecosystems or biodiversity rich environments, both home of many threatened charismatic wild flora and fauna. Operations run by trained locals are using alternative energy sources and have implemented garbage, solid, and water waste management to greatly reduce and mitigate undesirable pollution effects. We are committed not to sell tours that represent a threat to nature preserves, historical and cultural destinations we invite travellers to visit.

International travellers visiting the Heath and Tambopata rainforests have enjoyed guided tours led by knowledgeable locals who make their living from wildlife tourism, and also by assisting conservation scientists and programs dedicated to save this part of South America, known to host one of the most valuable and spectacular ecosystems in the Amazon. Nature tourism is now the main support for families that still rely on poor yielding economies, such subsistence agriculture and Brazil nut gathering.

Lodges included in the tour were designed copying traditional architecture, built using rainforest materials, such as fine hardwoods that were naturally hauled by seasonal river floods, deposited in river meanders or palisades, from where indigenous people and locals gather dry or well-preserved logs that are finally sawed before reaching markets. Lodge design, including comfortable cabins, toilets, spacious dinning rooms, and extensive trails, resulted non-invasive with the fragile ecosystem and its resident fauna. Our operations include treatment of waste waters and solid waste recycling.

A combined effort between conscious tour operators, skillfull locals, and nature tourists became a successful alternative to mitigate poverty levels and reduce undesirable environmental impacts that still threat precious rainforests, home of locals cultures and a spectacular set of wildlife species including the jaguar, giant otter, harpy eagle, Brazilian tapir, black spider monkey, anacondas, and more, not easy to observe in other places in the Amazon. We invite you to be part of this.

Community
International travellers visiting the Heath and Tambopata rainforests have enjoyed guided tours led by knowledgeable locals who make their living from wildlife tourism, and also by assisting conservation scientists and programs dedicated to save this part of South America, known to host one of the most valuable and spectacular ecosystems in the Amazon. Nature tourism is now the main support for families that still rely on poor yielding economies, such subsistence agriculture and Brazil nut gathering.

My husband David G. Ricalde and I, are tourism and conservation consultants with more than 20 yrs of experience in selling eco-tours, and have been involved in building local capacities and the making of tourism projects neighboring nature preserves or buffer zones. In Bolivia, our small company have been the most important factor for the success of the famed and awarded Chalalan Ecolodge, property of Quechua-Tacana people, also known as a model in rainforest tourism in South America. Since this lodge started in 1998, we have been responsible for selling 80-65% of the arrivals to this rainforest lodge nested in Madidi National Park. Profits are helping the development of 500 families dedicated to low-yielding agriculture and subsistence. Presently, we continue our work as consultants and instructors for conservation projects implementing nature tourism as an alternative to save fine ecosystems and local cultures in Bolivia and Peru.