Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
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The lodge we stay at in the Tambopata Candamo Reserved Zone was built using local materials and traditional techniques, there is no hot water or electricity – it is a small scale low impact operation. Responsible disposal of waste, recycling and low energy consumption are priorities. Local products are always used where possible, and staff employed at the lodge are from local communities.
The Tambopata Candamo Reserved Zone, located south and east of Puerto Maldonado, comprises 1.5 million hectares. The Reserve Zone was created in 1990 by the Peruvian government working in partnership with local grassroots and international conservation organizations including the directors of the Wasai lodge. It protects the biological diversity of the entire watersheds of the Tavara and the Candamo Rivers and most of the watershed of the Tambopata River. This covers a huge diversity of forest habitats and wildlife, including pristine ox-bow lakes harbouring kingfishers, caiman and giant otters, spectacular waterfalls, clay licks visited by macaws, monkeys and tapirs, and rivers with white, sandy beaches.
The lodge is involved in various ongoing projects. The lodge runs courses in eco-tourism and tropical ecology for local schools and businesses. Free courses are made available for some university and school students. There is ongoing research at the lodge on subjects such as biology, tourism and interaction with local communities.
We are also now supporting the UK registered chairty Amantani. As this charity is very much in keeping with our ethos of small scale, targetted help which is educational & sustainabale. HuchuyYachaq is the other main Peruvian charity we support by paying a for a full time teacher. A % of all our income goes to support those projects.
The founder of this tour operator set up 12 years ago after working as a trek leader and writing guidebooks in South America. She decided to offer alternative track routes that no one else was doing, where you’re more likely to cross paths with local people. She maintains close personal relationships with her suppliers and is godmother to several of their children. Her small specialised team have really walked the walks and so know exactly what they’re talking about; they familiarise themselves with the hiking trails every year and believe the Andean way of life is well worth sharing.
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We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
