SECRET FOREST
Experiences
Tour Options
Tour packages operated by Secret Forest are designed to grant you a reliable, unforgettable entry to the sights and wonders you seek most in the Peruvian Amazon. From on-site activities like day & night hikes, kayaking, & traditional fishing to larger excursions across the river corridor, we present a variety of trip options for general nature & wildlife enthsiasts, birders, herpers, and people seeking unique cultural or scientific experiences. For pricing information, inquire directly based on the tour package or lodging duration of your choice.
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All tour packages include 3 daily meals and lodging.
Essential Amazon
Experience some of the most iconic wildlife of lowland South America on a trip that includes guided jungle hikes and excursions to a lake and canopy tower. There is a high chance of seeing various birds like Hoatzin and over 15 parrot species, 5 monkey species, and a variety of reptiles and amphibians!
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3 days / 2 nights
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Biodiversity Package
This longer trip option combines local trips to canopy towers and lakes with the opportunity to visit a parrot & macaw clay lick, or collpa. These sites grant a holistic view of the dazzling species richness of the Tambopata region, from characteristic birds to various mammals, frogs, crocodilians, and more. ​
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4 days / 3 nights
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Secrets of Tambopata
The lesser-known portions of the region harbor unique vantage points into the lives of its fauna. This trip combines a variety of well-known sites and activities, like canopy tower bird observation, with trips to restricted-access mammal clay licks where spotting iconic species like lowland tapir is possible.
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5 days / 4 nights
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Wonders of Tambopata
This all-inclusive package targets the most important and sought-after experiences, places, and reliably viewable species of Tambopata National Reserve and its buffer zone. View the forest from above from canopy towers, watch a menagerie of bird life at two different clay licks, search for everything from frogs to caimans at night, and explore a giant oxbow lake with excellent chances of viewing giant river otters!​​​​​​​​
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7 days / 6 nights
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Medicinal Plants & Ethnobotany
The local Amahuaca and Ese-Ejja commuities have lived in the Madre de Dios region for centuries, and many elders still possess incredible knowledge of the practical, medicinal, and spiritual uses of the forest. A two-night stay with our partners at one of these communities allows you to learn firsthand from native leaders, foresters, and curanderos through activities ranging from interactive workshops to botanical rituals.
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3 days / 2 nights
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Medicinal Plants & Agroforestry
SFO's agroforestry team manages multiple hectares of native culinary and medicinal plant farms and researches innovative ways to improve yields, manage micronutrient levels, and reduce insect predation. This trip allows for involvement in this research, forest walks and lectures aimed at learning Amazonian plants from a scientific and practical approach, preparing plant remedies and their uses, and much more!
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5 days / 4 nights
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Mammal Watching
Finding iconic mammals in the jungle is notoriously difficult, but nothing compares to seeing South America's most relatable and beautiful species. Spotting up to 5 monkey species is almost guaranteed, but night walks and visits to remote clay licks bring a chance of sighting much more elusive fauna. Moreover, this excursion gives you the opportunity to participate in our ongoing mammal research, including setting up and monitoring our remote camera traps!
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4 days / 3 nights
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Herping Secret Forest
Reptiles and amphibians reach some of their highest global diversity levels in the upper Amazon, and while finding target species always requires a great deal of luck, SFO has amassed an incredible list of snakes, lizards, frogs, turtles, and crocodilians that are viewable on night hikes or boat tours. Possible finds include bushmaster (Lachesis muta), smooth-fronted caiman (Paleosuchus trigonatus), Bates' tree boa (Corallus batesii), and the spectacular leaf frogs Cruziohyla craspedopus and
Phyllomedusa bicolor.​​
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Flexible dates
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Custom Tour
At SFO, we pride ourselves upon creating experiences tailored to what our visitors want to get out of their stay in Tambopata. Opportunities are always open to combine a variety of different activities and trip durations, such as a focus on specific target species or experiencing a certain natural or cultural phenomenon of the region.
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​Flexible dates
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On-site Activities
During your stay at SFO, you have the opportunity to engage in a variety of routine activities ranging from morning and night hikes in searching of wildlife ranging from monkeys to herpetofauna, traditional fishing along the Tambopata River, and kayaking down the turbulent river in inflatable rafts. While at the station, there is often the ability to observe our researchers as the study, process, and tag birds and reptiles before re-releasing them into the wild. Consult lodging options here.​​
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Flexible dates​​​​
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Ecotourism Volunteer Program
Camp volunteers gain unique skills in a variety of aspects of research station management, ecotourism work and promotion, and ecological research. Tasks depend on need and season but typically include monitoring forest ranger sites, inspecting construction sites, agroforestry plots, forest regeneration initatives, managing data on MS excel, and partaking in routine data collection & identification of plants, fishes, and invertebrates at the site in order to create the first catalog of such taxa at the site.
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Flexible dates
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Research Intern Program
SFO has been the central node of Fauna Forever's terrestrial vertebrate research for over 10 years, and this routine monitoring program combined with graduate thesis works grants biology students firsthand experience with the ins and outs of tropical ecological field research. Those interested in this more intensive, rigorous program focused on specific taxa can apply through Fauna Forever's official site.​
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Flexible dates
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