Eslabon Chalalan Ecolodge

Upon your arrival to Rurrenabaque , we will pick you up at the airport or bus station and head to the Chalalan office in order to go over trip details. Your personal interests, from birds to medicinal plants, can be taken into account. This is also the time to mention if you have any allergies or other medical conditions. You will have free time to explore Rurrenabaque on this day, and will spend the first night in a local hotel.
 

After breakfast at the hotel, your guide will arrive at about 7:15am to escort you to the port from where our motorboat will take us up the River Beni to the award-winning  Chalalan eco-lodge.

It will take us a little under 6 hours to arrive, so we'll enjoy a packed lunch on board. En route, you'll have a wonderful opportunity to watch for animals with come to the riverside. (Don't forget to bring binoculars if you have them!). You'll also be able to view the lush flora of the tropical rainforest and enjoy the most spectacular view of the Bala Gorge, which is where the Beni River breaks through the Bala Mountain Range. On the western side of the gorge, Madidi National Park begins, one of the largest protected areas in the world and one of the planet's most biologically diverse regions.

Once we arrive at the small port, there'll be a short 25 minute hike to the award-winning and community-owned Eslabon Chalalán Eco-lodge, where the friendly staff will be waiting for us with a welcoming snack. We'll have time to accommodate ourselves in our rooms before enjoying lunch in the dining room at 2:00pm. After lunch, you can relax in hammock or go for a swim in Lake Chalalán as we wait for the midday heat to subside.

The guide will lead a walk along the Paraba path, explaining to you along the way about the Chalalán community, Madidi National Park, and the eco-lodge project. You'll have a excellent view at the end of the path, overlooking Lake Chalalán, and the Madidi rainforest and the mountains in the distance. Afterwards, there will be a canoe trip which will allow us to see more wildlife, including monkeys and tropical birds. From the water we'll watch the sun set over the jungle. Dinner will be back at the lodge at about 7:30pm.

In the night ti

After a filling 7:00am breakfast at the lodge, we will explore the Tapacare trail as the guide teaches you the rainforest and the animals and people who live there, medicinal plants, and more. Those who have expressed a desire to engage in alternative activities, such as bird watching, will do so rather than the trail.

After lunch back at the lodge and a midday rest, we'll embark upon a different jungle path, chosen to appeal to your stated interests. Back at the lodge, we'll have a hands-on lesson about local handicrafts using materials that can be gathered in the area. We'll also watch a video about the Madidi community. There'll be a special dinner featuring a traditional dish of the Bolivian Amazon, either dunucuabi catfish cooked in leaves or tacuara-style fish, cooked inside bamboo. (The night might change due to availability, however.)

We'll have a night hike after dinner so that the guide can teach us about the nightlife of the tropical rainforest as we search for the unique  insects, amphibians, rodents, birds and monkeys of the area while listening to the lively night sounds. There's a possibility that later on there'll be a music and dance show featuring Quechua - Tacana folkloric traditions, although this will depend on how many guests the lodge has at the time.

After breakfast we'll set off by foot on a full-day excursion along the Anta, Wabucuro and Marimono paths towards Eslabon River to learn about the animals and their habitats. It's normal to see spider monkeys, tapirs, deer and wild boar. With a great amount of luck, perhaps we could even spot the elusive jaguar. We'll have a packed lunch around midday. Depending on the time of year (during the rainy season perhaps the water levels will be too high), we might fish or swim in the river pools.

After breakfast we'll walk back to the Tuichi River, where our boat will be waiting to take us back to Rurrenabaque. It will take under 3½ hours as we will be going downstream, so we'll arrive in town around noon. We'll drop those of you flying out of Rurrenaque in the afternoon off at the airport before your flight.