Da Jungle

We just spent a fantastic 3 nights in the Madidi National Park. We decided to stay at the Chalalan lodge, a community owned and operated lodge. The lodge was built with financial aid from Conservation International and the Interamerican Development Bank. It was designed and constructed by the local community (San José de Uchupiamonas) using their traditional materials and techniques.
The lodge situated on the bank of Lago Chalalan, and is reached by a 5 1/2 hour trip up the Beni and Tuíchi rivers, followed by a 20 minute walk through the forest.

Our nights were filled by the sound of nocturnal animals and our days were spent canoing on the lake and walking in the jungle with our guide. The jungle is not the best place for wildlife spotting, as the animals are at home and constantly on the move. If their path and your trail happen to intersect then you are lucky!

On our second day we packed a boxed lunch and set out on a longer walk. We crossed the Rayamayo River (Stingray River), using sticks to prod the river bed and hopefully scare the stingrays away... we arrived for lunch at the Eslabón river where I tried and tried to catch a catfish for my dinner. No luck.

During our trip we were lucky enough to run into an assortment of monkeys (Capuchin, Squirrel, Red Howler and the elusive Black Spider Monkey). We also joined a group of wild Boar eating their way through the forest and an endangered Red Brocket Deer. We saw Toucans, Macaws, Parrots and Parakeets as well as a King Vulture and his friends.

The Madidi National Park is one of the most biologically diverse protected areas on the planet, and is home to over 1000 species of bird (11% of the worlds known avian species). It was created in 1995 and encompasses Amazonian lowlands at 200m, to the mountains of the Apolobamba Range at more than 6000m (19,685ft), including a huge range of wildlife habitats, from torrid rain forests to Andean glaciers.



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