Recently, I have had the pleasure of lodging at the amazing Refugio Amazonas while on an adventure on the rio Tambopata in the Peruvian Amazon.
I am going to tell you a bit about Refugio Amazonas should you be looking for a cool place to go.
Describe Refugio Amazonas
I would describe Refugio Amazonas as a deep jungle research facility (they do research on tiger moths) and glamping paradise.
Glamping At Its Finest
Glamping being glamorous camping, you see.
Just because you are in a wild place doesn’t mean you have to live like a filthy beast. No judgement if living like a filthy beast is your thing!
What Are The Traits Of Glamping?
- Great food
The food, served buffet style thrice daily, was absolutely perfect for an early morning expedition into the jungle or for a later dinner after you have worked up a big appetite from a long day of adventuring. Man, did I punish that buffet!
2. Great drinks
The bar is definitely open in the jungle serving mixed drinks, shots, and domestic/international beer. If I didn’t have so much adventuring to do I could have spent all of my time at the bar like the old booze jockey that I am.
3. A great lodge
If you have never been on an adventure the lodge is generally the hub or operations.
At the lodge people eat, drink, gather, and hangout (you can’t sit in your room the entire time). The lodge at Refugio Amazonas was one of the best glamping lodges that I have ever seen.
4. Comfortable rooms
When you are going hard on your adventures you need a comfortable room to relax in. Now here is where things get interesting…
The rooms at Refugio Amazonas are “open air”. Open air means there are only three walls. Where the fourth wall should be…there is no wall. It’s just open. With the jungle on that other side. Yes, THAT jungle!
I know that you are thinking, “WHAT THE WHAT??? The room is open so that the jungle critters can get in?”
Yes. Check this out…
Ah, but don’t panic. Literally zero critters came into our room. Zero. It would have been nice to have some lovely visitors. I mean, you are on a jungle adventure. Why not wake up to a jungle critter tooling around in your mouth?
Seriously, the open air rooms were wonderful. Despite the lack of animals that entered the rooms we could see plenty of jungle animals while laying in our beds. Monkeys and agoutis were the most bountiful around the grounds.
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Cool Stuff To Do
This list isn’t all inclusive, but here is some of the cool stuff to do at Refugio Amazonas…
Hike through the jungle to the observation tower. The top of the tower is slightly above the canopy. The view and bird watching up here was wonderful!
The camp also launches a drone from the tower that they use to survey the canopy. Guests get to participate in said droning.
If you go the observation tower be prepared for the climb up the stairs to the top. It is a bit of a hike.
There is a large network of trails surrounding Refugio Amazonas. The jungle hiking is really great there!
You can go on a hike in the day…
Or at night…
There are several clay licks either within walking distance of the camp or up the river a little. Tons of animals come to the licks to ingest the clay. They clay is filled with minerals and also helps birds that eat a lot of toxic fruits.
As the lodge also serves as a base of operations for research that is conducted in the jungle, a different researcher gives a talk each night about the work that they do.
And what trip to the jungle wouldn’t be complete without a trip to a jungle farm. This farm consists almost entirely of fruit trees. You get the fruits that you would expect like avocado, oranges, lemons, limes, and cocoa; you also get really exotic fruits whose names I cannot possibly remember. So good!
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An Eco Friendly Facility
Power is generated via a mix of solar and generator.
To completely power the camp via solar energy would require some level of deforestation to allow for the needed panels. Thus, they use a mix of solar and a diesel generator.
The camp had power in the morning when guests were leaving for their adventures and at night when guests were returning. Otherwise, it was blackout rules. That includes a blackout at night. Better bring a flashlight or headlamp. (I seriously love that headlamp I just linked to. That thing cut through the jungle darkness like a light saber!).
The lodge gets its water from a well.
Yes, there are running showers (with hot water) and commodes, but you can’t drink the water. If you do drink the water then be prepared for explosive ape-like diarrhea. No one wants jungle rhea-rheas. No one.
Internet
Despite being in the middle of the jungle there is WIFI. It’s weak and only runs when the power is on, but it was enough to FaceTime with minimal latency.
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One Thing To Watch Out For
Refugio Amazonas is located up a significantly steep hill. The only way up is via a massive set of stairs. Keep this in mind if you have limited mobility or you are just a pork chop as there is no escalator. You have to walk it.
The Best Part
The lodge, the adventures, and the wildlife at Refugio Amazonas are all fantastic. The best part of the experience is being with similar adventure enthusiasts.
Think about it – how many people in your life will ever do something like stay at an open air facility in the Amazon? Here, everyone is like you in that regard!
You will meet awesome people. And that is the best part!
