Puerto Maldonado

Puerto Maldonado sits where the Tambopata joins the Madre de Dios at about two hundred metres, and it is the staging point for the Tambopata National Reserve and the lodges on both rivers - boats leave from the ports, and most visitors spend a night here at most before going upriver. The city grew on rubber, then timber, and now on gold: informal and illegal alluvial mining in the region has destroyed large areas of forest, poisoned rivers with mercury, and driven the trafficking and social problems that come with it, particularly around La Pampa on the highway. The Interoceanic highway, completed in 2011, connected the region to Brazil and to the Peruvian coast and accelerated all of it. The city itself is hot, low-rise and functional, with a market, a lookout tower, and Brazil nut processing that is one of the few sustainable industries here.

What you actually see

• The river confluence - the Tambopata joining the Madre de Dios.
• The lodge ports - boat departures upriver into Tambopata and beyond.
• The gold economy - the mining that dominates and damages the region.
• The Brazil nuts - one of the few forest industries that leaves the forest standing.

When to go

May to October is drier and better for lodges. One night in the city plus three or more at a lodge. Flights from Lima and Cusco take about an hour and a half.

Honest expectations

The city is hot, humid and has little for visitors. Mining areas along the highway, particularly La Pampa, are dangerous and not a place to go. Lodge trips must be booked in advance. Insects and heat are constant.

Nearby

Tambopata National Reserve is upriver; Lake Sandoval is a short boat ride away.