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Puente Guillermo Billinghurst
This bridge, since 2011 carrying the Carr Interocéanica across the Río Madre de Dios – connects Puerto Maldonado by paved road to the outside world for…
© marktucan / Shutterstock
Puerto Maldonado
Visibly blossoming from its road connection to the outside world, Puerto Maldonado, capital of the southern jungle, has an increasingly smart sheen to the bedlam of its central streets, abuzz with tooting mototaxis (three-wheeled motorcycle rickshaw taxis).
The city's money-spinning proximity to the most easily visited animal-rich jungle in the entire Amazon Basin is its blessing but also its curse: travelers arrive, yet quickly leave again to the lodges and wildlife on the nearby rivers.
Yet Puerto Maldonado's languid laid-back ambience invites you to linger. Although a shock to the system, with its sweltering climate and mosquitoes aplenty, its beautiful plaza, burgeoning accommodation options and lively nightlife provide reason enough to hang around.
It remains of foremost importance to travelers, however, as a jumping-off point for voyaging on Ríos Tambopata and Madre de Dios, converging here: watery wonderlands that offer the most accessible primary jungle-locales in the country.
Explore Puerto Maldonado
- PPuente Guillermo Billinghurst
This bridge, since 2011 carrying the Carr Interocéanica across the Río Madre de Dios – connects Puerto Maldonado by paved road to the outside world for…
- MMariposario Tambopata Butterfly Farm
Peru has the greatest number of butterfly species in the world (some 3700) and you can see many of them here at this well-run butterfly conservation…
- RRío Madre de Dios Ferry Dock
This dock close to the Plaza de Armas is a cheap way of seeing a little of the action on a major Peruvian jungle river (the Río Madre de Dios), which is…
- MMirador de la Biodiversidad
Although this strangely cosmic blue building, surrounded by statues of locals in various poses of labor outside, was designed as a modern mirador (lookout…
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Puerto Maldonado.
See
Puente Guillermo Billinghurst
This bridge, since 2011 carrying the Carr Interocéanica across the Río Madre de Dios – connects Puerto Maldonado by paved road to the outside world for…
See
Mariposario Tambopata Butterfly Farm
Peru has the greatest number of butterfly species in the world (some 3700) and you can see many of them here at this well-run butterfly conservation…
See
Río Madre de Dios Ferry Dock
This dock close to the Plaza de Armas is a cheap way of seeing a little of the action on a major Peruvian jungle river (the Río Madre de Dios), which is…
See
Mirador de la Biodiversidad
Although this strangely cosmic blue building, surrounded by statues of locals in various poses of labor outside, was designed as a modern mirador (lookout…
Guidebooks
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