Corto Maltes

Amazon Basin


The closest lodge to Puerto Maldonado on the Río Madre de Dios is traveler friendly and upbeat. Only 5km from town, this lodge offers 27 comfortable, fully screened, high-ceilinged bungalows with solid mattresses: some bungalows even have king-size beds!

Eye-catching Shipibo indigenous wall art and hammock-laced patios light up all the bungalows, as do cheerful decorative touches in the public areas. Electricity is available from dusk until 10:30pm, and showers have hot water. The French owners pride themselves on the excellent European–Peruvian fusion cuisine. Ayahuasca ceremonies can be arranged, too. Lonely Planet does not recommend taking ayahuasca and those who do so do it at their own risk. Prices are based on a two-person minimum group size.

Book online or at the Puerto Maldonado office.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Amazon Basin attractions

1. Río Madre de Dios Ferry Dock

1.57 MILES

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…

2. Puente Guillermo Billinghurst

1.75 MILES

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…

3. Mirador de la Biodiversidad

2.5 MILES

Although this strangely cosmic blue building, surrounded by statues of locals in various poses of labor outside, was designed as a modern mirador (lookout…

4. Hacienda Concepción Research Center

4.03 MILES

Formerly the ITA Aceer Tambopata Research Center, Inkaterra’s reconstructed lodge, 8km downriver from Puerto Maldonado, is an important research center of…

5. Mariposario Tambopata Butterfly Farm

4.43 MILES

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…

6. Baltimore

25.78 MILES

The community of Baltimore, just after Refugio Amazonas lodge, is the only real settlement on the river, and has a few simple hospedajes (homestays)…

7. Parque Nacional Bahuaja-Sonene

27.37 MILES

About two hours south of the Río Madre de Dios and along the Río Heath (the latter forming the Peru–Bolivia border), Parque Nacional Bahuaja-Sonene has…