3-DAY JUNGLE TOUR (CHALALAN ECOLODGE)

Price
$520.00
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This is our 3-day jungle tour at the Chalalan Ecolodge (Jochi Program). Chalalan is an award-winning community-owned ecolodge. Tours start in Rurrenabaque, Bolivia (transport to Rurrenabaque is not included but available separately) and range from 3 days/ 2 nights and more. During the busy season you should book well in advance as these tours book up fast!

OVERVIEWOVERVIEW

This is our 3 day jungle tour at the Chalalan Ecolodge (Tapacaré Program). Chalalan is an award winning community owned ecolodge. Tours start in Rurrenabaque, Bolivia (transport to Rurre is not included but available separately) and range from 3 days/ 2 nights and more. During the busy season you should book well in advance as these tours book up fast!

ITINERARYITINERARY
Arrival day – On the first day you will travel to Rurrenabaque (price does not include transportation costs but we can also arrange this separately), usually by a 45 minute flight from La Paz. Upon arrival you will be met by a representative from Chalalan and taken to the Chalalan office for a pre-tour briefing. You should let them know if you have any particular special interests (such as birds, or medicinal plants) during this briefing so the guide can try to accommodate this into your tour. Also if you have any allergies or illnesses that they need to be aware of you should tell them during this meeting. Afterwards you will be taken to your hotel in Rurrenabaque where you will spend the night (hotel accommodations are not included on the first night).
 
DAY 1
After an early breakfast in your hotel you will be collected by your guide at around 7.15am who will escort you to the waiting boat on the River Beni. The boat is motor powered with comfy seats, roof , life jackets, rain coats and a first aid kit. Maximum seating is for 10 people. The journey to Chalalan eco lodge takes around 5.5 - 6 hours in total and passes through some wonderful jungle scenery including the Bala Gorge. You should see some animals along the way and if you have binoculars it is advisable to bring them with you.You will receive a packed lunch midday through this river trip. Upon arrival to the port of Chalalan you will walk 25 minutes to reach the eco lodge where you will be greeted by the staff and a welcome snack.The staff will then help you with your luggage and show you to your accommodation.
At 2pm there will be lunch served in the dining room and afterwards you can spend some time relaxing in a hammock or swimming in Lake Chalalan. A little later in the afternoon as the midday heat subsides your guide will take you on a walk along the Paraba path to a fantastic view point where you can see a vista of Lake Chalalan, the surrounding Madidi rainforest and the mountains in the distance. Your guide will share his knowledge of the jungle and tell you about the traditional building materials used in the construction of the local buildings. He will explain about the Chalalan community, Madidi national park and the ecolodge project.
Once you arrive back at the lake the group will embark on a canoe trip along the shoreline of the lake where you will see more animals including birds and monkies. Here we will watch the sunset and afterwards return to the ecolodge for a well deserved snack. Dinner will be serving in the dining area at 19.30 and afterwards there will be a short night time excursion to search for caimans, amphibians, nocturnal birds and fish eating bats.
 
DAY 2
Breakfast is served at 7am in the ecolodge although some guests choose to go out before breakfast for specialist activities such as birding - you can prearrange this with your guide if you wish. After breakfast there is another walk along a trail called "Tapacare" (or another similar length trail) to learn about the rainforest and its wildlife. You will arrange with your guide what areas you would like to cover such as natural history, ecological processes, medicinal plants,animal behaviour and bird or mammal watching. This walk will take most of the morning and you will return to the ecolodge in time for lunch and some time to rest in the hammocks.
At 15.30 you will embark on another walk along a theme path to learn about your chosen interest which you will have discussed with your guide. Afterwards the group returns to the lodge and can learn about the local handicrafts plus see a video about the community.
This evening dinner will be a traditional "dunucuabi" catfish wrapped in leaves or fish a la "tacuara" cooked inside bamboo from the Bolivian Amazon (these dishes depend on availability and may be offered on other nights if more suitable).
later on that night your guide will take you on a night walk to look for and explain the nocturnal animals that live in the rain forest. There are lots of interesting insects, amphibians, reptiles, rodents, birds and monkeys to search for and learn about. The jungle offers a huge variety of sounds at night time and can emphasise just how much life the rainforest is home to.
Depending upon the number of guests staying there may also be a traditional Tacana night of music and dances performed for the guests later on in the evening.
 
DAY 3
This morning after breakfast at 7am there will be a short walk to spot wildlife before returning to the lodge for lunch at around 11am after which we will say goodbye to the staff and wasl to the river Tuchi to meet with the boat once again for your return journey to Rurrenabaque. As we are going with the flow of the river this return trip only takes around 3 -3.5 hours. You will be able to take some final photos of the beautiful jungle scenery along the way and you should arrive in Rurrenabaque around midday. If you have a flight that afternoon then you will be transferred to the airport in time.

INCLUDED / NOT INCLUDEDINCLUDED / NOT INCLUDED
INCLUDED
  • Airport Pickup and pre tour briefing
  • Transportation in motor boat
  • Guide - English and Spanish-speaking
  • Cook and meals, drinking water
  • Accommodation in private rooms according to package chosen. Showers.
  • Program of activities arranged during your stay.
  • Transfer to Airport for return to La Paz
 
NOT INCLUDED
  • Accommodation in Rurrenabaque the night before the tour
  • Extra activities 
  • Entrance fee to Madidi National Park - 200 Bs 
  • Travel insurance - recommended
  • Meals during stay in Rurrenabaque 
  • Extra beverages
  • Breakfast on first day, dinner on last day
  • Sunglasses and sun cream 
  • Insect repellent 
  • Others not mentioned

IMPORTANT INFORMATIONIMPORTANT INFORMATION
  • This tour starts in Rurrenabaque and DOES NOT include the cost of transport for getting there. We can arrange flights for getting to Rurrenabaque. We cannot be responsible if you book a tour and then you cannot find a transport to Rurrenabaque on time - please make sure you know how to get to Rurrenabaque before booking this tour (you can also book flights through us together with the tour and we will confirm the tour only if flights are available too). There is a minimum group size of 2 people for this tour to be confirmed (you can make a booking of one person and we can check to see if there are others booked for that date).
  • Malaria is extremely rare in the pampas and jungle near Rurrenabaque and there has not been any cases contracted locally for many years. That said, there are plenty of mosquitos in the area so it is considered a possibility. Other insect bourne diseases such as yellow fever and dengue are in the area so a good insect repellent and long sleeve shirt plus long trousers are essential. All walks are classed as easy and should be possible for any fitness level.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please read through these common questions & answers - if you cant find what you want to know send us your questions using the Ask a Question button

How does rainy season affect the Pampas & Jungle Tours & Rurrenabaque Flights?

You will read various reports about how rainy season affects Bolivia and traveling there - many of these will contradict each other simply because Bolivia is a large country, with different conditions throughout and also people experiences with weather will vary from place to place and also from year to year. In general (although there are various opinions on this) rainy season is considered to be from Oct/Nov through to Mar/April. Rain can occur outside these months of course especially in lowland and jungle areas but the rainfall is definitely more during these months. Usually up until December there is not too much and we tend to get periods of a few days when it rains and periods of a few days when it does not. From Jan onwards until Mar/Apr there is more frequent and heavier rain and this can cause some problems  but it is still perfectly possible to visit Bolivia during this time as long as you take some possible delays into account (which you should do any time of year anyway due to the chance of protests and roadblocks!). 

Pampas and Jungle Tours - These tours run year round and in general rain does not stop tours from going. The exception is when there has been very heavy sustained rainfall and the Rurrenabaque area becomes flooded (the pampas, the jungle floor, the local roads and even the town itself). This is not common but has happened some years and you just have to check local news prior to departure times or ask us for latest info.
Rurrenabaque Flights
The main issued caused by rainy season for Rurrenabque is delays to the flights between La Paz - Rurre and Rurre - La Paz which can regularly be delayed due to weather. We advise flying the day before your tour and flying back early am the day after you tour in order to give yourself some time for delays. Also if you have something you have to be back for such as an international flight we recommended having one more buffer day before to make sure. Delays of a whole day are possible. The way it works when there are delays is that your flight reservation can be looked at like a number in a queue, so if there was a flight or flights scheduled earlier than yours delayed then the passengers booked on those flights are first "in the queue" to get the next avaialble flight out. This is why we recommend not relying on getting the first early morning flight to start a tour or the last flight of the day to return to La Paz as during rainy season you are often bumped forward due to delays on previous flights.
Most people fly to Rurrenabaque but there is also a bus service that takes about 18 hours in dry season. In rainy season this journey time can rise to as much as 40 hours as the road is washed away, blocked with landslides and becomes a river of mud. We strongly recommend against trying to take this bus in rainy season (we don't really recommend it in dry season!).
How often are the Rurrenabaque flights cancelled?
We can't say how often exactly because this is mostly dependent on weather conditions but we can say that cancellations happen more often in the rainy season than in dry season, in particular from January to April but they can happen at any time of the year. All you can do is check the weather forecasts, ask us what the recent situation has been like and be flexible.
We advise that you always try to book the earlier flights though as this gives you the best chance of getting on a flight that day. Whenever the first flight is cancelled then the people booked on that flight will be first in the queue to get the next flight that goes out (and all the following flights will after) so if you are on the later flights they can be pushed over until the next day. This is just an example and of course everything depends on the conditions clearing up meaning flights can safely leave.
The airline informs us of cancellations usually the day before the flight - we will let you know as soon as we get the information. This is why we strongly recommend you check your e-mails the day before your flight (or even the same morning if having a late flight) so that you can check if there have been any changes. We inform you of any changes via e-mail and you must also be aware that changes can be last minute and too late for us to inform you before leaving for the airport sometimes.
Do you pick me up at the airport for flights to Rurrenabaque?
Depending on the individual tour this might be included with the tour or a chargeable extra. Please ask at the time of booking with us or check the tour description in the Included/Not Included  or product FAQ section. For example if you book a tour at the MashaquipeChalalan or Madidi Jungle Ecolodges, then yes a pickup will be arranged for no extra price (whenever you arrive, even if it's the day before). Also, these companies will provide a transfer back to the airport at the end of the tour. Other operators such as Indigena Tours or Bala Tours can provide a transfer to/from the airport only if you book a private tour or by special arrangement.
If you do not have a pickup arranged it is easy to get from the airport to Rurrenabaque as there is always transport waiting to meet the flights arriving. Sometimes there is an Amaszonas bus and sometimes just local taxis. The fare should cost around 15 to 20 Bs and the journey is about 20 minutes.
Is there malaria in Rurrenabaque and in the areas where pampas and jungle tours take place?
Whilst it is feasible that malaria could exist in Rurrenabaque, the pampas and the jungle areas nearby because there are plenty of mosquitoes, there have not been any reported instances of malaria. We do not consider it necessary to take malaria tablets for our tours but if you wish to do so then you should bring them with you as you might not be able to get the brand/type you want in Bolivia. There is the possibility of Dengue fever and yellow fever also, so you must protect yourself from insect bites as much as possible. You should bring a good insect repellent with you as there are not many good options available to purchase in Bolivia.

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