Join our extended 3-weeks Wildlife Rescue Volunteering and Rainforest Conservation Adventure
07/27/25
to
08/16/25
& 1 more
Duration
21 Days
Trip Type
Experience
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Our exclusive experiences have great level of confort, ideal for all. Our setting is in the local wilderness, with all the comfort you'll expect.
Activity Level
Hard
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Expect tough activities throughout the expedition. You should be in very good health and very active daily. Day to day will include long hikes, rough terrain exploration, potentially punishing weather and more.
This expedition is not a tour – it's a chance to be part of the solution!
Biodiversity loss is one of the defining issues of our time. This unique 21-days adventure lets you tackle conservation from two crucial angles: wildlife rescue and rainforest protection. Over three weeks, you'll volunteer at a jungle wildlife rehabilitation center and patrol remote jungle with conservation rangers – an immersive journey that contributes directly to protecting Amazonian animals and their habitat.
2 weeks of full time volunteering
Spend two weeks volunteering at Amazon Shelter, a leading wildlife rescue in the Madre De Dios region, supported by and working closely with Junglekeepers. It's hard work, but rewarding work! You'll help care for orphaned and injured rainforest animals – from howler monkeys and macaws to peccaries and sloths – nursing them back to health and preparing them for a return to the wild. Working side by side with the shelter's staff, you'll feed and enrich the animals, provide them with needed care, maintain enclosures, and learn about the challenges of wildlife rehabilitation firsthand. It's an intimate, rewarding experience where your efforts help give these creatures a second chance.
Help prepare meals for dozens of rescue animals
Meet conservation and animal rescue legend Magali
Go deeper in the Amazon in the Junglekeepers Reserve
Then, embark on one week deeper in the rainforest with Junglekeepers in the Las Piedras River corridor – one of the last untouched rainforests on Earth. Journey deep into the Peruvian Amazon to join Junglekeepers' front-line rangers. You'll live in the heart of the jungle, participate in daily patrol to protect tens of thousands of acres teeming with wildlife. Hike under towering Brazil nut trees, boat along the river and streams, and fall asleep to the calls of distant jungle creatures. This is your chance to experience the Amazon rainforest in its purest form while actively helping to guard it from illegal logging and poaching.
Go deep on the Junglekeepers Reserve
Explore untouched wilderness
From the rescue center to the deep jungle, the trip begins and ends in Puerto Maldonado, Peru's gateway to the Amazon. Traveling with a small group (max 10) and expert guides, you'll be fully supported as you venture off the beaten path. By the end of this expedition, you'll have made a tangible impact on Amazonian conservation and gained memories (and friends) to last a lifetime.
Are you ready to get your hands dirty and your boots muddy for a great cause? This expedition is not a tour – it's a chance to be part of the solution. Join us to help heal and protect the Amazon, one animal and one trail at a time!
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Puerto Maldonado, Peru
Welcome to the Amazon! Arrive in Puerto Maldonado (PEM), the gateway city in the Madre de Dios region. After clearing immigration and collecting your bags, make your way to a comfortable hotel in town (to be confirmed by our team a few days prior). Meet your expedition leader and fellow adventurers for a welcome briefing over a refreshing drink. Depending on arrival times, you might explore the local market or the riverside boulevard for your first taste of Amazonian culture. In the evening, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant and get to know your group. Rest up in the hotel – tomorrow your hands-on wildlife mission begins.
Meals Included:
Dinner
Accomodations:
Hotel in Puerto Maldonado
Day 2: Transfer to Amazon Shelter & Orientation
After an early breakfast, head out by private vehicle to Amazon Shelter, located 30 minutes outside Puerto Maldonado amid lush rainforest and by the side of the river. Upon arrival, you'll be greeted by the shelter's founder and team – and a chorus of animal calls! Settle into the volunteer accommodations and receive an orientation about the shelter's history, mission, and safety protocols. The staff will introduce you to the resident animals and outline your volunteer duties. Roll up your sleeves for your first task: you might help prepare fruits and veggies for the animals' lunch and then follow along as keepers do the midday feeding rounds. In the afternoon, learn how to safely clean an enclosure or assist in a minor repair. By evening, you'll have met many of the sanctuary's inhabitants and gotten a feel for daily life at the center. Share a hearty home-cooked meal with the staff and volunteers. Fall asleep to the sounds of crickets and distant howler monkeys at the volunteer quarters on-site.
Meals Included:
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accomodations:
Amazon Shelter volunteer house
Days 3–14: Volunteering at Amazon Shelter
For the next two weeks, you'll become an integral part of the Amazon Shelter team. Under the guidance of the experienced staff, each day brings new learning and rewarding hard work caring for the animals. A typical day starts early with the sunrise:
Morning Feeding & Husbandry: Help prepare specialized diets and feed the animals their breakfast. You might bottle-feed orphaned monkey infants, scatter feed for parrots, or bring fruits and vegetables to howler monkeys. After feeding, assist keepers in cleaning enclosures, changing bedding, and refreshing water.
Enrichment & Care Activities: Create enrichment items to stimulate the animals' natural behaviors – like hiding nuts in leaves for monkeys to find or building climbing structures for recovering arboreal animals. Collect fresh foliage from the forest to give to the howler monkeys and other herbivores for foraging. You may also help with grooming or administer medications if you're comfortable (always under supervision).
Maintenance Projects: Pitch in on projects to improve the facility. This could include repairing a damaged section of a fence,tending to the center’s vegetable garden (where food for the animals is grown), or constructing new perches and hideouts in an enclosure.
Afternoon Feeding & Checks: In the heat of the afternoon, it's time for another round of feeding and health checks. Cut up fruits, mix up milk formulas for any baby animals, and deliver snacks to each enclosure. Observe the animals to monitor their well-being – you'll learn to notice if an animal is behaving normally or might need extra care.
Evenings & Time Off: After the late afternoon tasks, enjoy a well-earned dinner with your fellow volunteers. Evenings are free to relax. Swap stories in the common area, journal about your experiences, or simply unwind to the chorus of jungle sounds. The schedule is full, but we ensure you have breaks to rest.
Cater to Incredible Wildlife
Help bring endangered species back to the wild
By the end of Day 14, you'll be amazed at how attached you've become to the animal residents and how much you've learned from the shelter staff. Your contributions – from scrubbing enclosures to hand-feeding monkeys – directly help these creatures heal. Tonight, enjoy a little farewell gathering with the team. Tomorrow, a new chapter of the adventure begins.
Meals Included:
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accomodations:
Amazon Shelter volunteer house
Day 15: Farewell Amazon Shelter & GO DEEPER IN THE JUNGLE
This morning, say a heartfelt goodbye to the animals and staff you've been helping. Enjoy one last breakfast at the shelter and perhaps a final feeding round to bid farewell to your favorite furry or feathered friends. Then pack your bags; it's time to transition from rescue mode to explorer mode. A vehicle will take the group back through Puerto Maldonado and toward the Junglekeepers reserve. A two-hour drive takes you past rural communities and into increasingly wild terrain, surrounded by jungle until the road literally ends at a riverbank. Here, board a motorized boat with your guide and local boat pilot. Cruise up the Las Piedras River for an hour, immersed in stunning rainforest scenery. Along the way, keep an eye out for wildlife – you might spot egrets, herons, or even a caiman sunning on a log. As you venture upstream into remote territory, you'll truly feel the Amazon's grandeur. You'll enjoy a locally prepared lunch directly on the boat.
By early afternoon, you'll arrive at the Junglekeepers reserve and our station – a rustic but comfortable sanctuary that will be your home base. Settle into your cabin.
In the afternoon, stretch your legs with a short introductory hike on a nearby trail. You'll get a preview of the incredible biodiversity around you – giant trees tangled with vines, bright butterflies flitting about, and the distant calls of birds and monkeys. Your guide will point out notable flora and fauna, perhaps showing you tracks of tapirs or the favorite roosting tree of a family of macaws.
Return to camp by dusk. As night falls, experience just how alive the jungle is after dark. Enjoy a simple but hearty dinner prepared by the station cook. Then perhaps head out for a night walk near camp: with flashlights on, look for glowing spider eyes on the forest floor, listen for owl calls, and maybe catch sight of a frog or two perched on broad leaves. Fall asleep in your cabin to the ambient lullaby of crickets, frogs, and other creatures.
Meals Included:
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accomodations:
Deep Jungle Station
Days 16–19: Rainforest Ranger Life – Conservation in Action
Now that you're settled in, it's time to become a Junglekeeper. For the next several days, you'll discover miles upon miles of trails and streams, shadow the ranger and take part in their patrols. Each day will bring a mix of exploration, and adventure. The exact schedule can vary depending on weather and urgent conservation needs, but activities may include:
Jungle Patrols: Strap on your boots for patrol hikes through primary rainforest. Together with the rangers, you'll hike along established trails and off-trail routes to survey the land. The purpose is to look for signs of illegal logging, hunting or squatting – and thankfully, due to Junglekeepers' presence, it's mostly quiet. Learn how rangers use GPS and dedicated apps to log their patrols and any findings. They'll show you how to identify subtle signs of human activity, as well as teach you tracking skills for native wildlife. These patrols can be a few hours long, moving at a steady but moderate pace with breaks to rest and listen to the jungle sounds.
Wildlife Monitoring: The Las Piedras rainforest is teeming with life. As you trek, you'll help spot and record sightings of key species. Perhaps you'll watch spider monkeys swinging overhead or pause to marvel at a flamboyance of macaws bursting from the canopy. Visit a nearby clay lick at dawn where parrots and macaws gather in droves to eat mineral-rich clay – an unforgettable spectacle of color and sound. The rangers may also check motion-sensor camera traps, and you can help swap out memory cards and see if any jaguars or pumas passed by in the night! Every sighting and track you note contributes to research and protection efforts.
Day & Night Hikes: Beyond patrols, you'll go on guided hikes purely to appreciate the jungle. In daytime, explore various habitats: venture to a swampy area to see wading birds and frogs, or hike to a giant Kapok tree that's centuries old. At night, head out with your guide to find nocturnal creatures – perhaps spotting luminescent insects, night monkeys peering from trees, or a caiman's red eyes glowing on the riverbank.
River Expeditions: Some days, take the boat to reach farther parts of the reserve that can't be accessed on foot easily. Cruise along the river scanning for wildlife: you could see capybaras grazing on the banks. Perhaps drop a line to fish for piranha or other Amazon fish for dinner (optional, for those who want to try fishing). The river is the lifeblood of the forest, and you'll gain a new appreciation for its importance during these excursions.
Witness on the ground conservation
Witness incredible wildlife in its natural habitat
By immersing yourself in rainforest life, you'll gain a profound understanding of what it takes to keep this slice of wilderness safe. Expect to be tired, maybe a bit muddy, but very fulfilled by each day's end. Every night, fall asleep in the jungle knowing that your presence is helping keep the forest wild.
Meals Included:
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accomodations:
Deep Jungle Station
Day 20: Return from the Jungle to Puerto Maldonado
This morning, wake up to the sounds of the rainforest one last time – perhaps the loud roar of howler monkeys serving as nature's alarm clock. After breakfast, it's time to pack up and bid farewell to the Junglekeepers team. Thank our staff for sharing their world with you, and soak in the final views of unspoiled green around you. Board the boat for the return journey down the Las Piedras River. Enjoy the cool breeze on the water and keep your eyes peeled – the wildlife often gives a farewell show along the riverbanks. Upon reaching the end of the river route, transfer to the awaiting vehicle for the drive back to Puerto Maldonado.
Arrive in Puerto Maldonado. Check in at the hotel where a hot shower and maybe an ice-cold beverage await – they'll feel amazing after a week in the bush. Tonight, gather with your group for a farewell dinner in town. Celebrate your achievements – from the animals helped at the shelter to the kilometers of jungle patrolled. This is a night to reflect on the impact you've made and trade favorite memories (and maybe email addresses) with your fellow adventurers. One last comfortable night in the hotel rounds out your journey.
Meals Included:
Breakfast, Dinner
Accomodations:
Puerto Maldonado Hotel
Day 21: Departure – Adiós, Amazon!
After three incredible weeks, it's time to say goodbye to Peru's Amazon. Enjoy breakfast at the hotel and perhaps a final stroll around town if time permits. Head to the Airport for your departing flight, filled with memories, new knowledge, and the satisfaction of having been part of something truly special. As you fly out over the endless green carpet of rainforest, you can proudly say you didn't just visit the Amazon – you helped protect it. Hasta luego and safe travels home!
Meals Included:
Breakfast
Accomodations
Puerto Maldonado Hotel
At the start (Day 1) and end of the expedition (Day 20), you'll stay in a modest but comfortable hotel in Puerto Maldonado. Each room has a private bathroom with a shower, electricity/fans (and often air conditioning), and Wi-Fi internet access. It's not luxury, but it's a pleasant stay with the basics you need: a comfortable bed, a place to secure your luggage, and proximity to the town center. The hotel staff are friendly and accustomed to eco-tourists. Enjoy the ability to refresh here after your long flights and before and after heading into the jungle.
Amazon Shelter Volunteer Lodging
While volunteering, you will live on-site at the Amazon Shelter facility to be close to the animals. Accommodations here are rustic and shared. Volunteers typically stay in a simple dormitory-style cabin or volunteer house. Expect shared bedrooms and rooms with beds equipped with mosquito nets. There's limited electricity and no air conditioning – nights are usually warm, but fans and the open-air design help with airflow. Laundry can be done by hand on-site (you can bring biodegradable detergent and wash your clothes in provided tubs – they'll dry quickly in the sun). Living at the shelter is like camping in a rainforest house – it's basic but you will quickly feel at home in this beautiful setting.
Going Deeper in the forest
In the Las Piedras River Junglekeepers reserve, you'll be staying at our remote sanctuary. Accommodation at the station is in Cabins of 1 to 3 people (depending on how many people join the group). The sounds of the jungle are your nighttime soundtrack. Bathrooms are shared. The station has a communal relaxing and dining area where the group and you will gather for meals. There are hammocks to lounge in during down time. We have electricity and wifi in the common area, solar powered.
What to Expect
Activity Level: High
This expedition involves active, physical work and is demanding, but is suitable for active travelers in good health. You'll be on your feet much of the day during the volunteer portion (lifting food baskets, cleaning, and walking around the sanctuary in humid conditions). The jungle portion includes hiking on uneven terrain, boarding boats, and enduring tropical heat. No technical skills are needed, but you should be prepared for some long days and muddy boots. We recommend a good level of fitness (able to walk 5+ miles comfortably and handle manual tasks). If you love being outdoors and don't mind getting a bit dirty, you'll do just fine. Our team will ensure a reasonable pace and provide rest as needed, but a spirit of adventure (and flexibility) is a must.
Expedition Team & Guides
You will be accompanied and supported by experienced staff throughout the journey. At Amazon Shelter, the dedicated local team of animal caretakers and resident veterinarians will train you in each task and supervise all volunteer activities. They have decades of combined experience in wildlife rehabilitation and are excited to share their knowledge with you. During the Junglekeepers segment, a Tamandua Expeditions trip leader (a bilingual jungle expert) will be with your group from start to finish. This expedition leader is your liaison with the Junglekeepers rangers and will help coordinate daily plans, translate and guide you in the field. With this combined team, you'll have guidance every step of the way, ensuring both your safety and a richer learning experience.
Transportation
We take care of all in-region transportation during the trip. Your journey begins with a meetup at a hotel that we will confirm weeks ahead of the trip in Puerto Maldonado on Day 1 and ends on the same hotel on Day 21. In between, we've got it covered: transfers to and from Amazon Shelter (by road), and to and from the Junglekeepers reserve (by road and boat). The transition day involves a drive on a dirt road and a motorized boat ride, all arranged by us. Do note that flights to/from Puerto Maldonado are not included – you'll need to arrange your travel to PEM to align with the trip's start/end. Also, while in Puerto Maldonado, you can easily explore on foot or by mototaxi (a common form of tuk-tuk) – your guide can help you arrange rides if you want to explore on your own during free time.
Experience the rainforest in its raw-est form
What's included
We strive to make your experience hassle-free. The trip cost includes:
Accommodations for 20 nights (hotel in Puerto Maldonado for 2 nights total, volunteer lodging at Amazon Shelter for 13 nights, and jungle camp lodging for 5 nights).
All meals during the volunteer and jungle phases (Days 2–20). Specifically, three meals a day at the shelter and at camp, prepared by the local team. We also include the welcome dinner on Day 1 and farewell dinner on Day 20.
All ground and river transportation as described (private car, boat transfers).
Expert guides and staff support: Amazon Shelter staff oversight during volunteering, a dedicated Tamandua expedition leader, and Junglekeepers rangers guiding activities in the forest.
All activities and excursions mentioned in the itinerary, including guided hikes, boat outings, patrols, etc. (All entry fees or permits are included as well).
A meaningful contribution to Amazon Shelter and Junglekeepers: Part of your fee goes directly to these organizations to support their crucial work (your travel is directly funding wildlife rescue and rainforest protection).
Basic supplies and equipment for volunteer activities (e.g., work gloves and tools at the shelter, etc.).
Not Included:
Airfare to/from Puerto Maldonado, Peru. You are responsible for arranging your flights to arrive on Day 1 and depart on Day 21.
Meals in Puerto Maldonado outside those noted in the itinerary. (We include some group meals in town, but on free afternoons or when arriving early, you might explore restaurants on your own expense. Food is quite affordable locally.)
Travel insurance (mandatory). You must obtain travel insurance that covers medical emergencies, evacuation, and trip cancellation/interruption. This is for your safety given the remote locations visited.
Any required visas or immunizations costs (Peru typically does not require a visa for short stays for most nationalities, but check your situation).
Personal expenses such as snacks, beverages (alcoholic drinks or extra sodas in town), laundry, phone calls, or souvenirs.
Optional extra tours or activities not outlined in the itinerary (for example, if you arrive early and want to do a separate day tour, that would be on your own).
