Puerto Maldonado & the Peruvian Amazon, Peru

Undisputedly, Puerto Maldonado gives travellers the chance to see, feel and hear the Amazonian jungle like nowhere else in Peru.

The town itself has been important over the years for rubber, logging and even for gold and oil prospecting, and its role as a crossroads is about to take on greater dimensions as the Interoceanic Highway, linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans via Brazil and Peru, takes shape. For the moment, though, its foremost importance to travellers is as the jumping-off point for rainforest adventures on the Ríos Tambopata and Madre de Dios.