Tres Chimbadas Lake
Tres Chimbadas Lake
There are several types of habitats in the Peruvian rainforest and each makes its own contribution to biodiversity. There is forest on ridges that never experience flooding (such as the rainforests around Posada Amazonas), floodplain forest that is inundated with water every rainy season, palm swamps that harbor Blue and Gold Macaw nests, bamboo groves, secondary forests, and other types of habitats.
One of the most important types of wetland habitats in the Amazon rainforest is the oxbow lake. Formed by bends in rivers that get cut off from the main channel, these lakes have much calmer waters than the river itself and can be filled with fish and wildlife. Tannins from the vegetation give the water a clear, dark, tea-like color and marshes grow in shallow parts of the lake. In Tambopata, birds like Hoatzins and Horned Screamers are found nowhere else, troops of Squirrel Monkeys are frequently seen as they forage in secondary growth at the edge of the lake, and animals like Anacondas, Black Caimans, and even Giant Otters make their home in the dark waters.
Guests of Posada Amazonas have the fortunate chance of visiting a big, pristine, beautiful oxbow lake called “Tres Chimbadas”. Named after a nearby place in the Tambopata River that can be supposedly forded with three jumps (“tres chimbadas”), this oxbow lake is just thirty minutes by boat and a forty-five minute hike from Posada Amazonas. Once there your guide will take you around the lake in a catamaran, searching for the resident family of giant river otters (seen by 60% of our lake visitors!). Locally known as “lobos del rio” (river wolves), these five foot long mammals have become endangered due to decades of poaching throughout their Amazonian range.
The wild, protected forests of Tambopata are one of their strongholds and Tres Chimbadas Lake is managed to protect the family of Giant Otters that reside there. These sensitive and intelligent animals roam the lake in cohesive groups that sleep, play, travel, feed and take care of their pups together. Your guide will do his or her best to show you these special animals during your stay at the Amazon jungle lodge of Posada Amazonas.
As Seen In