Only a few minutes from Cuzco , this is one of the most pristine and unspoiled areas in the Amazon rainforest, housing more species of animals than any other place on earth.

Officially created in 1990, the Tambopata - Candamo Reserved Zone is located east and south of Puerto Maldonado. It comprises 1.5 million hectares (3.5 millions acres) of the Madre de Dios and Puno regions.

The Tambopata Reserve has been the subject of numerous TV documentaries.

Like Manu National Park, the reserved zone protects a diversity of landscapes and wildlife, including pristine oxbow lakes with herons, kingfishers, caimans and giant otters, spectacular waterfalls with swimming holes, amazing clay licks ("collpas") visited by hundreds of macaws, monkeys and tapirs, swamps filled with palm trees in which colonies of birds nest, and rivers with sandy, white beaches for camping. All these wonders attract tourists, scientists and wildlife photographers.

Like all the animals in the reserve, fishes are wild and ferocious, big and strong. Payara is one of them. We invite you to enjoy with us the exciting bites, hard fighting, high jumping of this ferocious gamefish in one of the biggest rainforest of the world, Don't miss out on being one of the first to take advantage of these New Payara Fishing Destination!

The River: Just 30 minutes by plane from Cuzco is Puerto Maldonado, the Capital of the Madre de Dios Department. It is located in the confluence of Madre de Dios River and Tambopata River . Waters of Tambopata River born in Puno and receive a lot of tributaries rivers. The water is clear brown and warm in the dry season

The Weather : Dry and sunny climate from June to October and extremely humid during the rainy season from November to May.

The Fishing: The waters of Tambopata River offers us a variety of fishes such as Payaras, Pacu (Giant Piranha), Catfish (Zungaros, Piros, Surubim, etc.) We usually fish for Payara with spinning and casting tackle. There's a lot of black volcanic rocks in the river an the Payara hunt sardines very close to the shore. The technique is to cast from the rocks lures like rapala's magnum or sliver, rebel fast track or jawbreaker.

Pacu's takes only fruits and fish meat, so we use sardines for bait and hooks and weights with multifilament lines on the reels. They are so strong.

Same technique we use on all the catfish.

The typical Peruvian Sport fishermen needs a good pair of boots, t shirts, cap, wind jacket, a belt bait box, one 7 footer spinning medium rod for Payara, one 7 footer medium heavy rod for Pacu and catfish, different sinking and trolling lures, a lot of natural bait, hooks and weights.

Season : The fishing season starts early July and end in late October. The better months are August, September and October. Full moon is not recommended.

The Trip: 8 Days, 7 Nights, 5 Fishing Days
Reception at the airport or hotel in Lima . Our guide meets the group and assists them. The schedule is the following:

Day 1 : Pick up your hotel in Lima and transfer to the International Airport by 4:00 a.m. Departure to Puerto Maldonado by 7:00 a.m. (2 hours by Boeing 727 with a small stop in Cuzco ). Reception at Puerto Maldonado. Fluvial transfer to Tambopata Lodge, (4 hours aprox.). Arrival to Tambopata Lodge by noon . Time for rest and prepare the tackle for the next fishing days. Lunch and dinner included.
Day2: Breakfast at the Lodge and departure to the fishing spots. Fishing day
Day 3 : Breakfast at the Lodge and departure to the fishing spots. Fishing day.
Day 4 : Breakfast at the Lodge and departure to the fishing spots. Fishing day.
Day 5 : Breakfast at the Lodge and departure to the fishing spots. Fishing day.
Day 6 : Breakfast at the Lodge and departure to the fishing spots. Fishing day.
Day 7 : Breakfast at the Lodge and fluvial transfer to Puerto Maldonado, check- in the Lodge. Overnight in Puerto Maldonado with meals included. Small city tour by night.
Day 8 : Early breakfast and transfer to the airport in Puerto Maldonado to return to Lima . Afternoon arrival to Lima , transfer to your hotel and/or to the airport to take your international flight.
End of our services.
SUGGESTIONS FOR PAYARA TACKLE
The package includes one rod & reel and 2 fishing lures, please take a look of our suggestions to bring your own tackle: Our fishing technique is casting and spinning from the beautiful black volcanic rocks of the Tambopata River . Payara are a strong fish, very fast, with a big tail and a couple of big canines in the lower jaw and two holes in the upper to receive them. They lives in extremely fast water and take both lures and flies with a savage force.

Our suggest is at least 2 rods of medium-heavy to heavy action, from 7 ½ to 9 foot .
Bait casting or Spinning. For Fly fishermen a slightly heavier 9-10 weight fly rod is the suggest.

As the same of the rods, at least 3 reels with a capacity for 200 yards of a 20 pounds line, similar like a Shimano Bait runner 4500 or 6500, Fin Nor 12 or the Penn 6500.

All kind of lines from 30 pounds to 65 pounds , we prefer the multifilament like Spider Wire, Power Pro or a simple Dacron. Good leaders and swivels are highly suggested, bring plenty of them.

All kind of lures like Rapala Magnum, Rapala Countdown, Rebel Fast Track, Spoonbill and bigs windcheater, and all types of lures that swim on fast waters and dives quickly. Because of the dark color of the water, lure's colors like fire tigers, oranges, redhead and chartreuses are the favorites.
Plastic lures will be punctured by the teeth of the payara and will lose their action, wood lures work better.
Don't worry about the size of the lure, from 4 ½ inches and up is ok. Take a special look in the hooks; they have to be extra strong. For fly fishermen: The Payara take a variety of large streamers, but prefer heavily dressed on a 4/0 heavy saltwater tarpon hook. A heavy mono leader tipped with stout tipped is essential.

Clothes, Gear and other Things to Bring