River Yacuma, Beni Department, Bolivia

5NilangaFernando 5:00 PM Oct 22, 2010

Jungle Tour in Rurrenabaque - Once in a lifetime
Myself and my wife were undecided between a jungle or pampas tour, but after much thought we opted for a richer experience as a whole in the jungle. We shopped around for ages but were convinced we should not pay bottom dollar for various reasons - mainly to do with concerns around malpractice in Madidi and the treatment of the staff (and their pay). We went with Mashaquipe in the end - THIS WAS AN AMAZING DECISION. They have virtually no online presence and no marketing... Our tour was three days but we wanted it to go on for longer (and it could have except for our return flight and other commitments). Our Guide (Alcide) and chef (Santos) advised us that one night in the middle of the jungle camping (not in the very clean, comfortable lodge Mashaquipe runs) would be a good thing to do, so we trusted them and off we went, along with another guy in our group. The group was only 3 tourists - which was remarkable as they would even have left with 2 - another positive of the company we chose. The guide was immense, he knew so so much and we totally trusted him in the jungle, we learnt a huge amount from him about the indigenous peoples´ way of life in the jungle, and it was great to be with someone who spent their whole life walking and coexisting with the jungle. The food was brilliant too, by far the best we´ve had in Bolivia (which I know is not saying a huge amout but really it was great), and the jungle experience probably the most interesting thing we´ve done in SA. If you are doing a jungle or pampas tour I cannot recommend Mashaquipe highly enough, their lodge is clean, well run and very comfortable, their guides and staff are so friendly, helpful and importantly happy to be there, but most importantly they ACTUALLY practice responsible eco-tourism and their profits are shared between the staff fairly - hence they have a small unit of very happy workers. We were sad to leave...

5shaz_jhb 5:00 PM Jun 8, 2011

Highly recommended Pampas tour
We booked our Pampas tour in La Paz with Indigena Tours, and it was fantastic! Our guide, Victor, was absolutely excellent, with extensive knowledge on every sighting and every question we asked, and he spoke near-perfect English. He was really friendly and caring towards us, which made this trip very easy. He was also very ecologically aware, warning us not to handle any wildlife. The trip from Rurrenabaque is pretty rough, but once we got onto our boat, it was an afternoon of sheer indulgence, relaxing in the sun and spotting bird and animal life. We didn't manage to find an anaconda, but we did see everything else, including macaws, capybaras, caimans and, of course, swimming with pink dolphins! The food was much better than we expected, including fresh fruit and a good selection for the vegetarians amongst us. The lodgings were basic but more than sufficient, and we especially enjoyed the hammock room! Although it was not rainy or very hot, there were TONS of mosquitoes in the evenings -- take plenty of insect repellent and, if at all possible, white clothes. If you don't have white, just avoid black, which really attracts them. All in all, this was a fantastic trip and is highly recommended!