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Home > Destinations > South
America > Peru > Accommodations > Posadas
Amazonas Lodge
Posadas Amazonas Lodge
The Posadas Amazonas Lodge is native community-based ecotourism
lodge that provides rustic and comfortable accommodations
in a lush rain forest setting. The area is habitat for
giant river otters, monkeys, and an abundance of birds,
especially parrots. Resident naturalists guides provide
visitors with an education in tropical ecology, wildlife
behavior, medicinal plants, and native Amazonian culture
while leading fascinating hikes through the protected reserve.
Their ability to find wildlife and identify species is
amazing. Posada Amazonas recently won Conservation International's
2000 Ecotourism Excellence Award. Posada Amazonas was built
using native architectural techniques and local materials,
principally wood, palm fronds, bamboo and clay. Raised
log paths connect the complex of four sections: 23 bedrooms,
a dining area/ lounge, a central reception area, and support
facilities.
Each room has a private bath with cold shower, sink, and
flush toilet, and fits three single beds with equipped with
mosquito nets (although rooms are generally set up as a double).
The walls dividing the rooms are built of bamboo and clay.
Each room has an open picture-window view of the primary
forest. The dining area, with a lounge, a bar, and hammocks,
is also designed as a conference room for evening lectures.
Visitors enjoy nightly video presentations about local wildlife.
The garden is especially designed to attract tanagers and
hummingbirds. Night time lighting is provided by lamplight,
lending to a romantic jungle atmosphere. Enjoy a short orientation
and a complete briefing about this ecotourism project over
dinner.
The Ese'eja Community Project
Posada Amazonas' Esé eja Ecotourism Project is a
source of sustainable economic development for the local
Esé eja native community. As co-owners of the lodge,
the Esé eja participate in its management and activities
in ways that are community-directed and fully compatible
with their way of life. While helping to support the Esé eja
Ecotourism Project, visitors benefit from an insightful
and authentic rain forest experience. Other vital aspects
of this venture are the conservation of the populations
of large macaws and eagles that inhabit community land,
and protection of all wildlife and forest resources in
the surrounding rain forest. Another important aim of the
project is local education. The entire Ese´eja Native
Community have made this project their own and realize
that all wildlife species, if properly protected and managed,
will generate much needed income through ecotourism.
The Ese'eja Native Community
The Esé eja ethnic group belongs to the Tacana language
family that has traditionally inhabited the Tambopata,
Heath, Beni, and Madidi River Basins in Peru and Bolivia.
In 1948, the Esé eja population was estimated at
15,000. Presently, the Esé eja native community
of the Tambopata River has around 400 members, and other
Esé eja communities exist along the Heath River.
Historically, a drastic decrease in indigenous population
occurred due to both diseases introduced by early settlers,
and to atrocities committed during the late 1800's rubber
boom.
A small percentage of the local community is comprised
of Andean immigrants and mestizo settlers who lived within
the territories of the community when it was officially
founded in 1976. These residents now form an integral part
of the community, although their customs vary somewhat
from those of the Ese'eja. The community's principal activity
is subsistence agriculture, and this is combined with a
wide variety of complimentary activities such as Brazil
nut gathering, hunting, fishing, and collecting a variety
of useful forest resources. The Ese'eja Ecotourism Project
is designed to introduce tourism in a manner compatible
with the current Ese'eja way of life, while allowing for
current generation of jobs and sustainable sources of income
for the community from this economic alternative. Fundamental
aspects of the ecotourism project include:
- Training and participation of indigenous community
members in all lodge positions.
- Community participation in all aspects of project design,
management, and operations.
- Combining wildlife conservation, management, and research
practices to develop local natural history attractions.
- Permanent monitoring and evaluation of the economic,
ecological, and social impacts of tourism on the area
and community, which are discussed at communal workshops.
- Enhancement, rescue and preservation of local indigenous
cultural values.
The conservation and development of natural history attractions
for guests staying at the Posada Amazonas lodge has spawned
a number of wildlife conservation efforts, such as the
following:
Harpy Eagle Nesting Sites. Two harpy
eagle nests, one crested eagle nest, two ornate hawk
eagle nests, and one king vulture nest have been located
by community members within their territory. Although
eagle activity has been reduced in the past year, the
community continues to monitor the nests.
Giant River Otters. Another exciting
wildlife species frequently seen in the oxbow lakes around
Posada Amazonas are families of giant river otters. Visitors
to Posada Amazonas can paddle a catamaran around Tres
Chimbadas Lake to search for and observe these playful,
gregarious six-foot long otters, the largest and most
endangered of all otter species.
Parrot Clay Lick. Parrots and macaws
are also common at Posada Amazonas. Less than 500 yards
from the lodge there is a small parrot and macaw clay
lick, which has less intensive activity than the large
one at Tambopata Research Center, but where it is possible
to see the same species perch to eat clay.
Mammal Clay Lick. It is possible to
observe larger nocturnal mammals at one of three nearby
mammal clay licks. The nearest one is located less than
15 minutes walking from the lodge, and is visited throughout
the night by numerous larger mammals.
Rescue of Indigenous Cultural Values
The positive effects of the preservation of indigenous
cultural values increase as the project matures. Traditional
aspects of Ese'eja daily life which tourist can learn
about include Ese'eja utilization of forest resources
in everyday life. Cultural rescue workshops take place
in which the community's elders demonstrate and discuss
traditional practices and beliefs. The community determines
which traditions and practices are to be integrated into
the tourism project. The cultural rescue efforts and
their integration into the Posadas Amazonas programs
have produced a re-evaluation and strengthening of Ese'eja
native traditions within the community.
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