Located south of Iquitos just off of the Amazon River, the reserve encompasses areas around the Tamshiyacu and Tahuayo Rivers eastward toward the border of Brazil. The reserve is currently adding a million acres of undisturbed forest onto its boundary, which will then include land all the way to Brazil's border.
One of the most spectacular of the mammals of the reserve area is the freshwater Pink Dolphin. Large, intelligent animals, they often approach tourists who are canoeing or swimming. The diversity of birds is likewise extraordinary. Over 500 species of birds have been documented near the Tahuayo Lodge, the only lodge that has access to the Tamshiyaco-Tahuayo Reserve.
Recently new species of poison dart frogs, leaf frogs, and butterflies have been discovered within the reserve.
To visit the Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo Reserve from Iquitos you journey by boat up the mighty Amazon River, for a distance of about 50 miles, then up the Tahuayo tributary, another 40 miles. Here under the ownership and management of a local family is a lodge called the Tahuayo Lodge.
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