Five Reasons to take part in a Tambopata, Peru Homestay

1. Feel right at home as part of a Peruvian family.  A Tambopata homestay is a unique experience in which guests choose to live with a family native to the area.  Visitors eat the same food the family eats and participate in their daily routines, enabling them to truly experience the culture of this beautiful part of the world.  Friendly hosts take their guests in as one of their own making them feel a part of the family from the moment they arrive.  They are proud of their culture and enthusiastic about sharing it with travelers.

2. Take a break from the tourist circuit.  Most visitors to Puerto Maldonado arrive at the airport and travel directly to an ecolodge where they are surrounded by other travelers.  A Tambopata homestay gives participants a more intimate view of life in the jungle.  Upon arrival at the airport, a family member picks up their guest and personally brings them to their home.  They will be surrounded by people who have lived their entire lives in Madre de Dios.

3. Try local food.  Have you ever heard of Copuazu?  Some describe this fruit as sweet and banana-like at first but with a delightfully tart aftertaste.  What about Guanabana?  In addition to its unique flavor, the fruit is thought to have health benefits, including the ability to help with insomnia and control the growth of cancer cells.  Due to its rich soil and tropical climate, Tambopata is host to a variety of exotic produce which local families use daily in their food preparation.

The Durand family is comprised of 12 siblings who have lived in Madre de Dios their entire lives.  They are experts in agriculture and have a large farm on their property.  Travelers who stay at Saona with the Durands learn all about cultivation of local crops and are given the opportunity to try fruits that are in season.

4. Support the local community.  Many families in Tambopata are continuing to develop their properties to give visitors the best possible experience.  Armando Mishajas, a descendant of the Ese’eja tribe, is a guide for a local ecotourism company.  His family has been working for years to develop their property, Majosehue, to host international travelers.  Due to his experience guiding tourists at the ecolodge, he has an understanding of what is required to host people from other countries, however the family does not have the means to build an entire lodge.

Armando explains that rather than take out large bank loans, they build up their property gradually.  Each time they earn money, they use it to build something new, or improve on the facilities that they already have.  Guests who come to stay with the Mishajas, leave feeling fulfilled, knowing that their money helped to make a difference and will go back into the family’s efforts.

5. Learn about the Amazon from the people who know it best.  Oscar Mishajas has lived his entire life in the Peruvian Amazon, and he has spent the last 10 years working as a guide for Rainforest Expeditions, one of the most well-known ecotourism companies in the area. All of this contributes to making him the expert that he is in birding.  He can identify a species by hearing nothing more than a flap of a wing. 

Oscar is soft spoken but his deep understanding and respect for the wildlife and diversity of Tambopata shines through as one explores the forest with him.  He walks quietly with an strong awareness of his surroundings and upon the slightest movement of a leaf, he quickly points into the canopy and whispers “black spider monkeys.”  He watches them with admiration in his eyes and proceeds to tell his guests about Tambopata’s largest monkey, sharing Ese’eja myths and legends about these majestic primates.