What are the most important things to bring?

Cotton trousers or jeans
Long sleeve shirts
Walking shoes or boots
Sandals
Cotton t-shirts
Rain jacket
Battery-powered torch or headlight
Sun block
Insect repellant (at least 28% DEET)
Sunglasses
Cap or broad-brimmed hat
Small backpack for the day
Light jacket
Any additional food or alcoholic drinks you may require

Note: The weight limit on baggage for the La Paz – Rurrenabaque – La Paz plane is 20 Kilos per person and 3 kilos for your handbag. It is recommended to leave items or objects that are not needed at your hotel in La Paz or Rurrenabaque.

Which is the best season to visit the Bolivian jungle?

The climate is tropical all year round and therefore it is possible to visit the lodge any season. However, the best time is in the dry season between the beginning of April to the end of October.

How large are the guided group excursions?

Each group is no bigger that five people led by one professional guide.

How many visitors can stay at the lodge at one time?

The lodge has a capacity for no more than 20 people.

What kind of accomodation do you offer?

Guests have the option of staying in either cabins with private bathrooms or shared bathrooms. The cabins are traditionally built based with natural materials sourced from the jungle. There are single, twin, tripple or marital rooms available.

What animals are we able to see during the trip?

- Monkeys (black spider monkey, the red howler monkey, the brown capuchine monkey, the saddleback tamarin monkey, yellow squirrel monkey and owl monkey)

- Wild animals: tapir, red deer, white-lipped peccary, capybara, giant anteater, jaguar and puma

- Reptiles and amphibians (cayman, turtles, frogs, snakes, snails)

- Birds (parrots, macaws, tucans, vultures, wild turkeys, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, kingfishers, herons, egrets)

Is there electricty at the ecolodge?

Electricity is currently available between the times of 18:30 to 22:30 daily. This allows for lights to function in communal areas such as the bathrooms and dining room and the possibility to use charging facilities for your camera or phone. It is very important to bring a flashlight or headtorch as candles are the only other available light source outside of these hours.

How difficult are the daily hikes?

The majoritiy of the walks along the designated trails are easy to manage and last between 1 and 4 hours. We can also adapt the routes and length of the walks depending on each group.

Are there restrictions on age or capacity for visiting the ecolodge?

We are able to host all ages from young children to older travelers. For anyone interested in visiting with a particular disability please write to us directly to discuss whether or not are facilities  are adaptable to your needs.

Are the activities flexible?

We are very happy to adapt our programs to your individual interests. However, each group needs to be in agreement of the desired daily itinerary. Please be aware that some activities will incur additional costs.

What are the medical risks in the jungle?

Malaria:There have been no reported cases of malaria in Rurrenabaque or Madidi National Park for more than a decade. It is a personal decision to take malaria tablets but the risk of getting the disease in the area is very low. However, there are many mosquitoes in the area that can carry other diseases, such as dengue fever, so you should always cover up and bring a good mosquito repellent. We recommend that you consult your doctor for more information on tropical travel.

Yellow fever vaccination: A yellow fever vaccine is recommended for travels to a tropical location, however, the Rurrenabaque area (Madidi National Park) has no registered cases of yellow fever.

Leishmaniasis Brasiliensis: Leishmaniasis Brasiliensis is present throughout Bolivia, mainly in the jungle and lowlands. It manifests initially as a mosquito bite and becomes an unresolved skin lesion or lesions caused by a protozoan transmitted by a sandfly. There is currently no vaccine against it but the disease can be cured with a treatment that requires a 20 day infusion dosage of pentavalent antimony injections (Glucantime). In the United States this drug is only supplied by the CDC.  

To combat Leishmaniasis, we suggest wearing long-sleeve shirts, trousers and insect repellant on all exposed body part. In addition, we offer closed sleeping areas and mosquito nets for each bed. We have worked in local ecotourism for more than 20 years and have only ever had two diagnosed cases in visitors to Rurrenabaque and Madidi Park although it is unknown whether they contracted the disease during their stay or before.

Emergencies: We have medical equipment available to treat most accidents or emergencies that may occur during a stay in the jungle. All of our guides are trained in first aid and can treat minor injuries (broken bones or snake bites for example) but nothing more serious. In the case of a more severe incident, the nearest hospital is in Rurrenabaque reached by boat in 1.5 hours.

For any other question feel free to contact us at info@madidijungle.com.