DETAILED TOUR ITINERARY:

WHAT TOUR SERVICES:

• Land and river transportation (boat or speedboat)
• Professional guide specializing in jungle and experiential tourism
• All meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner as per itinerary)
• Camping equipment (tents, mats)
• Admission to the Sambaray Pool
• Accommodation (one night in a hotel and one night in a camp)
• Basic first aid kit

WHAT TOUR SERVICES:

• Sleeping bag
• Binoculars
• Alcoholic beverages, etc.

Things to Bring for the Jungle

• Mosquito repellent
• Long-sleeved shirts (cotton is best)
• Cotton socks
• Sandals
• Rain gear
• Long pants
• Swimsuit
• Hiking shoes
• Binoculars (you can also rent them)
• Camera and film (400 and 200 ASA)
• Plastic bags for clothes and camera, etc.
• Personal items (soap, toilet paper, towel, etc.)
• Hat (or bandana)
• Sunscreen, sunglasses
• Sleeping bag (you can also rent it)
• Flashlight (with spare bulb and batteries)
• Day pack

ABOUT LODGE:

Tour al Pongo Mainique

Lower mountain slopes (Kapiromashi, 650–1200 m)
At this site in the Ticumpinia River valley, we camped 200 m from the main river channel and explored the forested slopes on both sides of the river, the large river island, the river itself, and several of its tributaries. Recent landslides and forests regenerating on old landslides are prominent features of the landscape.

They reminded us that the area is geologically active and that natural disturbance of biological communities is frequent throughout the region. There are lower elevation sites within the ZRM (~500 m), but Kapiromashi (650–1200 m) was the lowest elevation we surveyed.

We found the highest species richness for all organisms here (Table 2).

Lowland and highland species overlapped at this site: species typical of lower elevations reached their upper elevation limits, and highland species occurred at unusually low elevations, presumably due to moisture trapped within the narrow river valley. Compared to other surveyed groups, we recorded few lowland fish species. Huge waterfalls separate this part of the Ticumpinia River from the Lower Urubamba, presumably preventing most lowland fish from reaching this site.

Numerous patches of long-stem bamboo (Guadua sp., Poaceae; locally known as paca) are found throughout Megantoni and are especially abundant in Kapiromashi. In bamboo patches, the species composition of plants, dung beetles, birds, and mammals changes drastically. However, bamboo thickets can also harbor highly specialized species—those that have evolved to depend on this habitat. Such species include at least one amphibian (Dendrobates biolat, which was not expected to be found during the inventory) and nearly two dozen others (17 recorded during the survey).

We found a small patch of 8–9

cultivated plants and old hunting trails on the south slope of the valley, indicating that the residents of Sababantiari—a community a one-day trip downstream—probably hunt in this area. The near-absence of several mammal species, including both peccaries (Tayassu pecari, Pecari tajacu) and several large primates (Alouatta seniculus, Lagothrix lagothricha), may reflect large-scale seasonal migrations or overhunting in the area. Game birds, primarily guans and curassows (Cracidae), were less common at this site than at the other two, and when seen, appeared more wary of our presence than the nearly tame individuals encountered at our higher elevation sites.

Despite local hunting, we recorded healthy populations of large carnivores
(e.g., jaguar, Panthera onca) and large ungulates (e.g., tapir, Tapirus terrestris).

Mid-elevation plateaus (Katarompanaki, 1,350–2,000 m)

Only 12 km east of Kapiromashi, broad plateaus rise between two tributaries of the Ticumpinia River. Our second camp was at the highest part of these plateaus, and we explored both this upper level and another platform 400 m below. Each level supports radically different vegetation: the upper platform has low-diversity, short-stature vegetation growing on hard, acidic rock; the lower level supports taller and more diverse forests on much richer soils.

We observed differences in species composition and richness between the two platforms for all organism groups.

Richness was higher on the lower platform; in many groups, a more specialized community lives on the upper platform. Specialization was most evident in fish. Fast-flowing streams feed dramatic waterfalls that pour over the steep edge of the plateaus into the river gorges below. Few fish species live in these streams, but the three endemic species we recorded during the inventory are abundant and highly adapted to the turbulent waters, using their adhesive mouths to cling to rocks and their ventral muscles to push upstream against the current.

Like the specialized fish and dung beetles,

herpetologists found few species but many endemic ones. Nutrient-poor forests are generally unfavorable habitats for amphibians and reptiles, and on the upper platform the team found only 16 species: 8 frogs, 3 lizards, and 3 snakes. However, nearly half of these are potentially new to science: 3 lizards (Euspondylus, Neusticurus, Proctoporus) and 3 frogs (Centrolene, Eleutherodactylus, Syncope), suggesting that these isolated plateaus may drive evolutionary specialization in fish, frogs, lizards, and dung beetles alike.

Plant diversity was concentrated in trees and shrubs in Kapiromashi
and in the lower platform of Katarompanaki, while shifting to smaller life forms on the upper platform. Here, the highest richness was found among epiphytes and trunk-climbing vines, particularly orchids and ferns. Of the 275 fertile specimens collected from the plateaus, one quarter were orchids, including about 15 species new to science.

In other parts of Peru

(e.g., Cordillera del Cóndor, Cordillera Azul), stunted forests are home to a suite of specialized bird species, but we did not encounter these so-called “elfin forest” specialists in Katarompanaki.

Ornithologists documented only a moderate number of bird species at this site,
although the densities of game birds—particularly the typically rare Black Tinamou—were extraordinarily high. We found numerous signs of spectacled bears (Tremarctos ornatus) in the stunted forest, including trails, dens, and half-eaten discarded palm stems. Our Machiguenga guides estimated that bears had been in the area three months prior to our visit, supporting other research suggesting that these animals travel widely across large territories, tracking seasonal fluctuations in food abundance.

On the lower platform, species richness across all groups was much higher,

even though researchers spent less time surveying this area. Most notably, the abundance of fruiting trees and the extraordinarily high density of woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagothricha) feeding on them—including a massive group of 28 individuals—stood out.

We believe that humans have never visited this site before. Reaching the plateaus without a helicopter appears nearly impossible.