The macaw clay licks of Tambopata, deep in the Peruvian Amazon, are the world's greatest parrot spectacle, where hundreds of red, blue and green macaws and parrots gather at dawn to eat mineral-rich clay from the riverbank. Rainforest lodges reached by boat from Puerto Maldonado run early visits to blinds facing the clay wall. The dry season from May to November gives the most reliable gatherings, peaking around August.
The macaw clay licks of Tambopata, deep in the Peruvian Amazon, are the world's greatest parrot spectacle, where hundreds of red, blue and green macaws and parrots gather at dawn to eat mineral-rich clay from the riverbank. Rainforest lodges reached by boat from Puerto Maldonado run early visits to blinds facing the clay wall. The dry season from May to November gives the most reliable gatherings, peaking around August.
Up to 88% sighting chance in Tambopata (Colpa Chuncho macaw clay lick), Peru. Best months: August, July, September.
An exposed riverbank of mineral-rich clay where macaws and parrots gather at dawn to feed, a natural behaviour that draws hundreds of birds.
The dry season, May to November, gives the most reliable gatherings, peaking around August; heavy rain can cancel a lick.
By boat up the Tambopata River from Puerto Maldonado to a rainforest lodge, then an early morning trip to the clay-lick blind.
Red-and-green, scarlet and blue-and-yellow macaws, plus smaller parrots and parakeets that visit the same clay banks.
Multi-day lodge packages that include the clay lick run roughly 300 to 700 USD per person (2026 prices).
