Volunteer at the Tapiche Reserve in the Peruvian Amazon

I was able to spent 1,5 months in this incredible project in April and May 2018.

The accomodation is simple but comfortable (there are mosquito nets, which is Importamt!) and the food was delicious!

Ultimately, I was planing to only go to the reserva for 4 days to do a classic Wildlife observation Tour, but ended up staying way longer. Murillo, the initiator of the project just saw how happy I was out there, and that's why I was allowed to stay as a volunteer.

As it wasn't Turtle recue season, there wasn't that much to do. I tried to help with whatever I could, tough (cooking meals, preparing picnics for the Jungle hiks, collecting trash out of the river, harvesting Mangos,...).

And If sometimes there was nothing at all to do, I simply enjoyed beeing there, chatting with the guests, murillo and the local workers, reading in one of the hammocks or taking a swimm in the river.

I still think about this magical place a lot, where the air is filled with the noises of nocturnal Monkeys and brething Dolphins in the night and every morning we were greeted by the friendly neighboring sloth. I can only recommend to go there and I promise you an experience, you will never forget.

My sister and I were at Tapiche Reserve in December 2021 and January 2022.
There are several cabins on site and we volunteers share one accommodation. This is basic, but perfectly fine. We ate together in the kitchen, and the cook always fed us very well.
Due to the pandemic, tourism was just starting at that time and we were the only volunteers on site. Therefore, we basically helped with all tasks that arose. Among other things, we helped with the turtle rescue project. That means we took care of the turtles, protected them and released them back into the lagoons. We also cut back the water lilies in the lagoons so that the lagoons are accessible again and the animals use them for nesting. To keep the reserve and river clean, we regularly collected plastic from the river's edge. We also traveled to the surrounding communities and learned about the lives of the locals there. In doing so, we were able to drive the boats of the reserve on our own responsibility, which was a great experience. Lastly, we helped with the necessary tasks such as repairs of the boat, engine and the accommodations. We often did this together with the locals on site or the owner Murilo. Overall, we have had very varied tasks, which was really great.
However, we would strongly recommend to speak fluent Spanish, because otherwise the communication with the locals does not work so well. You should also be prepared to live far away from any city for a longer period of time (which we really enjoyed).
Besides the work, we saw a lot of animals in their natural environment during our jungle walks. I think there is hardly a place where you can see and experience so much in the wild and get an insight into life in the jungle. We enjoyed it insanely and would always return to Tapiche. Thank you for the great time!

I stayed and helped at the Tapiche Reserve 4 month (02/2019-05/2019).

After talking to the always busy but also always helping with everything owner, He gave me a job at the Hostel.

I helped with the Reception, Staff and different Tasks related to the hostel.

Additionally i organized transportation to and from the jungle lodge for the Visitors.

I got to know the Reserve and stayed for a couple of nights there.

Iam rly happy that i could be a part of the project and learned alot about ecological and sustainable projects.

I visited the Tapiche very briefly during the start of 2020 before the pandemic hit, unfortunately, it shortened my stay so I was only there 10 days or so. But even though it is still one of the most memorable experiences that I´ve had, and a place I'm dreaming of returning to one day. At Tapiche, I met a truly kind and accommodating team! Everyone from the kitchen staff to the tour guides and to the visiting guests was amazing. It just had that special atmosphere, connecting people through the common interest in the jungle and wildlife. The team consisting of extremely passionate people is inspiring you to become a better person, to think and act upon doing something for the fragile wildlife, protecting the eco-systems of the jungle. A truly important and for me now personal matter.

From the moment I arrived in Iquitos, I knew I was about to experience a very special place. I’ve traveled to sixty countries, and my experience at Tapiche Reserve in the Peruvian Amazon is hands down one of my top three. To start the adventure, I arrived and my bags did not. Murilo Reis, the owner of the reserve, was incredibly kind and not only welcomed me immediately with lunch, but also offered to drive me all over Iquitos picking up essentials in exchange for helping him out with some pre-trip tasks. Yes please! This was genuinely one of the best local experiences I’ve ever had. We zipped around the city, collecting everything from undergarments to a generator, stopped in at a market where Murilo tried to convince me to eat silk worms (sorry, nope, lol), picked up fabric for boat cushions, and stopped by the boat dock. We spent the evening prepping the cushions and getting to know the others who were joining. It was genuinely wonderful.

The journey to Tapiche may seem daunting when you learn just how long the ride is. But it really was not. Even though the wind makes it quite loud and difficult to talk, it really does not matter. The scenery will keep you in awe of nature, and you can quite easily fall into a meditative state just being happy to be alive.

The reserve itself is incredible. Murilo is extremely protective of all creatures and ensures that nobody does a thing to harm them. The accommodations are very comfortable and the food was out of this world good - shocking considering just how removed you are from the city. The guests and volunteers all got along very well, regardless of any language barriers.

The hiking and boat rides deeper into the reserve compare to no other experience I’ve had on the planet - not even tracking gorillas in Africa. It’s just that good. I absolutely could not believe my eyes when Murilo was able to locate a harpy eagle - the number one animal on my list of hopefuls for the visit. Truly, I still to this day cannot believe I saw a harpy eagle deep in the Peruvian Amazon.

Overall my experience at Tapiche Reserve was second to none. Despite rain and mosquitos, I would not change a thing and I look forward to the day when I can return and spend a much more significant amount of time there.

We (my boyfriend and I) came to work for 6 weeks and ended up staying 3 months! We absolutely loved it at Tapiche Reserve. Tapiche Reserve is a really special place, and one of a kind in Iquitos that really puts the animals and environment first, only accessible by boat and in primary rainforest - you really feel like you are deep in the Amazon especially when you get given a satelite phone as the only means of communicating with the outside world! Amazing!

The owner Murilo also has a hostel in Iquitos and the majority of guests come in to the hostel to then go toTapiche Reserve. I (Kat) was able to spend time with the local guides at Tapiche and learn about the jungle, learn about all the animals there and learn all the different sounds the animals make so that I could act as a translator and guide for when guests came to stay. My boyfriend Matt is able to drive boats so he was able to ferry guests back and forth as well as patrol the Reserve making our presence known to animal poachers and loggers to deter them away.

Other duties at the Reserve include general maintenance of the property, be it cleaning, chopping fire wood, general repairs if needed either on the property or with the boats. You can even head out and catch your dinner - only seasonal fishing is allowed at the Reserve but Murilo will brief you on the fish that can be eaten or ones that need to be released.

Sometimes when at the property there will be a guide and a cook especially during high season where there are pretty much back to back groups of guests coming in, but for us the best time in the jungle was when it was just us alone at the lodge. Just you and the jungle - what an amazing experience that we will never forget. Because Tapiche is in primary rain forest and so deep in the jungle when there is just 2 of you out there being quiet, the animals get used to you there and swing by everyday. Every morning we saw the same group of Capuchins and Squirrel monkeys come in to feed right in the lodge. The baby caimans got quite comfortable with us as well and we were able to see them grow in size as they swam along below our hammock room.

Volunteering here plays a really important role - it's a small role in this small way you can help support a really important cause which is protecting the animals from poachers and protecting the rain forest from logging. Tapiche Reserve is the only reserve in primary rain forest in Iquitos which makes it even more important. What Murilo does is amazing, not many people are using their time to be the voice for animals / environment (especially in Iquitos) so any volunteer that can come and help is really helping a cause greater than them.

This will definitely not be our last time in Tapiche and we will most definitely return, thank you so much again for the amazing experience Murilo we will never forget it!