Amazon Villa

Reached by boat up the Tambopata River, Refugio Amazonas sits inside a 200-hectare private reserve on the river's right bank, deep in Peru's Madre de Dios region. The lodge has no glass in its guest rooms. Walls stop short of the roofline, so the forest air and its noise move through freely, and mosquito nets rather than windows keep the insects out. Guides lead daily walks and boat trips to track macaws, capybara, caiman and several species of monkey, and after dark the beams of head torches pick out spiders and tree frogs along the trails. Refugio Amazonas also hosts the Wired Amazon programme, where guests can set camera traps, review drone footage or help log bioacoustic recordings used by researchers studying the region's eight primate species. It is hands-on work, not a demonstration. A private four-room villa within the reserve offers its own chef and a separate daily excursion schedule for guests wanting more privacy. Meals are taken communally in the main lodge, cooked with produce brought upriver and served on a fixed schedule tied to the day's outings. Rain moves through fast and heavy in the wet months, and the humidity is constant regardless of season. Guests come away with muddy boots and, most days, a fresh list of animals seen.