Located on the banks of the majestic Amazon river in Yanamono’s Communal Reserve (80km/50 miles away from Iquitos City), Amazon River Expeditions’ Heliconia Amazon River Lodge is surrounded by an amazing collection of brilliant flowers such as heliconias, bromelias, and orchids. The nearby streams and lagoons full of wildlife make the lodge a wonderful place to relax, as well as enjoy exciting nature adventures. Heliconia Lodge, in association with the Rotary Club of Iquitos, has successfully coordinated the establishment of a new secondary school.

The Manu National Park is one of the most pristine natural areas in the world with extraordinary biodiversity. The park’s over 1,700,000 hectors, between 492 and 13,779 ft in altitude, of amazing natural environments range from Andean grasslands to cloud forests to foothill and lowland forests. The park is home to an unrivalled variety of animal and plant species, with over 1,000 species of birds and 200 species of mammals, including endangered species such as the harpy eagle, jaguar, and giant river otters.

By Nina Fogelman – Discovering opportunities to help develop “Rural Living Tourism” in Peru has become a real passion for me. My visit in September 2007 led me to a community in the Lake Titicaca area that truly captured my heart. I feel blessed to be able to offer opportunities to a segment of Peru’s tourists who wish to participate in unique and rewarding activities, and return to Peru, to my heart of hearts. The local residents of a village called Atuncolla (pronounced atoon coya) are the descendants of the Qolla Kingdom in the Andean highland region.

Boundless Journeys’ annual charity event incorporates meaningful community service into an amazing travel adventure. Boundless Journeys’ August 2-9, 2009 Peru: The Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu trip serves as a special charity event to benefit the Instituto Machu Picchu and a community school in the village of Huanca. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people visit Peru and its iconic archeological site, Machu Picchu, but very few visitors get off the beaten path and truly connect with the people and places they are there to experience.