2026 Peru Dispatch Part III – Seledonia to Tambopata

The Delicate Nature Balance

Last week, I left off as we returned from Machu Picchu, traveling through Peru with an incredible group of advisor partners, all in pursuit of something deeper than the highlights reel. Our goal was simple: experience the authentic side of Peru. This dispatch finds me in a very different setting. As I write, I’m sitting on the deck of the Tambopata Research Center, deep in the Peruvian Amazon. The sounds of the rainforest are all around me, and it feels like the perfect place to tell you how we got here.

The day after visiting Machu Picchu, we spent more time exploring the Sacred Valley, beginning with a visit to a local weaving community of women who remain largely disconnected from Peru’s commercial tourism circuit. The communities high in the Andes face a unique challenge. Many live on mineral-rich land that is highly sought after, often through methods that place tremendous pressure on traditional ways of life. Projects like this one create an alternative path forward. Through microenterprise and cultural preservation, families are able to generate income without forcing spouses and parents to leave for distant cities or mining camps for months at a time.

The following day brought one of the most memorable experiences of the journey: a seven-mile trek along a lesser-known section of the Inca Trail. The hike was more demanding than I expected, with every step reminding us that the Andes have little interest in making things easy. Yet, as often happens in Peru, the reward was far greater than the effort. The day culminated in one of the most meaningful shamanic experiences I have had in years. For those of you who follow my social channels, I recently shared some personal reflections on what that journey meant to me.

Back in Cusco, the culinary theme that has quietly followed us throughout this dispatch emerged once again. This time, it was through Sele, a local chef whose life story is every bit as inspiring as her cooking. Sele has the kind of smile that instantly lights up a room and a talent for flavor that comes not from recipes or measurements, but from intuition. Her experience begins in the neighborhood market where she shops and ends in her kitchen, but to call it a cooking class would miss the point entirely. It is storytelling through food, with each ingredient carrying a piece of Peru’s history and culture.

And then came another dramatic change of scenery. Rather than heading north to Iquitos, we flew from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado, traveled by vehicle along a dirt road for an hour, and then boarded a long-tailed skiff for a two-and-a-half-hour ride deeper into the Amazon. Eventually, we arrived at the Tambopata Research Center, one of the world’s most important centers for macaw conservation.

Life here unfolds at nature’s pace. Daytime walks and boat rides reveal wildlife in the most unexpected moments, from colorful birds appearing out of nowhere to animals that seem to materialize from the forest itself. At night, the jungle tells a different story. Tarantulas emerge. Giant grasshoppers appear under the glow of headlamps. Sounds become amplified. Yet something interesting happens when you spend enough time here. The fear begins to fade. You realize none of this exists to threaten you. Instead, you find yourself witnessing a remarkably delicate system, every species playing its role in an intricate balance perfected over millennia. We are not participants in that cycle. We are not victims of it either. We are simply fortunate enough to be quiet observers.

Enjoy the video, and stay tuned for a special bonus Peru Dispatch from Gisela as she ventures even farther off the beaten path and into some of Peru’s most remote and fascinating corners.