William Papa, Trisha Shrum. Date of travel: May 2005
The Lodge itself is technically in the reserve so you must log in to the reserve at a ranger station on the way. They have a nice collection of animal artifacts in the lodge to get you aquainted with the local wildlife. But be careful we almost learned the hard way that there were wasp nests in the trees near the ranger station! The Explorer's Inn itself is one large common area (dining area, kitchen, bar, reception, common area, wraparound deck and nature exhibit/library on a 2nd floor lookout), nearby are several groups of rooms in several buildings, 3 buildings per group, 4 rooms per building. All buildings are screened in w/ mosquito nets over the beds (the screens were mostly in very good condition so the nets were essentially redundant but recommended). The rooms were clean, wood floor screen/split bamboo walls + thatched celing. Nice beds/nightstands candles for light and pleanty of shelving + private bathrooms that are also remarkably clean with running water! The rooms are nice and clean but the building construction does not seal out all invaders! Several bugs were seen in the room, but it was by no means an infestation! The tour guildes all speak relatively good English. They are mostly grad-students from area colleges (a few international students as well) and as such are very well informed about the local wildlife, local customs, local medicinal uses of plants and many many interesting anecdotal ecologial interactions between common plants/animals. The jungle tours are mostly on foot and do require walking about 2-5km per day (not all at once obviously!) All in all I was EXTREMELY satisfied with our stay there. But be forewarned there is NO electricity available to guests (they make some allowances to charge batteries for cameras, but nothing else!). They also have an exclusive travel agent in Cuzco on a street named Garcilasco (I think?) either way the office is on one of the streets immidiately SW of the plaza de Armas, and the lady that runs the office is Wonderful to work with and will give group discounts (on more than two ppl). more info here: http://www.explorersinn.com/ (I was not compensated in any way for this revew!!!) Tour Operator: Explorer's Inn