Your program fee includes:

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner, with regional fruit and drinks available throughout the day. Please confirm any dietary requirements or food allergies before booking.

• Shared accommodation: Rooms for 4–6 participants, with air conditioning or fans and mosquito nets.

• Electricity: Available throughout the facilities.

• Common spaces: An air-conditioned dining and recreation area with board games, a movie projector and ingredients for preparing additional food.

• Wi-Fi: Available in the common areas, study room and bedrooms.

• Bathrooms: Shared bathrooms outside the bedrooms, with running water and daily cleaning of bathrooms and common areas.

• Laundry: Free use of a washing machine. No tumble dryer is available.

• Scheduled airport transfers: Pick-up and drop-off at Iquitos airport during the designated arrival and departure times.

• Program equipment: RAREC T-shirts and rain boots.

Airport pick-up and drop-off are included at the scheduled times below. Please review these arrangements before booking your flights to and from Iquitos.

Arrivals — Mondays

Choose a flight arriving in Iquitos before 7:30 a.m.

• Airport pick-up: 7:30 a.m.

• Hotel pick-up in Iquitos: approximately 8–8:30 a.m.

• Estimated arrival at RAREC: 10 a.m.

You can also arrive the day before, stay overnight in Iquitos and join Monday’s hotel pick-up. Your hotel stay is at your own expense.

If your flight arrives after the scheduled pick-up, including because of a delay, you will need to travel to RAREC by taxi at your own expense. Our team can help arrange this.

Departures — Mondays and Sundays

Monday transfers

• Depart RAREC at 6 a.m.

• Arrive at Iquitos airport at approximately 7 a.m.

• Recommended flight departure: 8:15 a.m.–12 noon.

Please do not book a flight departing before 8 a.m. if you plan to use the included Monday transfer.

Sunday transfers

• Depart RAREC at 11 a.m.

• Arrive at Iquitos airport at approximately 12 noon.

• Recommended flight departure: 2–4 p.m.

If you choose a later flight, you can use the scheduled transfer and wait at the airport, or be dropped off in Iquitos to spend time in the city. Any onward taxi to the airport is at your own expense.

Transfers outside these days and times are not included. We can help you arrange a trusted taxi, with payment made directly to the driver.

Stay on-site at RAREC, surrounded by the sights and sounds of the Peruvian Amazon. Located at Km 47 of the Iquitos–Nauta road, the center is approximately one hour by car from Iquitos, offering a forest setting with road access to the city.

Rooms and facilities

Volunteers stay in shared rooms with bunk beds, a fan for each bed, screened windows and mosquito nets over the beds. Built from wood and masonry, the accommodation provides a comfortable base for your placement.

Your stay includes access to:

• Electricity throughout the facilities.

• Wi-Fi supplied by three Starlink antennas in different areas of the center.

• A kitchen, dining room and recreation area.

• Free use of a washing machine.

Life in the rainforest

Buildings and animal-care areas occupy approximately one-fifth of the property, with much of the surrounding forest left intact. Trees grow throughout the center, and trails lead into the forest and down to a creek, offering opportunities to explore and observe wildlife in your free time.

Getting around

On days off, you can visit Iquitos or arrange excursions in the surrounding region. Our Volunteer Coordinator can help explain transport and tour options. If you would like them to accompany you as a guide or translator, this can be arranged subject to availability; you will need to cover their transport, entrance fees and meals.

Your program fee includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, served in the volunteer dining room. Meals are simple and filling, with Peruvian dishes and ingredients that vary according to local availability. You can also use the kitchen and available supplies to prepare additional food.

Breakfast

Breakfast is self-service. Ingredients generally include eggs, bread, oatmeal, cereal, yogurt, jam, milk, soy milk, coffee and herbal teas. Seasonal fruit is provided when available.

A few mornings each week, our cooks also serve pancakes and fresh fruit juice around 7 a.m.

Lunch and dinner

Our kitchen team prepares lunch at 12 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m.

Lunch usually features a Peruvian main course, fruit and a drink. Meals may include rice, beans, lentils, chickpeas, pasta or quinoa, alongside vegetables, eggs, chicken and occasionally beef, pork or fish. Dinner may include sandwiches, soups, salads or pasta.

Basic cooking ingredients and seasonings are available for your use. Desserts are not routinely served, although jelly or rice pudding may sometimes be available.

Dietary requirements

Please discuss any dietary requirements with us before booking, so we can confirm whether we can meet your needs.

• Vegetarian: We offer meals with vegetables, legumes, soy protein, eggs and cheese. Variety may be limited during longer stays.

• Vegan: Options are limited, and you will need to bring additional protein sources and any specialty foods you require.

• Gluten-free: Specialty products such as gluten-free bread and pasta are generally unavailable; rice may be offered instead. If you have celiac disease or a wheat allergy, please contact us to discuss preparation practices and cross-contact before booking.

• Kosher or halal: Please contact us to discuss your requirements. You may need to bring suitable foods; certified ingredients and preparation arrangements cannot be assumed.

Food allergies and limitations

We cannot guarantee an allergen-free kitchen or prevent all traces of cross-contact. Some non-airborne nut allergies may be accommodated following discussion, but we cannot accommodate airborne nut allergies or severe allergies where trace exposure could cause a reaction.

Multiple allergies, combined dietary restrictions or very specific food preferences may also be difficult to accommodate. Ingredient availability is limited in our location, so flexibility is helpful.