Rainbow Mountain

Wake up 4 am, then a three hour drive, then a grueling, painful hike of two hours in low oxygen, freezing cold and unkind Andean sun, all to witness this majestic mountain that was covered by ice just a decade ago, until climate change exposed it to the world.

Video: Roars of the howler monkey

An oxbow lake created by a meandering part of the Madre de Dios river that got cut off over time, Lake Sandoval hosts an array of wildlife, which also brings in this yellow vulture surveying its prey from high above.

A water heron, kingfisher and a hoatzin are just three of numerous animals we a saw in our first hour of exploring on a boat..

Our guide is Cesar Mamani, locally called "Machete". He points out hidden animals, like this camouflaged caiman in the distance.

One of the best treats of the day is a rare sighting of a family of wild river otters, including this guy who just fished out a piranha. Only six otters survive in Lake Sandoval.

Click to go on to the rainforest canopy walk