This jungle town in the Southeast is the capital of the department
Madre de Dios. It has a population of about 30,000, and its economy
consists for a great deal of gold. Therefore it has quite a bit the
atmosphere of a wild-west town in the 19th century, but with an
unmistakable tropical touch.
The city is an important port along the river Madre de Dios, one of the
sources of the Amazon. Close
to Puerto Maldanado is the Lago Sandoval and, further on, the national
park Reserva Tambopata.
