Amazon fruits – Our rich variety of fruits reflects Tambopata’s amazing biodiversity
02 January 2026 (362 visits)Here at Tambopata Ecolodge, the rich variety of tropical fruits we like to serve our guests reflects the incredible biodiversity of the Amazon rainforest we have been working to protect for more than 30 years. As well as being a delicious treat for our travelers, fruits play a crucial role in the rainforest ecosystem.
Peruvian Amazon fruits are an essential component of the biological diversity of the Amazon jungle where we offer our professionally guided rainforest packages. Aromatic, refreshing and nutritious, each fruit offers visitors to the rainforest a healthy snack, while constituting an essential food source for many species of typical Amazon wildlife, ranging from birds to monkeys.
The tropical fruits of the Amazon rainforest of Peru are incredibly varied, with each fruit possessing its own unique characteristics. Some exhibit vibrant colors, while others are more subtly shaded, and their many flavors range from intensely sweet to sharply tangy. In the forest, they are eaten whole both by animals and those small communities that harvest them, while in towns like Puerto Maldonado they are often made into tasty juices or smoothies at local market stalls.
One of the fruits appreciated for generations by local people and now gaining fame farther afield is the aguaje. Beneath its bright orange-red peel, its creamily-textured flesh is rich in vitamins. Revered by locals for its health benefits, it is now recognized in the Peruvian capital, Lima, as a domestically-produced superfood.
Rich in vitamin C and with a slightly sour flavor, the camu camu berry is another popular local staple that has become well-known across Peru and the world for its nutritional properties, particularly as an antioxidant.
Other delicious fruits you probably won’t see in your home country but which are readily available at traditional Peruvian markets include sweet lucuma (known in English as “eggfruit”), and tart-flavored cocona (sometimes referred to in English as “peach tomato”).
When you visit the Amazon as part of your Peru vacation, we’ll introduce you to the many tropical fruits of the rainforest!
