Tarapoto
Most international visitors go to Tarapoto for the birds, but the city also has great art, chocolate, restaurants and hotels.
This trip was sponsored by PromPeru, the Peruvian tourism board for Peru Outdoor Expo 2026. I was thrilled to go back to Tarapoto because last year I didn’t have time to see much of the town. (In 2025, I spent most of my time at Sachakuna).
Here’s what to do, where to stay and where to eat in Tarapoto.
Our first stop was Chazuta, which you definitely should add to any trip to Tarapoto.
Our Tarapoto schedule:
Our first day, I got to visit the nearby village of Chazuta to see how they are maintaining their ancestral ceramics traditions and Pasikiwi to see how cacao is grown and chocolate is made. We had lunch at Pumarinri and got to go for a walk along the river, where we saw Black-fronted Nunbirds and a while tree full of Russet-backed Oropendula nests. We had dinner at Patarashca and spent the night at Tucan Suites, both of which I highly recommend.
The next morning, we went birding at Aconabikh, where I added several new species to my life list! We had breakfast there and then a couple more hours birdwatching before we drove an hour to Bosque Guardian Lodge. We had a gourmet tasting menu for lunch at Bosque Guardian Lodge and went on a hike to see their oldest trees, giants that are each several hundred years old. After the hike it was back in the car for the long drive to Moyobamba.
What to do in Tarapoto
I recommend spending a full day at Yana Rumi so you can paint and fire your pottery.
Chazuta Yana Rumi Pottery
I loved our visit to the Yana Rumi pottery workshop in Chazuta and only wish we’d been able to stay longer. The women who are maintaining the Chazuta ceramics traditions showed us how they clean and prepare clay that they themselves dig from the earth. They demonstrated how they use an ancient stone batan to grind up old and broken pottery into a fine sand that they mix into the clay to make it more resistant in the kiln.
They still use minerals to make red, black and white paint and still use their ancestors’ traditional designs. Yana means black and Rumi means stone in Quechua. We got to see how they grind a particular black stone to make black paint, the middle photo above. We also saw how each artist makes her paintbrushes with her own hair. Call ahead or message on whatsapp +51 935 677 844 or email riosiduith@gmail.com Follow them on Instagram @Yanarumii
Pasikiwi Chocolate & Honey
Our next stop was Chakra Pasikiwi, where we saw cacao trees and got to taste the fruit that grows around cacao beans in the pod, then taste chocolate. In Quechua, a chakra is a small farm or field. Roger showed us the trees that cacao pods grow on and how he ferments then dries the beans to make chocolate. He also showed us his Melipona bees, a family of tiny rainforest bees that don’t have stingers. They nest in little boxes and make so little honey that he sells it in medicine droppers and was out of stock when we were there. Like Chazuta, I would have happily stayed here all day, but we only got about an hour to visit before we went to Pumarinri for lunch. Message Roger ahead on WhatsApp to arrange a visit: +51 945 750 905 or 921 019 697. Closed Mondays. Follow them on Instagram @chakrapasikiwi
I love potoos and how they perch like they’re part of trees, so I was really excited to see a Long-tailed Potoo for the first time.
Aconabikh Birdwatching
Very early the next morning we drove about an hour from Tarapoto to Aconabikh and climbed a tower to watch the sunrise. We were there for first light and heard the first birds waking up, then watched the trees come alive little by little as more birds awoke and started looking for breakfast. On my bird list below I noted which birds I only heard, but didn’t see in the dark. Follow them on Instagram @aconabikh
After a couple hours in the tower, we went back to the building by the entrance for breakfast and then Ismael, the caretaker, took me on a walk to find the Koepcke’s Hermit hummingbird. I was fortunate to also see a Long-tailed Potoo and three male Golden-headed Manakins hopping around on their lek.
I’m a writer that takes photos, not a photographer that writes, so my bird photos aren’t great. As long as they’re good enough to identify the bird, I’m happy. I don’t need them to be Audubon quality. The photos above should give you an idea what the forest is like at Aconabikh and how high up in the trees the potoo and manakins were. The Koepcke’s Hermit was so close to the ground I was sitting on the trail to take those photos.
Here’s my bird list: Blue-black grassquit (heard), Ferruginous Pygmy-owl (heard), Silver-beaked tanager, Chestnut-bellied seedeater, Violaceous Jay, Palm Tanager, Cinereous Tinamou (heard), Plumbeous Pigeon (heard), Magpie Tanager, Chestnut-eared Aracari, Green-and-gold Tanager, Masked Crimson Tanager, Speckled Chachalaca, Paradise Tanager, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Roadside Hawk, Olive-faced Flatbill (heard), Buff-throated Saltator, White-browed Purpletuft female (lifelist!), Purple Honeycreeper, Koepcke’s Hermit (lifelist!), Long-tailed Potoo (lifelist!), Golden-headed Manakin (lifelist!), White-lored Tyranulet (heard), Russet-backed Oropendula, Golden-tailed Sapphire, Dusky-chested Flycatcher (heard)
Where to stay in Tarapoto
Tucan Suites
Press trips are always a whirlwind and we only had one night at Tucan Suites, but I saw enough to whole heartedly recommend it. My room was spacious, with a king size bed, full kitchen and view of the swimming pool. The staff were all helpful and I expect breakfast would have been good – if we hadn’t left at 4am to go birding at Aconabikh. Check the Tucan Suites website for reservations.
Also, see my descriptions of Pumarinri Lodge and Bosque Guardian Lodge, both within an hour driving of Tarapoto.
Where to eat in Tarapoto
Patarashca Restaurant
I’ve been wanting to eat here since I was in Tarapoto last year and didn’t have time in the city for lunch or dinner. After waiting for a year, Patarashca didn’t disappoint! The menu is excellent even though I didn’t have their signature patarashca, fish steamed in heliconia leaves. I had to get the tacu tacu since it’s hard to find a vegetarian version. Click on photos to enlarge them.
Patarashca has some rooms set around a garden and swimming pool behind the restaurant and even though I didn’t get to see inside, I would recommend it based on the beautiful gardens and excellent food. Follow them on Instagram @lapatarashcarestaurante
Where to eat outside the city: On the first day we had lunch at Pumarinri and on the second at Bosque Guardian, which were both fantastic.
Questions?
Download my Peru travel guide app, schedule a call with me and email the iPeru office iperutarapoto@promperu.gob.pe
You can visit this iPeru office in the Tarapoto airport 8am-1pm and 4pm to 5pm.
