MANU JUNGLE

Manu is more isolated and therefore more difficult to visit but if you make the effort and have the extra time and budget, you will visit one of the most fantastic places on earth.

MANU BIOSPHERE RESERVE ADVENTURE

Suitable for Families

6 DAYS (5 nights lodge)

DAY ONE : Leaving Cusco after breakfast we travel through traditional Quechua communities and through the spectacular eastern ranges of the Andes to the village of Paucartambo, passing snow-peaks and small Andean farmsteads. We will have time here to look around this picturesque village .We then ascend to the last pass overlooking the Amazon Basin and begin the breath taking descent from 3500 meters to 1600 meters above sea-level to our comfortable lodge in the orchid laden Cloud Forest. This is a spectacular journey passing cascading waterfalls and multicolored birds along the way. In the late afternoon, we'll walk into the lodge to the sounds of Quetzals, Trogons and Gray-breasted Wood-Wrens. Night at Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge. L:D:
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DAY TWO: Pre- breakfast walk to a nearby spot in the Cloud Forest where the strange and beautiful Cocks-of-the-Rock display at dawn. This is a wonderful sight, as up to 25 bright red-orange males dance and sing, attempting to attract the favors of the duller, burgundy colored females. After visiting this lek we return to the Lodge for a leisurely breakfast and continue in our all terrain bus to the Madre de Dios River and our motorized dugouts and we begin our journey down the river, past the last folds of the Andes, to it's confluence with the Manu River. We’ll pass settlements and native communities during the trip. Just before we get to the village of Boca Manu we pass the native community of Diamante. Their culture is Piro and this is the largest settlement in the area. There is a small handcraft shop here, which offers hand painted fabrics, necklaces of seeds native to the region and a small selection of weavings and ceramics. A stop here must be pre-arranged through your guide. Passing the village of Boca Manu we arrive at to-nights destination -a small, locally built and managed lodge. The lodge is across the river from the tiny airstrip of Boca Manu. The two species of Tamarin monkeys are here -the Saddleback and Emperor. The latter with their long, white moustaches are a rare and precious sight. There is a trail system we can explore if time permits. B:L:D

DAY THREE: Well fed and rested we leave Boca Manu, leaving the relatively clean waters of the Madre de Dios River behind, we enter the clay laden waters of the Manu River. With a brief stop at the park ranger station at Limonal to present our permits we travel for about five hours up the Manu. Beaches, especially in the dry season, are loaded with nesting birds and feeding Herons, Egrets, Orinoco Geese, Terns and Skimmers to name but a few. Some beaches will host sunning White and Black Caimans (South American relatives of the Alligators)/ and breeding Side-necked Turtles. Hundreds of Sand-colored Nightjars roost during the day on logs and beaches and there is a chance of encountering a sunning Jaguar - the world’s third largest cat. In 2001 one in three of our trips saw Jaguar in Manu. We will see some species of primate on this river trip, possibly Red Howler Monkeys or the smaller Squirrel Monkeys. After having lunched by the river we arrive at our Tented Camp near the lake of Cocha Salvador. We'll have the afternoon to explore some of the trails through the pristine rainforest in the area. A visit to the lake of Cocha Otorongo is planned, where observation piers and a 20 meter observation tower in the rainforest canopy overlooking the lake are available for observing wildlife. We will also be on the lookout for a large family of Giant Otters that inhabit this lake. Before or after dinner an optional excursion into the forest at night is available with your guide in search of nocturnal creatures. The lakes are full of eye-shine of the large Black Caiman and if we are lucky we may encounter an Olingo Kinkajou or even an Ocelot on the trails. Certainly the nighttime noise of tree frogs and insects in the forest is an experience not to be forgotten. Night at the Casa Matsiguenka, a rustic native owned lodge run by the Matisguenka’s themselves with its own exclusive trail system. There are flush toilet and ambient temperature shower facilities and screened twin rooms with comfortable beds and mosquito nets. B:L:D

About the Casa Matsiguenka
The Casa Matsiguenka is designed using the indigenous people’s building techniques and counts on 12 fully screened twin rooms. Beds are furnished with mosquito nets. There is a private trail system and local Matsiguenka guides will accompany you on the trails. There is an interactive interpretation center and locally made souvenirs are for sale

DAY FOUR: After breakfast we'll spend the morning at the lake of Cocha Salvador. Some of the time will be spent canoeing the lake on a floating platform observing ox-bow lake animal life from the water. We may encounter an Agami Heron or a Sungrebe and Brown Cappuchin Monkeys are usually feeding on fruits nearby. Specially constructed piers that jut out into the lake enable us to look for a family of Giant Otters that live here. These, the world’s largest freshwater carnivores,
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remain common only in Manu, having been hunted to extinction throughout most of their former range. Each animal consumes between 4 and 5 kilos of fish daily and often they can be seen eating large fish on logs at the lakeside. The rest of the day will be spent walking the trails in the area in search of some of the 13 species of Monkey found in the forest here. Your guide will explain some of the basics of rainforest ecosystems and point out some of the medicinal plants of the area used by local, indigenous groups. We may cross paths with a group of Peccaries - a species of wild boar found here. A late afternoon swim in the river near the camp as the sun sets. Night at the Casa Matsiguenka B:L:D.

DAY FIVE: Today we'll walk very slowly from camp for 4-5 hours through the forest to Cocha Otorongo. We may encounter troops of Monkeys. This is a particularly good trail for Woolly and Black Spider Monkeys. We'll pay special attention to the plant life on this walk and take it slowly listening for the rustle of vegetation or the soft sound of fruits falling to the rainforest floor that may betray the presence of animals or large birds. We'll be met at the river by our cook with a picnic lunch and then board our motorized dugout for the 4 hour trip down river to Boca Manu for the night. The river trip may hold surprises and we'll be attentive for any wildlife on the beaches. Night at the lodge at Boca Manu. B:L:D

DAY SIX: This morning we have time to explore the small trail system at the lodge before heading across the river to the tiny airstrip of Boca Manu. On arrival at the strip we board our aircraft for the 35 minute flight to Cusco. First we fly over seemingly endless rainforest and then past snow peaks and glaciers to Cusco, where our staff will be waiting to take you to your hotel. B:

THIS IS A FIXED DEPARTURE TRIP AND LEAVES EVERY SUNDAY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR EXCEPT FOR THE MONTHS OF JANUARY, FEBRUARY AND MARCH, WHEN ONLY THE FIRST SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH IS A SCHEDULED DEPARTURE.

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THE MANU MACAW LICK AT THE MANU WILDLIFE CENTRE
Suitable for Families

CAN BE TAKEN AS A 4 OR 5 DAY TOUR
4 OR 5 DAYS (3 or 4 nights lodge)

This program is designed for visitors to the Manu area, with limited time available, and who want to maximize their rainforest experience in Peru staying at Manu’s premier lodge. This area of forest and lakes has a higher diversity of life than the Manu River itself..
This trip has two major wildlife attractions – the Macaw lick and the worlds only know Tapir lick where in the comfort of mattresses and mosquito nets you may watch the largest of all South American Land Mammals visit mineral lick

DAY ONE: We pick you up from your hotel in Cusco and take you to the airport for the early morning light to the Boca Manu Aerodrome. Leaving the plane we'll head down the Madre de Dios River for two hours to the comfortable lodge facility near the Macaw Clay Lick - Manu Wildlife Center. This strategically located lodge facility is jointly owned and run by Manu Expeditions and a local conservation group and is a base for scientific research in the area and a center for visitors wanting to explore the rainforest. We should arrive in time for lunch and a shower (hot water) and get to meet whichever researchers are onsite. The afternoon is set aside to relax or, if you want, to explore a trail through the untouched forest to a lookout point on a cliff over the river to watch roosting flights of Parrots and Macaws as the sun sets. Manu Wildlife Center has a canopy platform and an observation tower. The canopy platform is accessible via a spiral staircase so everyone can get to enjoy the rainforest canopy. Those who wish can participate in a night walk with your guide in search of nocturnal animals. Night at Manu Wildlife Center. B:L;D

DAY TWO: Early start to-day for the Macaw Clay Lick. This is truly one of the world’s great wildlife spectacles as hundreds of Parrots and their larger relatives, the Macaws, congregate at this traditional locality to eat the mineral rich clay that is essential to their digestion. We'll use a blind (hide) to get close to the birds. The noise alone is incredible and the sight of these brightly colored
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birds at the lick is a sight not to be forgotten. As the lick slows down in midmorning we'll head for Cocha Blanco, an old ox-bow lake, in search of a family of Giant Otters that live there, and canoe around the lake on our floating platform looking for other wildlife. After a leisurely lunch at the lodge we'll explore other trails in search of Emperor and Saddleback Tamarins, and we have seen the rare Goeldi's Monkey repeatedly in this area. Night at the Manu Wildlife Center B:L:D

DAY THREE: A full day to explore the forest and trails around the lodge. We'll be on the lookout for Monk Saki - an uncommon and rarely seen monkey of the tierra firme forest that is occasionally seen here. We'll explore trails where groups of Manakins, perhaps the most enigmatic of neo-tropical birds, perform their strange mating dances and walk to one of our blinds at a large mammal lick where Guans and forest Parakeets and Parrotlets come for clay. Here too, groups of Black Spider Monkeys visit on occasions for clay to help their digestion. Those who wish will return with the guide to the lodge in the late afternoon however there is an opportunity to stay at the lick after dark to see what nocturnal creatures come to the lick. Tapirs, the largest South American land mammal are frequent visitors with up to 12 animals visiting in one night. We watch them from the comfort of mosquito nets and mattresses from our specially constructed blind. Other nocturnal creatures are always possible. Night at the Manu Wildlife Center. B:L:D

IF YOU ARE ON THE MONDAY 5 DAY TOUR YOU WOULD SPEND ANOTHER FULL DAY EXPLORING THE TRAILS, LAKES, CANOPY TOWERS AND WILDLIFE ATTRACTIONS AT THE MANU WILDLIFE CENTER LODGE.

DAY FOUR: After breakfast we head upriver (about 2 hours) to the small airstrip at Boca Manu. Early morning flocks of birds pass over the boat, and we may see a Capybara, the world’s largest rodent. Arriving at the airstrip we board our aircraft for the 35 minute flight over seemingly endless rainforest and then over the Andes, passing glaciers and snow peaks to the ancient Inca capital of Cusco where our staff will be waiting to take you to your hotel. B:

IF YOU ARE ON THE MONDAY 5 DAY TOUR YOU WOULD FLY TO CUSCO ON DAY 5

THIS IS A FIXED DEPARTURE TRIP AND LEAVES EVERY MONDAY (5 DAYS) AND EVERY FRIDAY (4 DAYS) EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR.