Exploring Manu Wilderness 8 Days

After Picking you up in Cusco, the beginning of the Manu Road passes through numerous dry inner-mountain valleys and picturesque villages. This gives you a quick overview of locals’ lifestyles and colorful clothes. A brief stop at Ninamarca burials will give you the possibility to explore the pre-Incas tombs within this well-archaeological site. The road includes various stops, so you can enjoy seeing the surrounding landscapes varying from high mountains to humid forests. The next stop will occur in the village of Paucartambo which features a beautiful arched colonial bridge. From Paucartambo the altitude will keep on increasing and the setting gradually gets enveloped by a cloudy mist. The road leads you to Acjanaco Pass consisting of the main gateway to Manu National Park. Once across Acjanaco Pass (3550 m / 11.647 ft) the environment dramatically changes from dry to wet valleys. Do not miss the splendid view when looking down toward the lowlands! The lush and misty cloud forest surrounded by massive rocks and waterfalls is perhaps the most fragile and threatened type of rainforest. In such an environment filled with lichens and moss-carpeted soil, spotting birds will be the main target. You will get the chance to stare at a large variety of birds ranging from the Peruvian national bird, the brightly red Andean Cock-of-the-Rock if lucky the wooly monkeys. The road will head down to the Guadalupe Lodge (560 m./1837 ft). Upon arrival at Guadalupe Lodge, you will be able to explore a loop trail that traverses the swamp forest in search of the capuchin and night monkeys and encounter interesting bird activities before dusk such as the blue and yellow macaws, woodpeckers, oropendolas among others. We can also explore the caves and canyons to see animals that only live in darkness, spider scorpions, and different species of bats * flashlights are needed. Overnight at Guadalupe Lodge (Private Toilets, Hot Showers, WIFI).

In the morning, we will explore the foothill forest and palm forest is also an ideal spot to observe blue and yellow macaws as well as other interesting parrots and the Capuchin Monkeys. You will head back to the lodge where a delightful breakfast awaits you full of fresh tropical fruits. From then, you will be guided through the garden and will learn about the different medicinal and traditional plants such as coca leaf, cacao, bamboo water, annatto, etc. As this time of the day, put on your swimsuits and enjoy a dip in the Guadalupe River. This crystalline and unpolluted current flows downstream from the core of the park. In the afternoon, depending on the group’s wishes, there is a possibility of discovering a fascinating canyon and its caves which house some rare species of bats, spiders, and scorpions. Ultimately, a walk within the bamboo forest will enable you to spot some monkeys. The day is ending with a night walk

Enjoy waking up and taking breakfast with the singing of Amazonian birds. By mid-morning you will be transferred to the Atalaya port where you can appreciate the view of myriads of colorful birds and rich wildlife. At the river’s dock, embark in a motor boat and navigate down this crystalline river of Madre de Dios. After 5 hours, you will reach the Dorado Lodge, this boat journey will be exciting to look for some aquatic wildlife; capybaras, birds, and caimans basking along the river bank. In the mid-afternoon, you will ramble through the primary forest searching for some families of monkeys, and peccaries, in the meantime, you will have the opportunity to visit the mammals' clay lick. Overnight at Pankotsi Lodge

Early morning breakfast and departure, we embark on a motorboat and navigate down the crystalline river of Madre de Dios. We will reach the confluence with the Manu River, we stop briefly at the Limonal ranger station for check-in then, we travel upriver we’ll search diligently for any signs of Jaguar, still, only a slim chance but this river is perhaps the best location to find this magnificent mammal. Just a few curves up the river the environment will change, there will be orders of magnitude more to look at, from hundreds if not thousands of swallows and butterflies, to every single sandbar being occupied by something interesting. We will keep a close watch for wildcats. We continue navigating to reach the Casa Machiguenga lodge which it´s set aside a short distance from the Rio Manu in the heart of Manu National Park and stay the following nights at this peaceful place with pristine surroundings. * Night walks are optional and depend on travelers' desires.

We will have the better part to enjoy Manu´s Wilderness, in the morning, we will explore the Salvador oxbow lake famous for its population of Giant River Otters which usually breed there. They can be seen at different times of the day, and this gregarious and playful carnivorous spend a good deal of their time fishing or playing by any side of the lake or just taking a sunbath on their favorite dead logs. We’ll have access to a floating catamaran (two large canoes connected by wooden planks) with chairs set up for bird and wildlife viewing (which makes paddling around the lake easy and comfortable. Apart from looking for the giant river otters, we’ll have the chance for many of the lake edge species, including the fabulous Hoatzin, Agami, and herons, interesting raptors, colorful macaws oropendolas, and caciques. Just floating around the lake will be one of the joys of the trip, In the forest around the lake we’ll also search for more species of monkeys such as white-fronted capuchin, and pygmy marmoset. Apart from the lake, the forest around Salvador Lake and the lodge are some of the best Amazonian rainforests we have seen, and a nice network of trails allows us to leisurely stroll on flat trails the rest of the day. During midday we will explore the terra Firme, the route takes you through Terraza Forest” forest which is the habitat for Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) among other species of trees as you move deep into the heart of the forest is also an excellent place to run into troops of monkeys. We will reach the Macaw Clay Lick that attracts the red and green macaws visiting this clay lick is also always a big highlight of the trip. Overnight: Casa Machiguenga Lodge. (Please notice that the time to visit the Salvador lagoon on this day is subject to availability)

This morning we’ll board our boat and begin the journey down the Rio Manu. On the way, we will pass by the trailhead of the Otorongo Oxbow Lake, where we will be able to walk inside pristine and have an impression of how the forest looks like it inside, there is a trail network that allows visiting a canopy tower that overlooks the lake and swamps and few other wooden platforms to observe some aquatic wildlife and alligators. This forest section also harbors one of the largest kapok trees, visitors can walk nearby its root system to see its enormous size. We’ll also have access and briefly see the untouched rainforest. Returning to the boat trip will be again very exciting with lots of bird activity on the many sandbars as well as side-necked turtles sunning on the logs. This will be again another opportunity for catching a glimpse of the magnificent Jaguar. After about four hours we will reach the Limonal ranger station to register and brief stop for toilets. Lunch will be served on the boat and we arrive at Dorado Lodge by mid-afternoon to have enough time to explore the surroundings and learn more about the Matsiguenka Culture. Night walks are available depending on the wishes of the group.

This morning we will have the opportunity to explore much deeper the trails and later we will boat up the fast-flowing braided and clear water upper Madre de Dios in the morning as we start our five hours back journey to Atalaya. This is the last chance to spot the capybara, the world’s largest rodent. We’ll keep a close watch for raptors, as we have seen numerous Kites, as well as fun birds such as Vultures, and eagles. We’ll continue navigating the upper Alto Madre de Dios River and our re-introduction into civilization at Atalaya Port, after one hour of overland transportation, we reach the Guadalupe Lodge and have time for a night walk around the area.

An optional morning walk to see the blue and yellow macaws overflying the palm forest, we may be able to see other colorful birds such as; Toucans, Woodpeckers, etc. Upon your return, your tasty breakfast will be ready, then you will need to pack and start hitting the road again to Cusco. The way back will give you more opportunities to glimpse some more animals and discover the wildlife of the cloud forest and have impressive views of the exuberant cloud forest with waterfalls, and cascades. The arrival in Cusco should be around 4 pm.

*IMPORTANT. Please bear in mind that there is road construction and improvement in Manu Cloud Forest some delays are expected due to traffic time being limited to certain hours. Apologies for any inconvenience in advance.