Manu Biosphere Reserve Tour (6 Days)

Early in the morning we will be picking you up from your hotel in Cusco. Then in our private transport, we will be driving you from the Andes to Amazon. As it’s a long drive, we will be having a couple of stops at some interesting sites on our way. Our first stop will be at a remote town called Nincamarca. It is home to pre Incan funeral towers from the Lupacas civilisation. Here our local expert will be giving you a guided tour of the site and will be explaining you the prominence of the site. We will then continue our drive to Paucartambo. It is a folkloric town. People here are untouched by modernity. Most of them still continue to converse in Quechua. From here we will be driving to Acjanaco Pass, entrance to the manu national park. from where you will have a panoramic view of the Amazon basin. From here, we will descend through the cloud forest of the Manu National Park. We will have a brief stop here. The region is home to the Peruvian National Bird – Andean Cock of the Rock. Here you will also be able to spot different and distinct breeds of Monkeys like the wooly monkey. Once you have had your fill of the first views of Manu National Park, we will be driving you to our Rain fores Lodge. Here, we will be accommodating you in an ensuite lodge for the night. The company staff will be serving delicious dinner.

We will be waking you up to an authentic Amazonian breakfast. Then we will be driving you to the Atalaya port. On our way, we will be stopping at a viewpoint to get a panoramic view of the Peruvian Amazon and Alto Madre de Dios river. We will also be visiting a local farm where you will be able to see local farmers producing different types of tropical fruits. We will also be visiting a coca plantation. Once at Atalaya port, we will be taking a boat on the Madre de Dios river. On this journey, you will be able to see different types of birds. This includes parrots, vultures, oropendolas and others. This region is also home to capybaras. They are massive jungle rodents. At around 0500 PM, we will be reaching the serene Amazon Lodge. We will be accommodating you in an ensuite private room. After dinner, we will be doing a night safari to spot some nocturnal creatures like the tarantulas, snakes and scorpios.

Early in the morning, after breakfast we will be checking out of the Hummingbird Lodge. Leaving behind the clear waters of the Madre De Dios river, we will be entering the clay laden waters of Manu river. We will be having a brief stop at Limonal Control where we will have to present the permits to the Park Rangers. We will then sail for five hours on Manu river. The beaches here are full of nesting birds, feeding herons, Orinoco and egrets. You will also be able to spot some black and white caimans. Over a hundred sand coloured nightjars roost during the day on logs and beaches. Here you will also be able to spot Jaguars. This region is also home to red howler monkeys and squirrel monkeys. We will be stopping for lunch amidst the jungle. Casa Matsiguenka lodge: We will then reach the Casa Matsiguenka lodge that nestles on the shores of the Cocha Salvador Lake. The lodge is managed by the Matsiguenka community. There are many interesting trails around the lodge where Matsiguenkas, as locals, guide the tours. We will be spending the afternoon exploring some interesting trails on this pristine Amazon rainforest area. Then we will be visiting the Cocha Otorongo lake which houses a 20 metres high observation tower in the rainforest canopy. You will have a panoramic view of the lake and the wildlife from here. You will also be able to see giant otters here. Then we will return to the lodge for dinner. After dinner, we will have the option of experiencing the night tour of the jungle where you can spot more nocturnal creatures. We will be sailing on the boat for the night tour, so you will also have the opportunity of spotting black caimans, Olingos, ocelot etc. After the tour of the lowland rainforest, we will return to the lodge.

We will be serving you a typical Amazonian breakfast, then we will be spending the rest of the morning at Lake Cocha Salvador. We will be canoeing on the lake and from the floating platform you will be able to spot wildlife of the Oxbow lake. Here, we will also see Agami Heron or Sungrebe, brown capuchin monkeys and more. There are specially constructed stones that jot out into the lake. From here you will get to see families of giant otters that inhabit here. These are the world’s largest freshwater carnivores remaining in Manu. Each of these animals consume between 4-5 kilos of fish a day. You will often spot them eating fishes on the lakeside. We will be spending the rest of the day hiking on the trails and looking for the thirteen iconic species of monkeys. The region is also home to many medicinal plants. After exploring Lake Salvador, we will have another beautiful activity. It consists of observing parrots and macaws on a cliff, which is called macaw clay lick. This activity is very preferred by bird-loving tourists, and bird watchers. There we will spend 2 hours in a hiding house to see these beautiful birds. On this trail, we will also spot groups of Peccaries. They are a species of new world pigs. We will then see the sunset and return to Casa Matsiguenka lodge for dinner.

After breakfast, we will be checking out from Casa Matsiguenka Lodge and sail for four hours down the Boca Manu river. Often you will be able to spot many distinct animals on the shores. We will then continue on Madre de dios river for five hours till we reach our own Palotoa Amazon Lodge. The lodge nestles in the heart of the rainforest. The location makes it ideal for local conservation groups and bird watchers to set base and explore the rainforest. After dinner, we will be doing a night tour to spot some nocturnal creatures here.

After breakfast, we will take the boat to Atalaya port. Here we will meet our private transportation and will drive back to Cusco. We will be reaching Cusco at around 07:30 PM.