Manu Reserved Zone

Manu Reserved Zone  Leaving Cusco early in the morning, we begin an 8-hour journey over the Andes by bus, stopping for a coffee at the beautiful colonial village of Paucartambo.

Continuing, we climb to the highpoint of the Manu Biosphere at about 4000 m before descending to the cloud forest. In these mysterious surroundings we take a hike to the lek of the incredible Cock-of-the-Rock, to see the 'performance' of the males right under our eyes. We spend our first night in the rustic lodge Posada San Pedro (appr. 1,600 m).

Manu Reserved Zone  At daybreak we continue by bus to tropical lowland rainforest. Here at the small village Atalaya at 650 m, we change into a motorized canoe to navigate some 3 hours down the turbulent Alto Madre de Dios River.

From here we get great views of the Andes. We stop for a visit of one of the very few lakes on the Alto Madre de Dios River, where you can go around on small traditional rafts to see water birds and even fish swimming in its clear water. We continue further down the river to Pantiacolla Lodge, where we will stay the next two days, right at the foot of the Pantiacolla Mountain Range.

Manu Reserved Zone  The forest of Pantiacolla Lodge is a very special rainforest: this is where the Andes Mountains and the lowland Amazon rainforest meet. It has animal and plant species of both zones as well as a high number of endemics, that is species only to be found in this area and nowhere else on Earth.

Your first walks will be on the lowland trails, at 400 m above sea level. At night, we explore the forest by torchlight, looking for insects, frogs, lizards and the unique nocturnal night-monkey or "douroucouli". We spend the night in Pantiacolla Lodge.Range.

Manu Reserved Zone  Early in the morning the boat takes you to a nearby clay lick for parrots and the rare blue-headed macaw. Their spectacle is both impressive to see and hear! Afterwards we walk another trail of the lodge's extensive trail system.

At midday we boat up to the Shintuya Hot Springs to meet up with the people doing the 7-day tour. In the late afternoon and evening we do another nightwalk with a visit ofRanacocha, Frog Lake. Overnight in Pantiacolla Lodge..

Manu Reserved Zone, Early in the morning we boat down the Alto Madre de Dios River to then turn up the Manu River for an 8-hour ride into the heart of Manu's Reserved Zone. From this vantage point we will have great views of riverside birds, sunbathing caiman, and the enormous aquatic guinea pig, the capybara. We reach our Camping Huts deep inside Manu in the afternoon. This will be our base for this and the next day. During this time, we will hike through virgin forest and explore one of the most beautiful lakes of the Manu basin, Lake Salvador, by catamaran.

Manu Reserved Zone,  There is a chance to see a huge variety of colourful birds, numerous species of monkey and with luck, a family of giant otters. We also visit another, somewhat smaller lake, Cocha Otorongo, which has a 20 meter-high observation platform overlooking the lake.

At night we can explore the forest by torchlight or we may be able to go moonlight caiman-spotting on the lake.

We return back down the Manu River early in the morning, which gives us a good chance to see one or more of Manu's rarer mammals, such as a tapir or anteater or maybe one of the big cats, crossing the river or resting on its shores.

Joining the Madre de Dios River we arrive at Blanquillo, near the claylick for macaws, where we spend the night in the jungle lodge Tambo Blanquillo.

At first light we head to the macaw lick to watch the dazzling spectacle of hundreds of parakeets, parrots and big macaws eating clay.

In the afternoon we visit a 42-meter high canopy tower, giving us the opportunity to look at the forest from above. We spend the night again in the jungle lodge Tambo Blanquillo.

Back on the boat early in the morning, we head downstream to the small mining village Boca Colorado. Here and in Mazuco later on, you can see the negative effects of human gold mining activities on the delicate ecological balance of the rainforest.

We take local transportation until crossing the Inambari River. On the other side, our bus is waiting to take you over a newly paved road, through beautiful cloud and elfin forest.

Near Cusco, you have stunning views of the Ausangate Mountain. Cusco is reached in the early evening.