Manu Reserved Zone (9 Days)

We board a bus early in the morning and travel eight hours across the Andes, arriving in the lovely colonial village of Paucartambo for breakfast. We continue on and ascend to the Manu Biosphere’s highest point, which is at roughly 4000 meters, before descending to the cloud forest. We go on our first lengthy walk in these lush, wet surroundings. Among the numerous bird species that can be observed are the stunning paradise tanager, umbrella bird, and golden-headed quetzal. Its butterflies include different skippers and cloudy yellows.

The woolly monkey and the two Manu capuchin monkey species are the three monkey species found in the cloud forest. There are numerous other animal species, however it is more challenging to see them. We come to the strange-looking cock-of-the-lek rock’s to complete our walk and enjoy the males’ in-front-of-us dance and singing “show.” The quaint inn Posada San Pedro is where we stay the night (appr. 1,600m).

We continue to the tropical lowland jungle by bus before dawn, stopping en route to see a coca farm and a small animal rescue facility. After reaching the little community of Atalaya at 650 meters, we switch to a motorized canoe and travel 40 minutes downstream on the swift Alto Madre de Dios River. We next walk for 30 minutes to one of the lake’s with the best views along the Alto Madre de Dios River. On traditional balsa rafts, you may circle this little lake and observe the huge diversity of aquatic species found in the rainforest, including the moscovy duck, neotropic cormorant, anhinga, white-necked and crowned herons, and the hoatzin.

Typically, the water is clear enough to allow us to see numerous tropical fish familiar to us from home aquariums. Squirrel monkeys or other monkeys are frequently spotted in the nearby forests. At the base of the Pantiacolla Mountain Range, at Pantiacolla Lodge, we continue downstream in the late afternoon.

A good variety of birds and plants from both zones, as well as local endemics, can be seen in the Pantiacolla Lodge’s forest because it is the meeting place of the lowland tropical rainforest and the Andes. Your initial stroll will take place at night, when you’ll search the jungle by torchlight for insects, snakes, and the one and only nocturnal night-monkey, or “douricouli,” that exists on Earth. Pantiacolla Lodge is where we stay the night.

The boat takes you to a nearby parrot lick early in the morning, around the time the howler monkeys begin their morning ritual of howling. There, you can see at least seven species, including the small blue-headed and chestnut fronted macaws, white-eyed parakeets, and blue-headed and yellow crowned parrots. They put on a busy and boisterous show!

After that, we explore Pantiacolla’s trails to see more of its 600+ bird species, including the rare black tinnamou, piping guan, and dusky titi monkeys, as well as its eight different monkey species, including the elusive monk saki monkey and white-lipped and collared peccaries, ocelots, squirrels, bats, and red-breasted deer. Glasswing butterflies are frequent on the shady trails in this location, while Callicores and Panaceas are found in the open spaces. One can come across the renowned morpho butterfly, which is known for its iridescent blue wings. We go to Ranacocha, or “Frog Lake,” at night to search for tree frogs, poison dart frogs, and other frogs. In Panctiacolla Lodge for the night.

We hope to see more monkeys, coatis, or possibly a tayra foraging for tiny animals in the woods as we take a morning stroll along one of the many trails that surround the resort. We can now begin to identify a few of the forest’s trees, including the ceiba (kapok), capirona (naked tree), and various types of palms. After lunch, the boat transports us to the Hot Springs of Shintuya for a peaceful mineral bath, before linking up with the individuals doing the 7-day tour. Pantiacolla Lodge is where you spend the night once more.

We take the Manu River upstream in the morning for a six-hour journey into the heart of Manu’s Reserved Zone. We will get excellent views of riverfront birds, sun-lounging caimans, and the gigantic aquatic guinea pig, the capybara, from our vantage point. In the late afternoon, we arrive at our camping huts deep inside Manu. This will serve as our home base today and tomorrow.

During this period, we will go on a catamaran tour of Lake Salvador, one of the Manu basin’s most stunning lakes, and climb through untouched forest. Numerous species of monkeys, an enormous variety of colorful birds, and, with any luck, a family of enormous otters may all be seen. Another journey through this diverse forest leads to Lake Otorongo and a 20-meter-high observation platform that looks out over the lake. We can go moonlight caiman spotting on the lake at night or use torches to explore the forest at night.

We have a decent chance of spotting one of the larger and more uncommon species along the Manu River if we set out early in the morning. It can be a black caiman that is almost 5 meters long, a tapir, a big anteater, a swimming sloth, or perhaps the jaguar, the most spectacular of the New World animals. In Blanquillo, close to the macaw claylick, we join the Madre de Dios River. We ascend the 42-meter-high canopy tower later that day, providing us with a spectacular view of the lush jungle canopy. In the Tambo Blanquillo jungle resort, we spend the night.

As soon as the sun rises, we make our way to the macaw lick to take in the breathtaking sight of hundreds of parakeets, including the tui and cobalt-winged varieties, parrots, including the orange-cheeked parrot, and large macaws munching on clay. This clay lick is primarily used by the red-and-green macaws among the large macaws, with the occasional scarlet or blue-and-yellow macaw. nearby, the We spend the night again in the bush resort Tambo Blanquillo.

We get back on the boat in the early morning and travel downstream to Boca Colorado, a tiny mining community. You may observe the detrimental consequences of specific human activities on the fragile biological balance of the rainforest both here and later in Mazuco. Up until the Inambari River crossing, we use local transportation. Our bus is waiting to transport you across a freshly paved road and through a lovely cloud and elfin woodland on the other side. The Ausangate Mountain may be seen in amazing detail close to Cusco. Early in the evening, one arrives in Cusco.