Manu reserve zone South Peru jungle, Pantiacolla 7 days
Ecological tours to the Amazon, Manu National Park MANU TOUR 7 DAYS/Reserved Zone
( ask us also for the 9 day tour With fixed departures on Wednesdays)
Cloud Forest, Pantiacolla Mountain Range, Lakes Salvador & Otorongo, Macaw Lick
With fixed departures on Fridays
7 days – in by bus over Manu Road, out by bus over Interoceanica Road
Day 1: Cusco – Cloud Forest
Leaving Cusco early in the morning, we begin an 8-hour journey over the Andes by bus, stopping for breakfast at the beautiful colonial village of Paucartambo. Continuing, we climb to the highpoint of the Manu Biosphere at about 4000m before descending to the cloud forest. In these green and moist surroundings we take our first long walk. There are many bird species to be seen among which the beautiful paradise tanager, umbrella bird and the golden headed quetzal. Among its butterflies are clouded yellows and various skippers. The cloud forest has three monkey species: the woolly monkey plus the two capuchin monkeys of Manu. There are plenty of other mammal species, but they are more difficult to see. We end our walk at the lek of the strange looking cock-of-the-rock, to watch the dancing and singing ‘performance’ of the males right under our eyes. We spend the night in the rustic lodge Posada San Pedro (appr. 1,600m).
Day 2: Cloud Forest – Pantiacolla Lodge
At daybreak we continue by bus to tropical lowland rainforest, stopping along the way to visit a coca plantation and a little rescue center for animals. Arriving at the small village Atalaya at 650m, we change into a motorized canoe to navigate some 2 hours down the fast Alto Madre de Dios River. We join the people doing the 9-day tour at Pantiacolla Lodge, right at the foot of the Pantiacolla Mountain Range. We visit its extensive trail system to see more of its over 600 bird species, its eight monkey species, and its other mammals such as peccaries, ocelots, squirrels, bats etc. At night we visit Ranacocha, “Frog Lake”, to look for tree frogs, poison dart frogs and others. Overnight in Panctiacolla Lodge.
Day 3 & 4: Lake Salvador and Lake Otorongo
With first day light of the third morning, we continue by boat to 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, such as the black skimmer, snowy egret, yellow billed tern and the exquisite roseate spoonbill, sunbathing black and white caiman, and maybe 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 walk through virgin forest to be impressed by giant trees such as the shihuahuaca, the mahogany, brazil nut and rubber tree. We will explore one of the most beautiful lakes of the Manu basin, Cocha Salvador, by catamaran, to see a huge variety of colorful birds, such as the agami heron, sun grebe, red capped cardinal, amazon kingfisher, tropical kingbird, yellow rumped caciques etc. Here the big spider monkeys like to hang out in the trees around the lake and with luck, you can see, from the front row, a day in the life of a family of giant otters. There are other trails to walk in this habitat-rich forest near another lake, Cocha Otorongo. This lake also has a 20m high observation platform overlooking the lake. The silt filled lake has a coverage of floating vegetation, and the wattled jacana to walk on top of it. At night we can explore the forest by torchlight or go moonlight caiman-spotting on the lake.
Day 5: Lake Salvador-Macaw Lick
An early morning start boating down the Manu River gives us a good chance to spot the bigger and rarer animals at the river shores. It could be one of the over 5 meter long black caiman, or a tapir or giant anteater, a sloth swimming across or even the most magnificent of New World cats, the jaguar. Joining the Madre de Dios River we arrive at Blanquillo, near the claylick for macaws. This afternoon we climb the 42-meter high canopy tower, which gives us an excellent view over the resplendent rainforest canopy. We spend the night in the jungle lodge Tambo Blanquillo
Day 6: Macaw Lick
At first light we head to the macaw lick to watch the dazzling spectacle of hundreds of parrots eating clay. Among the parakeets are the tui and cobalt-winged parakeets, among the parrots the orange-cheeked parrot and among the big macaws foremost the red-and-green, with every now and then a scarlet or blue-and-yellow macaw. In the afternoon we visit another one of Manu’s beautiful oxbow lakes Cocha Camungo, which gives you a chance to see the rare pygmy kingfisher and pale-eyed blackbird. We spend the night again in the jungle lodge Tambo Blanquillo.
Day 7: Blanquillo-Boca Colorado-Cusco
Back on the boat early in the morning, we head downstream to the small mining village Boca Colorado. Here you can see the negative effects of human activities on the delicate ecological balance of the rainforest. We take local transportation till after crossing the Inambari River. On the other side, our bus is waiting to take you over a newly paved road, the Interoceanica Road, through beautiful cloud and elfin forest. Near Cusco, you have stunning views of the Ausangate Mountain. Cusco is reached in the evening.
INFORMATION TOURS TO MANU
INCLUDED 7-day tours:
*Naturalist guide in English and Spanish
*Transportation Cusco/Atalaya & Boca Colorado/Mazuco/Cusco by private vehicle (van or bus)
*Transportation by private boat: Atalaya/Pantiacolla Lodge/Lake Salvador/Tambo Blanquillo/Boca Colorado
*Overnights in lodges and camping huts
*Excursions mentioned in the programme *Meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
*Water at any time and warm drinks or lemonades with meals
*Guide book for rainforest of Manu – Talking About Manu
*Entrance fee Reserved Zone
NOT INCLUDED:
*Soft drinks and beers
*Personal expenses
IMPORTANT NOTES FOR ALL TOURS
Bearing in mind the uncontrollable forces of nature, the program could be subject to changes at any time
Manu is a rainforest that has remained intact because of its hidden location. This means the program involves much traveling by bus and boat. However, it also means you are in a part of the Amazon rainforest that has no comparison, with an untouched flora and fauna!
Every group can contain people who travel for 3, 7 or 9 days
Fixed departure dates 2020-21
MANU Reserved Zone 7-days (leaving on Fridays) /Reserved Zone 9 days (leaving on Wednesdays)
Equipment & Health
| Binoculars | It is highly recommended to bring a pair of binoculars to Manu since birds and other wildlife can be far away. You will be able to rent binoculars in Cusco but the quality might not be that good. So if you can, bring a good pair from home.
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| Flashlight with spare bulbs and extra batteries | You will need a flashlight and make sure to bring enough extra batteries, as we will also be doing night hikes. For the batteries, we have generators in most of our lodges that will be on for a few hours at night. Only in our campsite in the Reserved Zone we do not have any electricity. | |
| Day pack | Bring a day pack for walks and excursions. | |
| Plastic bags (to keep everything dry) | We recommend putting your belongings in plastic bags first, before placing them in your backpacks in order to protect your belongings against the rain and air humidity. | |
| Rain gear | Since there is always a chance of rain in the cloud forest and lowland rainforest of Manu, even in the dry season, we advise to always bring a rain jacket or poncho. | |
| Sweater, fleece or light jacket | Especially during the first and last day of our tours, in the cloud forest, temperatures can be as low as 10 degrees Celsius (50F) at night. However, sometimes even in the lowland rainforest of Manu, temperatures get that low, due to cold winds (´friajes´) from Patagonia. This happens mainly between May and July. Bring warm clothes for those occasions. | |
| Long pants, long socks and long-sleeved shirts | Since there will be mosquitoes and many other insects – especially in the Reserved Zone – bring long pants, long socks that you can put over your pants and wear long-sleeved shirts at all times for protection. Clothes should not stick to your skin, as that is where mosquitos can reach your skin when they bite you. | |
| T-shirts/Shorts | When travelling through the cloud forest and Cultural Zone, and when you are in the boat and in Pantiacolla Lodge, there will be less mosquitoes. That is your opportunity to wear shorts and short-sleeved t-shirts. | |
| Bathing Suit | There is no swimming allowed in the Reserved Zone, but you can swim in the Alto Madre de Dios river. And for those who do the 5 and the 9-day tour, you will visit a hot spring. | |
| 1 pair of hiking boots and 1 pair of light shoes or sandals | Our hikes are never strenuous, but comfortable and waterproof hiking boots are recommended. Light shoes or sandals would be good to bring to use around the lodges and in the showers. We can provide you with rubber boots. | |
| Sunhat, sunglasses, sun block | Protect yourself well against the burning sun. Also on the boat, because of the sun’s reflection in the water. | |
| Insect repellent (with at least 35% ‘deet’) and after bite | Beside the protective clothes we recommend to bring an insect repellent with at least 35% deet. If you can, bring some from home, since stronger insect repellents are not always easy to find in Cusco. | |
| Toilet paper | In all of our lodges we have toilet paper. Just bring some toilet paper for the travelling parts (1 roll per person). | |
| Water bottle | Bring your own filled water bottle to be used for the first day. For the rest of the tour, you can refill that same bottle at all times when you are at the lodges where large mineral water drums are available. | |
| Copy of a valid passport | It is not necessary to bring your original passport, just a copy will be sufficient. It is even recommended, because your passport – or any other valuables and documents – could get a little damaged by the humidity or rain. | |
| Copy of yellow fever (imperative) and tetanus (optional) vaccinations | Yellow fever is almost always lethal. Therefore, it is highly recommended that one receives the yellow fever vaccination at least ten days before entering Manu. However, the vaccination is not required and nowhere will you be asked to show the certificate. | |
| Malaria medication | Malaria is rare in this area. However, there has been at least one case in the last couple of years, of a tourist contracting this disease. Therefore, we dó recommend taking a prophylaxis when going on one of our tours. | |
| Money for soft drinks or beers and handicrafts | Bring around PENS/.80 Peruvian soles to buy drinks, snacks or souvenirs along the way for the 3- and the 5-day tours and PENS/.150,00 for the 7- and the 9-day tours. It is better to take soles than dollars, and preferably the smaller paper bills of S/10 and S/20, instead of the S/50 and S/100 bills. |
