Manu National Park Peru 6 Days

Early in the morning, after a substantial breakfast, we’ll head out by bus to Atalaya (about 2 hours). Along the way we’ll be able to admire flora and fauna. In Atalaya we’ll switch onto a motor boat and head down the river Alto Madre de Dios for about 5 hours until we reach the  Hummingbird Lodge. Initially manioc- and banana plantations can be seen along the river banks until we head deeper into the jungle.
Plenty of aquatic birds and parrots can be seen during our boat ride, furthermore with a bit of luck there will be mammals like monkeys and caipibaras. Lunch will be on our boat today. Around 3 om we will reach the Hummingbird Lodge, located on the river banks of the Madre de Dios river. The Lodge is located very close to the actual reserve and offers great pathways to explore the jungle during the late afternoon or evening. Hikes around the Lodge are optional.

We leave very early in the morning. A 4 hour boat ride takes us toward the river Manu and the control point of Limonal where we will enter the actual Manu Reserve. The park rangers will check our permits and give us a some useful advice about entering the National Reserve. Along the river Manu we will be able to experience the unique nature of the rainforest with its flora and fauna. With a bit of luck we can see animals like caimans, turtles, monkeys, tapirs and maybe even e jaguar.
We reach our Lodge – called CASA MATSHIGUENKA –  at the banks of the river Manu. It is the only one within the Reserve of the Manu. Here we will get to know the habits of the family of the  Mattshiguenka which lives in this Lodge. We will spend our first night in the heart of the rainforest.

Very early we will head out to the COCHA(= LAKE) SALVADOR which is located upstream deeper into the Reserve. The Cocha Salvador is one of the most important lakes within the Manu National Park. The eco system is home to many important animals like the giant river otter, the black caiman, anacondas, plenty of different species of birds and up to 13 species of monkeys. Using a small catamaran to navigate the lake gives you the opportunity to see these animals close up.
After visiting the lake, we head back to our Lodge, the  Casa Matshiguenka. In the later afternoon we will visit the  COCHA OTORONGO, this lake can be appreciated from a 20 meter high observation platform. From here we then head back to the Lodge for our second night in the Manu National park.

Today we will leave the actual Reserve of the Manu National Park and head out to the so called
buffer zone also known as Manu biosphere or Maquisapayoc. Here we will visit the most important clay lick (=collpa) for the mammals living in the jungle. The animals use these collpas in order to absorb salts and minerals from the clay, which they need to detoxify and digest their diet. Tapirs, deer, porcupines as well as monkeys pass by here on a regular basis.
Since most animals are nocturnal, this is a night time activity. Your guide will coordinate the excursion with you accordingly. The ride from the Lodge Casa Matshiguenka to the Maquisapayoc Lodge takes about 6 hours. Breakfast will be taken during the boat ride. We will reach the Lodge around 3:30 pm.

At 5:00 am we will head in a one hour boat ride to the CLAY LICK (= COLLPA) of the parrots. From a hidden platform you can observe all kinds of different species of parrots which feed off the clay of the cliffs in order to get salts and minerals they need to detoxify and digest. With binoculars and telescopes these wonderful birds can be watched magnificently.

After lunch we will start our way back in a 3 hour boat ride downstream to the town of Boca Colorado where we will say goodbye to our boat crew which as accompanied us through the Manu over the last couple of days. In a private taxi we drive for about one hour to Puerto Punkiri (why do we take a taxi? Our transport from Cusco cannot enter to Boca Colorado). We will have to cross the river Inambari till we reach Puerto Carlos where our transport from Cusco will wait for us. Along the asphalted Transozeanica we will head back to Cusco in a 7 to 8 hour bus ride, reaching Cusco around 10:00 pm.