Manu Reserved Zone Tour (5 Days)

Pickup from your hotels will be around 4:00 a.m. After meeting your guide, we will travel southeast by minivan. After a 2.5-hour drive through mountains and valleys, we will arrive at the village of Paucatambo. At 2,906 meters above sea level (9,534 feet), Paucatambo is the folklore capital of the region. This colonial village boasts incredible colonial buildings, and the old stone bridge here is certainly not to be missed. We will stop here for a coffee.

After leaving Paucatambo, we will continue by minivan, climbing the hill to the magnificent high mountain pass of Acjanaco. This pass is located at 3,650 meters (12,800 feet). You will be rewarded with a fantastic panoramic view of the cloud forest mountains and the source of the largest river in the Peruvian Amazon (Río Alto Madre de Dios), which winds through the lowland rainforest. This is also the entrance to Manu National Park.

After enjoying the views, we will begin our descent into the cloud forest, which forms a sea of ​​shrubs, trees, and flowering plants that bloom thanks to the mists that rise from the tropical rainforest. Ferns, epiphytes, lichens, and orchids adorn the hillside. Birds present in the area that we are likely to see include hummingbirds, quetzals, trogons, toucans, parrots, and tanagers. We also hope to see Peru’s national bird, the cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruviana). We are also likely to spot the woolly monkey, which is found only in the cloud forest habitat. There will also be numerous waterfalls to observe.

We will arrive at the Atalaya dock in the early afternoon. Here we will embark on a two-hour boat trip (with outboard motor) along the Alto Madre de Dios River, deep into the Amazon rainforest. On this trip, the pilot will slow down and stop for you to enjoy the views whenever there’s something interesting to see. You may spot animals such as capybaras and howler monkeys feeding in the clay deposits on the riverbanks.

After a two-hour cruise, we reach the Palotoa River, which rises in the heart of the rainforest. Here, we’ll change boats and transfer to a much smaller Peke Peke vessel, named for the sound of its engine. These vessels are specially designed for small, shallow rivers. After a one-hour journey upriver, we’ll arrive at our Amazon Treehouse.

We’ll leave early (around 5 a.m.) and board the small boat (pekepeke), which will take us to meet our outboard motorboat waiting for us on the Upper Madre de Dios River. We’ll have breakfast on board to allow more time for wildlife observation. These early morning hours are ideal for wildlife viewing. Sunrise on the Upper Madre de Dios River is a special experience. We’ll then transfer to the Manu River, where we’ll spend the next four hours sailing upriver. This is the area with the greatest biodiversity in the world. The views are breathtaking. Keep your eyes peeled for the elusive jaguar (formerly Panthera), the sinister black caiman (which can reach 5 m in length), or the white caiman. You’ll also see rows of aquatic turtles on tree trunks jutting out of the water and, of course, hundreds of amazing birds perched on branches or soaring through the air.

In the afternoon, we’ll have lunch aboard the boat before arriving at the start of a trail to Otorongo Lake. Before entering the pristine rainforest, our guide will give us several instructions on how to approach the hike and what to look out for. We’ll walk as quietly as possible to have the best opportunity to observe wildlife. After a leisurely walk, we’ll arrive at Otorongo Lagoon (one of the many Oxbow Lagoons in Manu). This is an animal refuge surrounded by lush forest. We’ll climb an observation tower for a better view of the lake. Afterward, we’ll continue our hike, during which we’ll observe majestic ceiba trees, which reach 60 m in height and whose branches can form a circumference of 50 m. Back on the boat, we’ll sail for another hour until we reach CASA MACHUIGUENGA LODGE.

We’ll spend the night at this lodge, owned by the local indigenous population and built in a rustic style with local materials. Located in a strategic location, it offers private and shared bathrooms and solar panels in the Manu Reserve.

Today will be one of the key days of the trip. In the morning, we will visit Salvador Lagoon. We will take a catamaran to sail across the lake, one of the most important cochas in Manu National Park. We will explore its dark waters. This impressive place is home to giant otters, black caimans, and hoatzins (a prehistoric bird) and is surrounded by ancient trees. We hope to spot giant river otters, beautiful creatures. After the tour, we will take a trail back to the Machiguenga Lodge, always on the lookout for flora and fauna of interest.

Our Bio Manu Expeditions team will serve us a delicious lunch in the lodge’s dining room. In the afternoon, we will head to the other part of the forest, called the monkey zone. We will take an extensive hike in a forest surrounded by ancient trees, where the unique sounds of the wildlife in the reserve are heard.

At dusk, we’ll wait for the sun to set and set out to explore the banks of the Manu River at night. The nighttime experience is very different. We’ll be able to experience the amazing sounds of hundreds of frogs and millions of insects,

the songs of nocturnal birds and animals resting on the sandbanks,

and see their eyes reflected in our flashlights. Like the caiman and capybara, known as the largest rodent in the world.

We’ll spend the night again at the Machiguenga Lodge. The buildings are rustic. There are shared bathrooms and showers. The lodge uses solar energy and offers free Wi-Fi. All beds have their own mosquito nets.

Today we board the boat at 5:00 a.m. to begin our journey while it’s still dark. We’ll navigate the calm waters of the Manu River. This trip is perhaps our best chance to spot a jaguar emerging from a night in the jungle, waiting for the first rays of sunlight by the riverbank. We might also see capybaras, black caimans, or even tapirs on the riverbanks. We’ll have breakfast aboard the boat with panoramic views of the wide river. We’ll reach the most turbulent waters at the confluence of the Manu and Madre de Dios Rivers. We’ll cruise this river for another 5 hours.

We’ll also have lunch on the boat as we continue sailing along the Madre de Dios River. We’ll reach the confluence with the Palotoa River in the mid-afternoon. Here, we’ll change boats and transfer to a small vessel named Peke Peke. 50 minutes upriver, we’ll arrive at our Amazon Treehouse.

At dusk, we’ll begin a night hike through the jungle. We’ll explore the wet swamp, which attracts some active snakes and white caimans. Everyone will turn off their flashlights and listen to the incredible sounds of the jungle in complete darkness.

We’ll spend the night in the Amazon Treehouse. This family-owned lodge is located in a prime location on the banks of the Palotoa River. It offers private rooms with bathrooms and hot showers, balconies overlooking the river, solar panels, and a dining room with views of the Palotoa River and Wi-Fi.

The last day of your tour through the Manu rainforest. After enjoying a traditional breakfast, we will leave our treehouse and take the Pekepeke boat back to the Madre de Dios River and sail to the Atalaya dock. With luck and good weather, you may see groups of capybaras (the world’s largest rodent) and a variety of waterfowl during the trip. At the Atalaya dock, our driver will be waiting for us. He will take us back to Cusco, stopping along the way for lunch.

We will arrive in Cusco around 5 p.m.

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