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9 DAYS
FROM $ 2,645
Expedition Type
Activity Level
Service Level
DELUXE
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The last great natural wilderness, the Amazon is a truly awesome location that needs to be experienced to be fully understood. The Wild Peru Escape: Manu National Park, is one of the most fascinating nature expeditions in the world. See high altitude farming valleys and traverse stark highland puna, plunge through layers of grassland, elfin forest, layers of lush, ever-changing cloud forest, and then lowland tropical valleys where farmers cultivate coca and exotic fruits. It’s a magnificent place to spot scarlet macaws, monkeys, caiman, giant otters and other amazing wildlife in one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet.
The Incas Capital is your launch pad to an epic encounter with the Amazon’s extraordinary biodiversity. On arrival in Cusco, you’ll be escorted to your hotel and enjoy the day to explore the sights of this colonial capital on your terms.
Our journey begins with an early departure from the highland city of Cusco. Today’s destination is the lush cloud forest region where the Andesfall away to the Amazon basin. This is a day of scenic drama and striking contrasts. Explore a mountain wetland habitat teeming with migrant and local waterfowl, before crossing two mountain ranges between the Cusco and the Paucartambo valleys. Take leisurely stops to see mountain villages, a hilltop necropolis of chullpas (pre-Inca burial chambers), and the abrupt ridgetop of Ajanaco, where the Andes begin their swoop into the Amazon basin. After a picnic lunch, descend through the startling and rapid environmental transformations characteristic of the tropical Andes, passing from grassland and stunted trees through elfin forest, until we wind through a lush and magical world of overhanging trees, giant ferns, monster begonias, countless orchids and bromeliads, and a diverse and teeming birdlife.
Enjoy a full day to explore the area on a variety of excursions. Learn about the lodge’s innovative sustainability efforts with naturalists. Join an early morning birding walk in the cloud forest to spot toucans, noisy tanagers, bright hummingbirds, and many other species in the leafy forest. Visit the nearby viewing platform for the display ground, or “lek”. This is usually the highlight of a long, full day, a chance to see Peru’s dazzling national bird, the Cock-of-the-Rock (Rupicola) in full, raucous courting display. This afternoon, follow a naturalist into the forest to seek out the monkeys, spiny porcupines or tayra.
After breakfast we continue our drive, as mountains give way to low rolling hills and farmland. Visit a plantation of coca grown legitimately for the Peruvian coca leaf market. Rivers are the highways of the rainforest, and henceforth we will travel in large, comfortable dugout canoes shaded by canopy roofs and driven by powerful outboard motors. Explore a very unique vegetation, where monkeys, birds and other wildlife come for some specific reason, nesting or food.
As we follow the river’s broad, rushing course past the last foothills of the Andes, our ever-changing route offers sightings of new birds – terns, cormorants, White-winged Swallows, and flocks of nighthawks flushed from their daytime lairs by the sound of our engine. Splashes of brilliant yellow, pink and red foliage dot the forest-clad slopes around us, and the breeze is laden with the heady perfumes of the tropical forest. After an early afternoon rest, we set off along the “collpa trail”, which will take us to the lodge’s famous Tapir Clay Lick. Experience a unique and exciting hike to this place, because these normally very shy creatures are visible up close, and flash photography is not just permitted, but encouraged. Back to the lodge for dinner. At our overnight lodge, a new array of forest sounds awaits our ears. As night falls the whistling call-and-response of tinamous gives way to the loud shrill of cicadas.
Another early start (inevitable on wildlife expeditions), by a short boat ride downstream, then walk through the forest for some minutes, to the Macaw Clay Lick. The hide provided with individual chairs and a convenient place for cameras and binoculars is our ringside seat for what is usually a spectacular show. In groups of two and threes the parrots, parakeets and Macaws come flapping in, landing in the treetops as they eye the main stage below – the eroded clay banks of the river and the occasional villain, a menacing and unwelcome hawk or eagle. Enjoy a picnic breakfast on the hide’s deck overlooking the clay-lick. Later, explore and discover the rainforest, its lore and plant life, on the network of trails surrounding the lodge. Witness the frantic rush-hour activity of twilight in the rainforest canopy, before night closes in, from the canopy tower.
After a hot cup of coffee and your breakfast, enjoy the entire day exploring one of the most important lakes nearby, the Blanco Oxbow Lake. On the way to the lake, by boat, it is not rare to spot peccaries and other mammals walking along the riverbank or/and with luck, the main amazon predator, the Jaguar resting and sunbathing in the early morning sun, after long nights of hunting. Once on the lake, we will paddle another of our catamarans (yes, we have one in each lake) and navigate through the water filled with Giant River Otters, caimans, monkeys feeding on the fruiting trees beside the Lake, while Snail Kites feast on the abundance of water snails. This lake is actually famous in the region for hosting more than 600 bird species!!!
Rise with the sun to catch a vivid display of bird activity in the budding light of dawn. After breakfast, Travel out of the rainforest by boat and catch a flight from Puerto Maldonado to Cusco. Tonight, toast your Peru wildlife expedition at a farewell dinner.
After breakfast, transfer to the Alejandro Velasco Airport and flight to Lima to catch your flight home, or consider extending your holiday.
In keeping with the nature of an expedition, we keep our schedule flexible to take advantage of the unexpected, adapting our course to the conditions and opportunities that arise. Your Expedition experience can be tailored to the activity level you choose, whether it’s light or moderate or a little of both. Travelers should be in good health, comfortable walking or standing for extended periods of time and over uneven surfaces, and able to get in and out of unstable expedition landing craft. Daily activities may include easy hikes, walking tours, and visits to cultural or historic sites, with options for more physical activities such as longer hikes, dependant on conditions. All departures are family friendly.
Accommodations
Throughout the expedition, you’ll stay in accommodations selected for their exceptional quality, location, and character.
Expedition Team
A Natventure Expert will accompany you throughout the expedition, and local guides will meet with you along the way as described in the itinerary.
Shared Services
Please note that the activities at Cock of the Rock Lodge and Manu Wildlife Center Lodge may be a shared service with others outside your travel pod.
MY OWN ROOM
During your expedition, sometimes it´s just more convenient and comfortable to have your own room (only for hotel stay). That´s why we offer the «My own room» option – a single room all to yourself.
My own room option: from $ 3,120
