Manu Reserved Zone and Macaw Clay Lick 7D / 6N

On the first day of our adventure into the Jungle of Manu, we will pick you up around 6:00 AM from your Hotel in Cusco, using the private transport of Palotoa amazon travel. The first part of our excursion will take us through the majestic Andean mountains. We will visit briefly on our way to Paucartambo, which is known as the folkloric and Colonial town. At mid-day we will arrive at the entrance of Manu National Park and access to one of the most protected natural areas in South America.
We will continue on in our private transport down a dust road and on through the thick fog from which this section of the forest takes its name Cloud Forest. Eventually we will arrive at the home of the exotic Peru National Bird, the “Cock of the Rocks” , where it is known to gather with others of its kind for some sort of social gathering that seems reminiscent of a large courtship. You will find that this is quite an amazing spectacle complete with an impressive array of sounds and colours that can only be found in the jungle. For our first night, we will stay at Manu Nature lodge.

Shuttle to Paradise Lodge Kilometer 182: 5½ hour by bus from Cusco.
Walking Distance: 12km. / 7.5mile.
Trekking Time: 2½ to 3 hour approximately.
Climate: Moderate
Acomodation: Paradise Lodge.
Meals: Lunch, Dinner.
Maximum Altitude: 3850 masl. / 12630 ft.
Minimum Altitude: 1470 masl. / 48211 ft.

Early at 6:00 a.m., we will leave in the direction of Atalaya Port; on the way, we will make a few stops to visit the small local farmers who are known to be producers of many varieties of jungle fruits even the famous Coca plant. Later, we will begin the boating portion of our journey in a river excursion on the “Madre de Dios River”, one of the tributaries of the mighty Amazon River. During our day, we will have the chance to witness many types of colourful birds such as parrots, oropendolas, vultures and others species. We will have stop at the Natural Hot spring. Hopefully, we will make some sightings of some jungle mammals such as monkeys or the famous capybaras (jungle rodents that are as much as 2.5 ft. long, Towards the late afternoon, we will arrive to our next sleeping destination Boca Manu (Hummingbird Lodge) arriving approximately at 04:00 p.m. Here, there will be showers and other services available. We will have a night-walk in the dark, best time to see many insects, tarantulas, scorpions and snakes.

bus, hikes & boat: 71 km / 44.8 miles
bus, hikes & boat time: 4½ to 5 hour approximately.
Climate: hot in the day and warm in the night.
Acomodation: Lodge.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.
Maximum Altitude: 1270 masl. / 46211 ft.
Minimum Altitude: 1470 masl. / 48211 ft.

We will leave from Boca Manu Lodge, leaving the relatively clean waters of the “Madre de Dios River” behind; we’ll enter to the Clay Laden Waters of the Manu River. With a brief stop at the Park ranger station at Limonal to present our permits, we will travel for about five hours up the Manu River. Beaches, especially in the dry season, are loaded with nesting birds and feeding Herons, Egrets, Orinoco Geese, Terns and Skimmers to the names but a few. Some beaches will host sunning White and Black Caimans , and breeding side-of necked turtles. Hundreds of Sand-colored Nightjars roost during the day on logs and beaches and there is a chance of encountering a sunning Jaguar – the world’s third largest cat. We will see some species of primate on this river trip, possibly Red Howler Monkeys or the smaller Squirrel Monkeys. After having lunched by the river, we will arrive at “Casa Matsiguenka Lodge” near the Lake of Cocha Salvador. We’ll have the afternoon to explore some of the trails through the pristine rainforest in the area. A visit to the Lake of Cocha Otorongo is planned, where observation piers and a 30 meter-observation tower in the rainforest canopy overlooking the lake are available for observing wildlife. We will also be on the lookout for a large family of Giant Otters that inhabit this lake. Before or after dinner, an optional excursion into the forest at night is available with your guide in search of nocturnal creatures. The lakes are full of eye-shine of the large Black Caiman and if we are lucky we may encounter an Olingo Kinkajou or even an Ocelot on the trails. Certainly the night time noise of tree frogs and insects in the forest is an experience not to be forgotten. Night at “Casa Matsiguenka”, a rustic native owned lodge, managed by the Matchiguenka themselves, with their own exclusive trail system. There are flush toilet and ambient temperature shower facilities and screened twin rooms, with comfortable beds and mosquito nets.

Driving & Hiking distance: 192 km / 120 miles
Driving & Hiking time: 6 hour approximately.
Climate: hot in the day and warm in the night.
Acomodation: Lodge.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.
Maximum Altitude: 1270 masl. / 46211 ft.
Minimum Altitude: 1470 masl. / 48211 ft.

After breakfast, we’ll spend the morning at the Lake of Cocha Salvador. Some of the time will be spent canoeing in the lake on a floating platform observing ox-bow lake animal life from the water. We may meet an Agami Heron or a Sungrebe and Brown Capuchin Monkeys that are usually feeded with fruits nearby. Specially constructed piers that jut out into the lake enable us to look for a family of Giant Otters that live here. These, the world’s largest freshwater carnivores, remain common only in Manu, having been hunted to extinction throughout most of their former range. Each animal consumes between 4 and 5 kilos of fish daily and often they can be seen eating large fish on logs at the lakeside. The rest of the day will be spent walking along the trails in the area in search of some of the 13 species of Monkey found in the forest here. Your guide will explain some of the basics of rainforest ecosystems and point out some of the medicinal plants of the area used by local, indigenous groups. We may cross ways with a group of Peccaries – a species of wild boar found here. Later, we will have the visit to the control post of pakitza, there we will be able to walk through its trails to see more biodiversity, more later in the afternoon we’ll enjoy the sunset. Night at “Casa Matsiguenka”.

Shuttle to: Cusco Kilometer 182 5½ hour by bus from Paradise Lodge.
Walking Distance: 12km. / 7.5mile.
Distance Travelled: 6 Km. / 3.7 mile
Maximum Altitude: 3850 masl. / 12630 ft.
Minimum Altitude: 1470 masl. / 48211 ft.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Maximum Altitude: 2429 masl / 7972 ft.
Minimum Altitude: 2040 masl / 6692 ft.

The call of red howler monkeys (“Alouta Seniculus”) will wake us up, After delicious breakfast, up we need to start our return on Manu river On the way you can see a variety of bird life , like herons, egret, kingfishers, and the ever present vultures of whit of the most spectacular is the condor of the jungle, king vulture (sarcoramphus papa). On the way we will make a stop in the Boca Manu to buy, refreshing cold beverage. Later we will arrive at Tambo blanquillo lodge. More Later we will start walking to visit one of its beautiful lagoons to see alligators and a Nocturnal animals,

MACAW CLAY LICK:
One distinctive habitat nearby “Tambo Blanquillo” is the shebonal forest. This type of forest is high in clay content, creating clay licks , locally known as Collpa which are specially used by macaws and other rainforest species as a healthy diet supplement that helps them remove toxins from their digestive tracks. Macaws usually obtain these noxious chemical substances from unripe fruits they ingest. Our lodge is just 10 minutes away from the Macaw Clay Lick. A blind of 10 meters of altitude has been built facing it, so you can take close-up pictures without disturbing the bird’s activity. It consists of 40 comfortable seats, each with a personal counter where your binoculars and cameras can be placed in order to give you better stability to take superb pictures of the macaws on the clay lick. Breakfast will be served at the blind and a toilette facility is available.

Very early in the morning, we will go by boat to “Macaw Clay Licks”, a special place where flocks of Parakeets, Parrots, and Macaws come every day to eat the nutritious lick, located at the wall of the river. We will stay here at a camouflaged hideout house for the birds, it is bird lover paradise, where you will get to see and hear many of them, however this activity is very much weather dependent. (Hiding house) There we will spend around 5 hours waiting to see the macaws in their daily activity returning to the lodge to take our delicious lunch, we will have some of our last activities, we will visit the camungo oxbow lake we will have the opportunity to follow a tower of observation from there we can the Amazon plain and The lake, and feel the adrenaline overhead, then return to the lodge there waiting for a delicious dinner, then to spend our last night in the Peruvian Amazon.

This day after a good breakfast we will take the trip and return to Cusco by Colorado route, we will take the motorized boat to the destination to Boca Colorado for about 3 hours, arriving to Boca Colorado town we will have to take a car that will take us to Puerto Carlos, where we will cross the Inambari river, finally we will take a minivan with destination to Cusco we will travel 6 hours approximately, arriving to Cusco in the afternoon, end of our service.