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| Home > destinations > manu national park - 8D/7N |
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Manu National Park is a peak experience for nature lovers.
It is THE park with the biggest biodiversity on earth for its size, we enjoy lots of activities on this adventure; rafting the Madre de Dios river, trekking pristine primary and secondary forest, boat rides, search for jaguar, the strongest cat on earth inch for inch, bird watching is incredible, simply an adventure that brings you to one of the most pristine areas on earth with the added bonus of the cultural diversity of native communities. |
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| In this trip we will have the unique experience to see the Manu Biosphere Reserve, with it’s main element Manu National Park, "nucleon" zone of the Manu biosphere reserve, in the journey we’ll see different ecological levels and life zones, maximizing this way our chances to spot the flora and fauna in it’s natural environment. Our journey encompasses Manu National Park, cloud forest and a macaw clay lick; plus the fact of interacting with the natives and sharing their culture, as we will be exclusively using the lodges of the natives communities in Amarakaeri communal reserve and Manu biosphere reserve, which involves 10 native communities of different ethnic groups as Harakmbut, Matsigenkas and Yines; this way we will share with them part of their ancestral knowledge of the forest, the use of medicinal plants, combine with their tales and legends. This is a complete Amazonian experience: Culture and nature. |
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| ACTIVITIES |
Trek on the forest: We will enjoy the landscape and the biodiversity of the primary forest; exploring rivers, oxbow lakes and clear water streams; where we will be able to spot birds,
monkeys, insects, mammals and giant trees among others. |
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Boat rides: We will sail on an outboard engine boat, from where have great chances to see shore birds, and different species of mammals, reptiles that use the river banks and beaches to live, including the Jaguar. |
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Day 1 / Cusco – Cloud forest
we depart early in the morning from Cusco heading South-East to start our jungle experience. We’ll pass a few interesting places, enjoying the inter Andean valleys; seen different people in the different locations we pass on the way, our guide will explain the tourist attractions, the customs and activities of the locals. We will go uphill up to 3800 meters (12467 feet) of altitude on the Puna ecological level, the change of landscapes is impressive, and we’ll be able to see how the different ecological levels work. On the way we will make a few stops and walk in the different strategic places, like the Chulpas de Ninamarka (pre-Inca burial towers) and Paucartambo (colonial town). One of the most interesting aspects of this day journey is the entrance to Manu National Park, The Acjanaco pass located at 3500 meters of attitude (11,480 feet), at this point we can observe the dramatic change from the Andes to the Rain forest. With a little bit of good luck and good weather we can see from this point the beginning of the Amazon basin to the lowland rainforest. Here we start descending on the eastern slopes of the Andes through the different ecological levels like the Puna, the elfin forest and at the end of the day the impressive cloud forest, where we may see a great variety of plants and birds. Today’s journey on this exciting dirt road may take between 8 to 10 hours. Overnight in a lodge in the cloud forest.
Day 2 / Cloud forest – Shipetiari
Today we wake up very early and our guide will take us to a observation platform to observe the mating ritual of the Cock of the rocks (Rupicola peruviana), he will also explain about the different plants we’ll see and the ecological process on this amazing forest, after this we have a delicious breakfast, we pack and take our transport for about 3 hours on this road, on the way we’ll pass small tropical villages and different crops of tropical products that are a very important part of the local economy. At about midday we arrive to the fluvial port of Atalaya, small village that share their agriculture activities with the tourism. At this point, we pass from our car to an outboard engine boat, to go downstream on the Madre de Dios River to the native community of Shipetiari. Here we’ll find our friends the Matsigenkas and share their knowledge of the forest and we can also visit a clay lick of birds and mammals, with a little luck we’ll spot animals that come to this place to complement their vegetarian diet with the minerals they find on the clay, like the amazing tapir. The guide will explain why and how this animal behavior works.
Day 3 / Shipetiari – Casa Matsigenka
We continue our adventure in the jungle, today we board our boat and sail the Alto Madre de Dios river downstream to the point where the Manu river (tributary of the Alto Madre de Dios) meets the Alto Madre de Dios, then we turn left upstream the Manu river into the touristic use zone of Manu Park, this river is different than the Made de Dios, is narrower than the Madre de Dios therefore we have much more chances to see wildlife, it’s here we keep alert to every movement on the forest , we must cover all levels on the forest, checking the river banks and sandy beaches where we can find a great diversity of birds, specially between the months of May, June, July, August and September, the dry season when the water level is low and there is more sand on the beaches. Many of these species of birds are migrants and come to the sandy beaches this time of the year to lie their eggs, great time to take pictures and observe, it’s a long journey on the boat, but it’s one of the most remarkable moments for the opportunities we have to find wildlife like monkeys, Caymans, capybaras or the impressive jaguar. We arrive to Casa Matsigenka in the afternoon; this lodge is a special project from the Peruvian government that gives alternatives of sustainable development to the natives communities that live in Manu Park since ancient times. We’ll spend here 2 nights. |
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Day 4 / Casa Matsigenka
Salvador is the name of an oxbow lake or cocha (Cocha is lake in Quechua), one of the biggest of the area, a special ecosystem where many endanger species live like the Giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), Black cayman (Melanosuchus niger) a few other species of birds and mammals. Salvador oxbow lake is a shoe horse lake which like other oxbow lakes is originated as a consequence of a special and natural erosion process of a meandering river (fluvial dynamic), the beauty of this place is amazing and is here where one of the main activities during our stay n the Park takes place, where we’ll be able to sail in a small catamaran on the lake in the search of wildlife. Another main attraction while in the Park is the otorongo oxbow lake, in this lake we don’t have a catamaran but there are 3 observation points, two piers on the lake shore and one observation tower at an altitude of 15 meters, this will give us a great view of the lake and another opportunity to spot wildlife, there is also a trail system in the area that we can use with the interpretation of our guide, the hikes may last for 2 or 4 hours, is not long distance hikes, the idea is to walk and listen to the different sounds on the forest searching for animals.
Day 5 / Casa Matsigenka – Blanco Lodge
Today we will sail downstream Manu river, according to our guide instructions we may have a morning walk before we sail, we are still on the search of wildlife while we are in the boat, at the point where we reach the Madre de Dios river there is a small village “Boca Manu” where we have a chance to get a cold drink and stretch legs, while we refill gasoline for the boat. Then we continue downstream the Madre de Dios River to our next destinations Blanco lodge, here we will have other activities programmed by the guide.
Day 6 / Blanco Lodge - Macaw Lick - Shipeteari
Early in the morning, before the sunrises, we start our activity, the target is the macaw clay lick (in quechua call “Collpa” that means salt), we take our boat and after a 30 minutes ride we make a short walk tat will take us to a hidden platform at 7 meters high in a canyon, here we will have breakfast while we observe the activity of the lick, where many parakeets, parrots and macaws come to a wall of clay to complement their vegetarian diet with mineral slats, behavior that will be explained by the guide. This is a great opportunity to take great pictures of the birds licking mineral from the clay, do not forget to bring your camera, zoon and binoculars. This is an activity that easily takes one morning; obviously the intensity of the activity depends on the weather conditions and the behavior of the birds. After this activity we return upstream the Madre the Dos River to the native community of Shipetiari, we overnight here. Time to share tales and legends with our friends the natives.
Day 7 / Shipeteari – Cloud forest
Today we continue upstream the Alto Madre de Dios river still searching for wildlife to the fluvial port of Atalaya, where our transportation waits to take us to the cloud forest where we spent the Last night, here we can recap and comment the adventure with our guide, plus we will have another opportunity to observe the spectacular flora and fauna of the cloud forest.
Day 8 / Cloud forest – Cusco
Today at sunrise we will have another chance to go for a walk and observe flora, especially all kind of birds that inhabit this particular environment, one more chance to see the Cock of the rocks (Rupicola peruviana) and it’s mating ritual. Then we take our transport to go to Cusco. |
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VERY IMPORTANT: Get a shot against
Yellow Fewer 10 days
before getting into the jungle |
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THING YOU CAN NOT FORGET: Repelent,
Rain Coat,
Flashlight,
Binoculars |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION |
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INCLUDED
Private ground transportation, private boat transportation, specialized bilingual guide, 02 nights in a lodge in the cloud forest, 02 nights in a lodge in Shipetiari native community, 02 night at Casa Matsiguenka, 01 night in Blanco lodge, entrance to Cock of the rocks observation platform, visits to 2 oxbow lakes, visit to a macaw lick observation platform, first aid kit, radio communication in all lodges.
Meals:
7 breakfasts, 8 lunches and 7 dinners.
Team:
Professional driver, boatman, certified bilingual guide and all necessary equipment for this type of tours.
NOT INCLUDED
Tips, extra activities and expenses. |
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