Amazon Adventures

Peru

9 Day Manu Wildlife Center and Camp

ON THIS TRIP WE VISIT ALL POINTS OF INTEREST FROM THE MANU MACAW LICK TO THE OX-BOW LAKES OF THE RESERVED ZONE OF THE MANU BIOSPHERE RESERVE. A GREAT COMBINATION OF LODGES AND COMFORTABLE SAFARI CAMPS.

DAY ONE : Leaving Cusco after breakfast we travel through traditional Quechua communities and through the spectacular eastern ranges of the Andes to the village of Paucartambo, passing snow-peaks and small Andean farmsteads. We will have time here to look around this picturesque village and visit local craftsmen famous for their production of masks used in local festivals. We then ascend to the last pass overlooking the Amazon Basin and begin the breath taking descent from 3500 meters to 1600 meters above sea-level to our comfortable lodge in the orchid laden Cloud Forest. This is a spectacular journey passing cascading waterfalls and multicolored birds along the way. In the late afternoon, we'll walk into the lodge to the sounds of Quetzals, Trogons and Gray-breasted Wood-wrens. Night at Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge. L:D:

DAY TWO : Pre breakfast walk to a nearby spot in the Cloud Forest where the strange and beautiful Cocks-of-the-Rock display at dawn. This is a wonderful sight as up to 25 bright red-orange males dance and sing attempting to attract the favors of the duller, burgundy colored females. After visiting this lek we return to the Lodge for a leisurely breakfast and continue in our all terrain bus to the Madre de Dios River and our motorized dugouts and we begin our journey down the river, past the last folds of the Andes, to it's confluence with the Manu River. Well pass settlements and native communities during the trip. Just before we get to the village of Boca Manu we pass the native community of Diamante. Their culture is Piro and this is the largest settlement in the area. There is a small handcraft shop here, which offers hand painted fabrics, necklaces of seeds native to the region and a small selection of weavings and ceramics. A stop here must be pre-arranged through your guide. Passing the village of Boca Manu we arrive at to-nights destination -a small, locally built and managed lodge. The lodge is across the river from the tiny airstrip of Boca Manu. The two species of Tamarin monkeys are here -the Saddleback and Emperor. There is a trail system we can explore if time permits. The latter with their long, white moustaches are a rare and precious sight. B:L:D

DAY THREE : Well fed and rested we leave Boca Manu, leaving the relatively clean waters of the Madre de Dios behind, we enter the clay laden waters of the Manu River. With a brief stop at the park ranger station at Limonal to present our permits we travel for about five hours up the Manu. Beaches, especially in the dry season, are loaded with nesting birds and feeding Herons, Egrets, Orinoco Geese, Terns and Skimmers to name but a few. Some beaches will host sunning White and Black Caimans (South American relatives of the Alligators) and breeding Side-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 worlds third largest cat. In 1999 one in three of our trips saw Jaguar in Manu. 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 arrive at our Safari Camp 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 20 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 nighttime noise of tree frogs and insects in the forest is an experience not to be forgotten. Night at Cocha Salvador Safari Camp. The camp is really not a camp. There are flush toilet and shower facilities and large walk-in tents on raised roofed wooden platforms with cots for sleeping. B:L:D

Note: The first fixed departure of each month will stay at the Casa Machiguenga Lodge.

DAY FOUR : After breakfast we'll spend the morning at the lake of Cocha Salvador. Some of the time will be spent canoeing the lake on a floating platform observing ox-bow lake animal life from the water. We may encounter an Agami Heron or a Sungrebe and Brown Cappuchin Monkeys are usually feeding on 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 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 paths with a group of Peccaries - a species of wild boar found here. A late afternoon swim in the river near the camp as the sun sets . Night at Cocha Salvador Safari Camp. B:L:D.

Note: The first fixed departure of each month will stay at the Machiguenga Lodge.

DAY FIVE : Today we'll walk from camp for 4-5 hours through the forest to Cocha Otorongo. We may encounter troops of Monkeys. This is a particularly good trail for Woolly Monkey. We'll pay special attention to the plant life on this walk and take it slowly listening for the rustle of vegetation or the soft sound of fruits falling to the rainforest floor that may betray the presence of animals or large birds. We'll be met at the river by our cook with a picnic lunch and then board our motorized dugout for the 4 hour trip down river to Boca Manu for the night. The river trip may hold surprises and we'll be attentive for any wildlife on the beaches. Night at the lodge at Boca Manu. B:L:D

DAY SIX : After breaking camp we'll head down the Madre de Dios River for two and a half hours to the comfortable lodge facility next to the Macaw Clay Lick - Manu Wildlife Centre. This strategically located lodge facility is a base for scientific research in the area and centre for visitors wanting to explore the rainforest. We should arrive in time for lunch and a shower and get to meet whichever researchers are onsite. The afternoon is set aside to relax, or if you want, to explore a trail through the untouched forest to an overlook point on a cliff over the river to watch roosting flights of Parrots and Macaws as the sun sets. Those who wish can participate in a night walk with your guide in search of nocturnal animals. Night at Manu Wildlife Centre.

DAY SEVEN : Early start for the Macaw Clay Lick. This is truly one of the worlds great wildlife spectacles as hundreds of Parrots and their larger relatives, the Macaws, congregate at this traditional locality to eat clay that is essential to their digestion . We'll use blinds to get close to the birds. The noise alone is incredible and the sight of these brightly coloured birds at the lick is a sight not to be forgotten. As the lick slows down in midmorning, we'll head for Cocha Blanco, an old ox-bow lake i n search of a Giant Otter family that lives here , and canoe around the lake on our floating platform in looking for other wildlife. After a leisurely lunch, we'll explore other trails in search of Emperor and Saddleback Tamarins, and we have seen the rare Goeldi's Monkey repeatedly in this area. Night at Manu Wildlife Centre

DAY EIGHT : Full day to explore the forest and trails around the lodge.. We'll be on the lookout for Monk Saki - an uncommon and rarely seen monkey that is seen on occasion here. We'll explore trails where groups of Manakins , perhaps the most enigmatic of neo-tropical birds, perform their strange mating dances and walk to one of our blinds at a large mammal lick where Guans and forest Parakeets and Parrotlets come for clay. Here too, groups of Black Spider Monkeys visit on occasions for clay to help their digestion. Those who wish will return with the guide to the lodge in the late afternoon, however there is an opportunity to stay at the lick after dark until midnight with one of our onsite Machiguenga Indian trackers to see what nocturnal creatures come to the lick. Tapirs, the largest South American land mammal are frequent visitors with up to 12 animals visiting in one night and other nocturnal creatures are always possible. Night Manu Wildlife Centre.

DAY NINE : After breakfast we head upriver ( about 3 hours ) to the small airstrip at Boca Manu. Early morning flocks of birds pass over the boat, and we may see a Capybara, the worlds largest rodent. Arriving at the airstrip we board our chartered Beechcraft or Twin Otter aircraft for the 35 minute flight over seemingly endless rainforest and then over the Andes , passing glaciers and snow peaks to the ancient Inca capital of Cusco, where our staff will be waiting to take you to your hotel.

THIS IS A FIXED DEPARTURE TRIP AND LEAVES EVERY SUNDAY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR EXCEPT FOR THE MONTHS OF JANUARY,FEBRUARY AND MARCH.

2007 PRICE: $1810 USD. $300 single supplement