We depart from Cusco early in the morning by bus and travel through the Andean mountains, enjoying beautiful landscapes and passing by folkloric rural communities like Paucartambo and Ninamaraca (chullpas or funerary tombs) belonging to the pre-Inca Lupaca culture. We then ascend the last mountain to reach Acjanaco, the entrance to Manu National Park, from where we descend into the lush cloud forest, which houses a great variety of wild flora and fauna. It is an ideal place for epiphytes, orchids, bromeliads, and more. We will take a walk in the cloud forest and observe Peru’s national bird, the colorful Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, performing its mating dance. We may also spot toucans, trogons, quetzals, monkeys, and with some luck, the spectacled bear of South America (Tremarctos ornatus). We continue our journey towards the Kcosñipata Valley to spend our first night.

We wake up early in the morning to the chorus of birds and start our hike in the high Amazon forest, visiting agricultural plantations of coca, pineapple, yucca, and other local products. We reach the port of Atalaya to board our motorized boat and navigate for 5 hours through the turbulent waters of the Upper Madre de Dios River, heading towards Boca Manu. We will have interesting stops to visit native communities such as Diamante (Yine or Piro group). Continuing our expedition, we arrive at the village of Boca Manu and our lodge.

Early in the morning, we begin our expedition through the calm waters of the Manu River, visiting the Limonal Control Post where we register and enter the Tourist Zone of the Manu Reserved Zone. During the journey, we carefully encounter white caimans, massive black caimans, hundreds of turtles, and the world’s largest rodent, the capybara. At the same time, we may spot parrots, colorful macaws, and if we are lucky, the impressive jaguar. We arrive at the lodge and immediately explore the lush terra firma forest or primary forest.

This is the most captivating place for observing the wild flora and fauna of the Amazon. We venture through the virgin forest towards Manu’s most famous lake, Lake Salvador or Cocha Salvador. We’ll explore the lake on a catamaran, allowing us to encounter a wide variety of birds, monkeys, black caimans, and if we’re lucky, the giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), an endangered species. Throughout the day, we’ll have the opportunity to observe them swimming, fishing, eating, and playing among themselves.

After a delicious typical lunch from the area, we’ll navigate the Manu River for a short time and then embark on a 4-hour hike through the forest towards Manu’s second most important lake, called Otorongo. We’ll ascend to a 25-meter-high observation tower to admire the towering trees such as cedar, mahogany, ceiba, and the famous rubber trees. This is the home of many mammals, which we may occasionally encounter, such as capuchin monkeys, spider monkeys, and wild pigs or peccaries. At night, we can explore the forest using our reliable flashlights, where we’ll find a wide variety of insects, toads, frogs, or catch a glimpse of the lake in search of nocturnal creatures like the colorful eyes of caimans. We’ll spend the night here.

On this day, we’ll slowly descend the impressive currents of the Manu River, stopping at Boca Manu to enjoy some cold beverages before continuing our journey against the current of the Upper Madre de Dios River for about 3 hours. This gives us a great opportunity to spot migratory birds such as ospreys, hawks, jabirus, roseate spoonbills, and more. As night falls, we’ll set up camp on a suitable beach along the Madre de Dios River.

Once again in the morning, after a delicious breakfast, we’ll return in our comfortable boat, trying our hand at fishing and enjoying the magnificent views of the Andes, including a stop at the hot springs where we can have lunch. We’ll arrive at the Atalaya port, where our bus will be waiting to drive us back to Pilcopata. We’ll spend our last night here.

Very early in the morning, we’ll board the return bus, once again having the chance to appreciate the famous Andean Cock-of-the-Rock in San Pedro. We’ll have breakfast and continue our journey back to the ancient Inca capital, Cusco, arriving around 4:00 pm.

As a tourism agency, we offer an excellent expedition in Manu, providing the best services and lodges for nature lovers.