Overview

Departure: daily
When to go: April until November
Triplevel: easy
Activities: Culture, Nature, Flora & Fauna, Wildlife, Hiking
Place of departure: Cusco
Transportation: Private bus and private boat

With this 5-day tour only 6 hours driving from Cusco, you will be in the rainforest of Acjanaco known as the entrance to the Manu National Park. From there, we will be heading further into the rainforest through small local villages until we reach the port of Atalaya. Here a motorized boat will be waiting for you. An exciting boat ride along the river Madre de Dios awaits us before we settle for the night in the lodge. We are now in the rainforest of Manu where the natural sound and the fresh air will soothe you. Waking up at sunrise by singing thousands of birds is something you will never forget. You can explore Lake Machuwasi on a thatched raft like the locals did for thousands of years. Take a walk around the lake, look for the CEIBA PENTANDRA a giant indigenous tree, and finally observe the parrots at the salt lick.

Day 1 :

CUSCO - CLOUD FOREST - PAUCARTAMBO – PILCOPATA LODGE

Early in the morning we will pick you up from your hotel, for a full day ride in our comfortable and private bus. On the way, you will visit the funerary towers or Chullpas de Ninamarca at 3750 meters above sea level. You will visit Paucartambo, a folkloric town with a colonial bridge. We ascend to area of Paucartambo, the Acjanaco sector. This is the point of entry to the Manu National Park. Then we descend through the mysterious cloud forest, which hosts a great variety of flora and fauna and full of beautiful orchids, heliconias and primitive ferns. We will stop for a walk to give you the opportunity to witness the Cock of the Rocks (Rupícola Peruviana) in the ritual of mating. There are also possibilities to observe the trogon bird and the quetzal bird with his beautiful colors. If you are lucky, we can observe the Spectacled Bear. In the afternoon, we will arrive at the village called Pilcopata. Here is our lodge where we will stay 1 night. All lodges do have private bathrooms with hot water.

Day 2 :

PILCOPATA LODGE- ATALAYA – MACHUWASI LAKE– PAITITI LODGE

After a delicious breakfast, we continue our trip by bus to Atalaya for 45 minutes. Here we will embark by boat for 30 minutes to the Paititi lodge. On the way, we will observe a variety of animals.

Here you will stay in private rooms with private bathrooms and showers. After a delicious lunch, we will go to the Cocha Machuwasi, where we will ride a typical catamaran of the area, to observe a variety of birds, monkeys, reptiles, dwarf alligators and insects. At night, we have the night trekking program.

Day 3 :

PARROTS CLAY LICK – LAKE MARAVILLA

Very early, we will leave by boat to the clay lick of green parrots (Wall of clay with minerals.) Here you can observe 3 to 4 species of parrots. After that, we will return boat to have a walk inside the forest until we arrive to the private lagoon of cocha maravilla. From a platform, you can see a variety of birds, monkeys, small reptiles, dwarf alligators and insects. In the afternoon, we return to our lodge for lunch. At night, we will have night walks.

Day 4 :

SHINTUYA COMMUNITY - HOT SPRING (HOT MEDICINAL WATERS) - CATARATAS

After breakfast, we take the boat to go along the Madre de Dios River for approximately 3 hours to the native community of Shintuya. Where we can visit the native population on the way we will observe many kinds of birds and animals on the beach we continue our trip by boat to Aguas Calientes. A special place in this area of the jungle, where you can enjoy these healing waters and take a shower relax and visit the falls. In the afternoon, we are back to Paititi lodge for lunch. At night, we have a night walk.

Day 5 :

PAITITI LODGE - ATALAYA - CUSCO

After our delicious breakfast we unfortunately have to return to Cusco. First by boat from the Paititi lodge to Atalaya, where the bus is waiting to bring you back to Cusco. (Approximate arrival at 6:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.)