Eco Tours from Cusco to the Amazon Rainforest and Machu Picchu

Leaving Cusco after an early breakfast, we traverse the Andes, overlooking the majestic snowed capped mountains of the sacred valley. We arrive in Paucartambo, the center of ancient trading routes of the Incas, where we will learn about the famed traditional local dances and celebrations. Before we leave we enjoy a warm drink and learn about Andean communities use of biodiversity. We will continue our way towards one of the highest points of the day at Acjanaco (3,500 m), a Park Rangers Station and the entrance to Manu National Park. If the weather conditions permit, we will have the first spectacular view of the one of the largest National Parks of Peru. Amidst the clouds, we will start our descent until we reach San Pedro, where we will have lunch. As we observe the dramatic changes of the landscape, we will reach our Cloud Forest lodge where we will have dinner and spend this first night.

This morning we head out to the main attraction in the Cloud Forest, the Cock of The Rock bird, the national bird of Peru. Rising before breakfast we head to a lek to watch males perform an amazing dance ritual to attract the females, at incredible short distance. After the spectacular display of colour, the ten-minute walk that takes us back to the lodge for breakfast gives us great chances to see a band of monkeys looking for breakfast themselves among the trees, by the road. Then, our journey continues down the Cloud Forest through the trees and water falls of the narrow ravine, home to one of the richest varieties of birds and to the spectacled bear. As we approach Pillcopata, coca plantations become visible and we will stop to visit one of them, to learn about the uses of the coca leaves and their medicinal properties. After a short stop at Pillcopata, we head for the port-town of Atalaya, where we will board a motorized canoe. A one hour ride to the Manu Learning Centre gives us the first impression of a meandering Amazonian river, the Alto Madre de Dios, one of the most southern tributaries of the legendary Amazonas River. This afternoon we will explore the local trail system with our naturalist guides, before relaxing in the centre to the sounds of forest. Whilst staying at this beautiful lodge guests can learn about the human history of Manu and the challenges conserving this beautiful and fragile environment place or let the world disappear sipping a great drink, watching the sunset on the Amazon.

One of the most interesting activities at the Manu Learning Centre is the monitoring of the clay lick or collpa where, among others, the Blue Headed Macaw is observed and studied as it is an endangered species. At 5:00 a.m. in the morning, we join the scientists and researchers on the boat and head for the hide, five minutes up river, to observe the activity of macaws, parrots, and parakeets. As the day breaks and the rays of the sun paint the walls of the clay lick with magic colors, the birds display their dances, come and go in pairs, in flocks, until they leave to continue their day, deeper in the jungle. Then, we go back to the centre for breakfast. After breakfast we continue our journey down the Madre de Dios River to it's confluence with the Manu River. We'll 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 of Amerindians in the area. As we head into the Manu River we leave the relatively clean waters of the Madre de Dios behind entering the sediment laden waters of the Manu River. We'll stop at the park ranger station at Limonal to present our permits and visit an overgrown oxbow lake where many Parrots and Macaws come in to roost before we head another hour to our destination - the comfortable Romero Rainforest Lodge situated close the banks of the Manu River. We are now deep in the pristine Manu rainforest.

This morning after a great breakfast, we'll trek very slowly for several hours through the forest to Cocha Limonal. The trail is particularly good for Black Spider Monkey viewing. 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. 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. We'll be met at the river by our motorized dugout for the hour trip upriver to the lodge for lunch and some free time. After lunch we head upriver as deep into the park as allowed, to Cocha Salvador. On the way, the beaches, especially in the dry season, are teeming 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 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 world's third largest cat. Tonight we stay at one of Manu's best tented campsites, Campsite Aguaje.

We wake up early this morning to head to Cocha Salvador. We board small catamarans and head out onto the lake 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. We have the best chance 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. Walking through the primary forest, we are shaded by 60 metre emergent canopy, Kapoc trees, where black spider monkeys rest whilst foraging through the strangler figs. We begin to head back down stream stopping at Cocha Otorongo where we climb 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. Then, we will return to Romero Rainforest Lodge for dinner.

Leaving the lodge we'll head down the Madre de Dios River for two hours to the comfortable lodge facility near the Macaw Clay Lick - Manu Wildlife Center. This strategically located lodge facility is jointly owned and run by Manu Expeditions and a local conservation group and is a base for scientific research in the area and a center for visitors wanting to explore the rainforest. We should arrive in time for lunch and a shower (hot water) 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 a lookout point on a cliff over the river to watch roosting flights of Parrots and Macaws as the sun sets. Manu Wildlife Center has a canopy platform and an observation tower. The canopy platform is accessible via a spiral staircase so everyone can get to enjoy the rainforest canopy. Those who wish can participate in a night walk with your guide in search of nocturnal animals.

We have an early start to-day for the Macaw Clay Lick. This is truly one of the world's great wildlife spectacles as hundreds of Parrots and their larger relatives, the Macaws, congregate at this traditional locality to eat the mineral rich clay that is essential to their digestion. We'll use a comfortable blind (hide) to get close to the birds and breakfast will be served. The noise alone is incredible and the sight of these brightly colored 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, in search of a family of Giant Otters that live there, and canoe around the lake on our floating platform looking for other wildlife. After a leisurely lunch at the lodge 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.

Here we have a 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 of the tierra firme forest that is occasionally seen 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 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. We watch them from the comfort of mosquito nets and mattresses from our specially constructed blind. Other nocturnal creatures are always possible.

After breakfast we head upriver (about 2 hours) to the small airstrip at Boca Manu. Early morning flocks of birds pass over the boat, and we may see a Capybara, the world's largest rodent. Arriving at the airstrip we board our aircraft for the 45 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.

Carbon Neutral Tour
See Peru's national bird, the 'Cock of the Rock'
See hundreds of macaws, parrots and parakeets feeding on the river banks
Bath in medical hot springs in the rainforest
Meet and see how local people live
Stay at the region's most beautiful sustainable lodge
Enter into the Manu National park's virgin rainforest
See Giant River Otters and black caimans on the Oxbow lakes
Climb into the rainforest canopy on a spectacular canopy tower