Tour to Manu National Park 4 Days

DAY 1: Cusco – Cloud Forest – Bamboo Lodge

The following Tour to Manu National Park 4 days itinerary is only a sample, which can vary depending on the availability of the local lodges.

4:30 AM pick up at your hotel in our private minivan. Today our goal lies to get to San Pedro. Our first stop will be (The Tombs), a historic Pre-Inca site at Ninamarca, “the place of fire” in Quechua. Afterwards, we’ll travel for four hours through fabulous mountain vistas and valleys, passing through Paucartambo (the folkloric capital of Cusco) which boasts beautiful Spanish colonial architecture and a stone bridge. Then we proceed to the lookout point at Acjanaco at the pass 4,000m (13,123 ft) where we enter Manu National Park. From here we travel through pristine cloud forest which feeds the local flora unique to this clime. The landscape is stunning: we will pass many waterfalls, sweeping views of the valley and dense cloud forest vegetation: mosses, lichens, orchids and birds unique to this part of the world ply the mountainside. Capuchin monkeys and wooly monkeys can also be seen. All meals included except breakfast.

Overnight at the Bamboo Lodge or Guadalupe Lodge.

DAY 2: Bamboo Lodge – Machuwasi Lagoon – Pantiacolla Lodge

Very early after breakfast, we’ll visit the surrounding garden and orchard, and Coca plantation. Your guide will explain medicinal plants and exotic fruits grown here in the area. After a short trip in the minivan, we reach Atalaya and board our motorized riverboat heading through the turbulent Alto Madre de Dios river to calmer waters where we’ll stop and trek to a beautiful lagoon (Lago Machuwasi).Here live the among many fascinating birds, the loud prehistoric birds like hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazín), and The Screamer (Anhima cornuta Arauco), egrets, etc. As well as caimans. With its reflective waters and rich wildlife, it’s a truly wonderful experience on the balsam pole rafts.

Already in our Pantiacolla’s area, we will have a chance to see howler monkeys resting in the trees, river otters bathing, or capibaras nosing for food on the shores. To tell you frankly, here in our private reserve you will encounter primary forest still intact because of the value of tourists coming to visit it. Here we can show you original and traditional fauna of old: medicinal plants, giant trees (ficus estrangulador), hardwood trees, bamboo forests, and leks for mammals and parrots, which can be experienced exclusively by our travelers only. Here you can also choose to go for a guided night walk to see nocturnal animals and insects.

Overnight at the Pantiacolla Lodge, a hidden stilted house camouflaged in the forest. Strategically located over a Bambu forest, it makes for great viewing of the nocturnal animals and diurnal animals like monkeys, birds, and others. All meals included.

DAY 3: Parrot Clay Lick – Bamboo Lodge

In the early hours of the morning, we need to be in front of the macaw lek to catch them eating the salty mud off the river bank wall. Hundreds of macaw and parrots can be seen stripping off the clay and clamoring away at their work. Who knows, maybe toucans, howler monkeys, the shy river otter or with luck the capybara might make an appearance. On the opposite bank of the river, we’ll wait silently to see what appears. After breakfast, we’ll take a jungle trip to see the enormous ancient trees that tower just five kilometers from the reserve. While walking among exotic rainforest trees, we will see Aleton tree, Ceiba, and the beautiful Ficus. On the forest floor, lizards, frogs, lots of species of ants from the smallest to the largest, and many other species and rare species. At the treetops, you will be surprised by a spectacular scenery where wildlife develops its life which is very good for bird watching. Enjoy and learn the life of insects and about the interpretation of the primary and secondary components of the rainforest, as well as the human impact and the importance of the rainforest for our planet.

After a great exploration of the jungle, we will go back to our lodge for lunch. We will then take our skiff to drive upstream to reach our next lodge. Once at this lodge, a guided night walk is possible. All meals included.

Overnight at the Bamboo Lodge.

DAY 4: Bamboo Lodge – Cusco

Early in the morning, we start our trip back by river skiff, accompanied by flocks of passing birds. Again we have a good chance to view capybaras (the largest rodent in the world) on the river banks. Our destination is Atalaya where we take a short break to change to our minivan and then head back to Cusco. We will pass again through the cloud forest and stop for lunch on the way, on one of the lovely bends over the valley. At about the 6:00 pm we will reach our hotel in Cusco, where will drop you off, end of our adventure. All meals included, except dinner.

Note on Itinerary
Although we do our very best possible to adhere to the schedule above, this itinerary is subject to change for several reasons beyond our control, including strikes, weather, natural disasters, and terrain conditions. On some occasions, these conditions may demand us to deviate from our original schedule, in which case we will provide the best available alternative options. And we’ll make a great experience of it!