Manu Lodge

Simply the best wildlife destination in the Amazon. By far the richest, most extraordinary biological transect in the Peruvian Amazon, or the world, starts in Cusco and runs northeast by road and river to the great Manu Wilderness.

Manu offers by far the greatest quantity and diversity of animals and plants in the world. No other destination in Peru or beyond can compare with Manu Nowhere else can you enjoy a superbly intact transect of tropical habitats from Andean grasslands and cloud forests down to foothill and lowland forests

Manu boasts the highest bird, mammal, and plant diversity of any park on Earth, including 1,000 of the world’s 9,700 bird species, 200 species of mammals, and 15,000 species of flowering plants. The most photogenic spectacles are frolicking Giant Otters, 1,000 parrots and macaws at a riverbank clay lick, dancing Cocks-of-the-Rock, habituated monkeys, and huge Lowland Tapirs at a forest clay lick.

Facilities

Guests at Manu Paradise Lodge enjoy comfortable rooms with panoramic windows and features not found at many cloud forest lodges. In addition to the well-equipped rooms, we offer exterior porches with telescopes for observing wildlife. And all of this tucked across from the Kosñipata River.

Services

Our facility has two madular homes onsite. One is two levels with four guest rooms, and rollaway beds are available for additional guests. The second building has three double rooms on the first and third floors, all of them complete with dining and cooking areas. All rooms offer a view of the river.

Our total capacity is 19 people when lodged in double or triple accomodation.

Every guest room has a private bath, 24-hour hot water, open construction and panoramic views.

Electricity (220 volts) is available 6-9 p.m.

Telescopes are available for observing flora, fauna and fowl.

Amazon Itineraries

Manu Nature and Culture Itinerary 4 Days

We will make an early start from the city of Cusco, traveling overland through an Andean landscape of picturesque valleys, high Andean grasslands and small rural communities. The bird species in this part of the Andes include the mountain caracara, Puna ibis and Andean flicker. On the approach to the village of Paucartambo, we will pass the pre-Inca burial towers built by the ancient Lupaca culture. In Paucartambo there will be time to appreciate the tranquil beauty of this charming village, visit the local church and photograph the splendid colonial-era Carlos V Bridge. Leaving this community behind, we will continue our journey as far as the high pass at Acjanaco (3,850 meters / 12,630 feet), where from the entrance to Manu National Park there are fine views of the scenery below. From the pass the road descends through Andean grasslands rich in a variety of birdlife, and on to the cloud forest, which we will reach in the afternoon. This fascinating ecosystem is home to Peru’s national bird, the cock-of-the-rock, as well as crested and golden quetzals, blue-crowned motmots, gray-breasted mountain toucans, several species of butterflies and many kinds of ferns and colorful orchids. You will spend a comfortable first night in the cloud forest at our Paradise Lodge (1,470 meters / 4,821 feet).

After a good night’s rest, we will walk into the cloud forest around the lodge to observe how the male cock-of-the-rock forms large groups to perform an elaborate courtship ritual designed to attract females. We will then return to the lodge for an excellent breakfast, before setting off for Pillcopata. During this drive we will pass plantations of manioc, papaya, pineapple and coca leaves, and we will be on the lookout all the time for local fauna, such as howler monkeys and brown capuchin monkeys, as well as birds such as spix guans, plumbeous kites and black vultures. We will spend the night at a typical lodge in Pillcopata.

(Optional additional day for river rafting)

Driving distance: 71.6 km / 44.8 miles (5 hours)

Included: Breakfast, lunch & evening meal

One of the great attractions of this program is the opportunity to experience the way of life of the Matsiguenka indigenous community of Santa Rosa de Huacaria. After a typical breakfast we will set off on a 2-hour hike into the area cultivated by this ethnic group, where they grow pineapples and other crops. This will also provide us with the chance to spot parrots and red and green macaws. There will be time for a refreshing swim in the Huacaria River, before we visit the community’s botanical garden, where the local guide will explain how medicinal plants are used. We will then return to the lodge for breakfast, after which the day will continue with a hike in the forest, in the company of your naturalist guide. Back at the lodge, you will be served a typical lunch, after which it will be time to return to Pillcopata, where our vehicle will be waiting to take you back to the Paradise Lodge.

Included: Breakfast, lunch & evening meal

This will be your last day in the forest, and it will begin with another chance to observe the fascinating mating behavior of the cock-of-the-rock. After breakfast we will board our private bus for the return trip to Cusco. Beyond the village of Paucartambo, we will continue on the road that follows the Qenqomayo River as far as Colquepata, before ascending to the high pass at Apacheta (4,100 meters / 13,448 feet). From the pass the road drops into the Sacred Valley of the Incas. There will be plenty of time to make stops along the way to enjoy the scenery and appreciate the traditional way of life of the typical Andean villages dotted along the route. This route also offers an excellent view of the spectacular Inca archaeological ruins of Pisac. You can choose to spend the night at a hotel in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, or return to the city of Cusco.

Driving distance: 192 km / 120 miles (6 hours)

Included: Breakfast & lunch.

Manu Paradise Itinerary 5 Days

An early start from Cusco gives you limitless opportunities to enjoy Peru’s many jewels. The trip to the cloud forest takes you through Andean landscapes of unmatched beauty; deep valleys and highlands are decorated with rural communities. Along the way you will observe highland birds such as the mountain caracara, Puna ibis and Andean flicker. Cultural sites include the burial towers of the Lupacas pre-Inca culture and the colonial town of Paucartambo, which is known as the folkloric capital of the Cusco region. Here you will visit the church with its image of the Virgin of Carmen, and the Carlos V colonial bridge spanning the river. This bridge has been the gateway to the Manu forests since pre-Hispanic times. After Paucartambo the journey continues by crossing the Acjanacu Pass (3,850 meters/12,628 feet), the official entrance to the Manu National Park. From here the road descends to the cloud forest, passing through Andean grasslands where the sparse vegetation is the habitat of birds such as the Andean guan, white-collared jay, crimson-mantled woodpecker and the endemic Puna thistle tail. You’ll have ample time to walk along the road and enjoy the area’s flora and fauna, which includes the cock-of-the-rock, golden-headed quetzal, blue-crowned motmot, mountain toucan and many tanagers, flycatchers, jays and hummingbirds. South America’s only bear, the spectacled bear, also shares this area with white-tailed deer, butterflies, ferns and orchids. You will spend the first night in the comforts of Paradise Lodge (1,470 meters/4,821 feet).

Driving distance: 181 km/113 miles (6 to 8 hours)

Included: lunch & dinner

Your day begins with a pre-breakfast forest walk to see Peru’s national bird, the cock-of-the-rock, in its daily ritual in which 8 to 10 males perform an amazing show to attract female attention. After returning to the lodge for a delicious typical breakfast, the rest of the day will be spent hiking and looking for local species of birds, monkeys, mammals, plants and insects in the cloud forest, and also enjoying a refreshing swim in a nearby small stream. Late in the afternoon you will board the private bus to the port of Atalaya, from where you will take the boat downstream to the lodge for an evening meal and a good night’s rest. After dinner you’ll enjoy the opportunity to take a short hike around the lodge to observe the nocturnal forest life.

Driving distance: 71.6 km/44.8 miles

Included: breakfast, lunch & dinner

Begin day 3 with a nice breakfast before continuing downstream to the village of Boca Manu. Along the way you will observe a variety of birds, including great billed terns, tiger herons, snowy egrets, black skimmers and black vultures among the trees, and also caiman on the river. After a short stop in the village continue to the private Blanqillo reserve, enjoying more bird watching and seeing birds of prey such as the harpy eagle, falcons and vultures. After dinner at the reserve you will take a nocturnal walk to Lake Blanquillo to observe caiman and listen to the spectacular sounds made by night monkeys (musmuqui), the world’s only nocturnal primate, accompanied in its symphony by the bamboo rat and numerous species of toads, insects and other forest inhabitants that only emerge at night.

Included: breakfast, lunch & dinner

Before breakfast, a 30-minute hike takes us to a position just 30 meters (90 feet) from the “collpa,” a rich riverbank deposit of minerals and clay. From a blind camouflaged with palm leaves, you will observe several species of parrots and macaws in a colorful show as they feed on minerals. After this unforgettable spectacle we will return to camp for a well-deserved breakfast. The rest of the day will be devoted to exploring Lake Blanco, where visitors often see a family of rare giant river otters, caiman, turtles and many other species native to this oxbow lake ecosystem. You also have the option to walk the game trails in the afternoon, walk around the lake at night and take an after-dark canoe ride to see caiman up close.

Included: breakfast, lunch & dinner

After an early breakfast, you board the boat again and head downstream toward the mining town of Colorado, where the private vehicle will be waiting to take you to the Inambari River. After crossing the river, we continue driving in our private vehicle for 2.30 hrs. to Puerto Maldonado airport and take the last flight, arriving to Cusco Around 15:00 hours or to Lima around 17:00 Hrs. Transfer from the airport to your hotel in Cusco or be on time to flight connection in Lima.

Include breakfast and lunch.