MANU EXPLORER WITH TAPIR AND
MACAW CLAY LICKS
This program is similar to our traditional “Bio-Trip” but features the Wildlife Tented Camp located inside the Manu National Park and finish at the Manu Wildlife Center. visiting the macaw clay lick and much more.
Day 1: Cuzco/Manu Cloud forest (Saturday)
Depart Cusco in our private, custom-designed expedition bus/van with reclining seats and extra legroom and drive all day through all elevated in our private, 11000-acre (4,400-hectare) cloud forest in Peru. The bus stops frequently during the trip to permit visits to small Andean towns and exploration of the incredible range of cloud forest habitats. (L,D).
Day 2: Manu Cloud forest/Boca Manu (Sunday)
Observe Cocks-of-the-Rock displaying and calling at down, and the enjoy breakfast back at the lodge. Explore the cool, moist, mosquito-free cloud forest and search for the confiding Brown Capuchin Monkeys. Travel by bus for 2-3 more hours to the riverside hamlet of Atalaya, where we board our motor canoes to travel down the Alto Madre de Dios River towards the mouth of the Manu River. Depending on the road and river conditions on this day, we either sleep in a simple tented camp (with small tents) or in a rustic local lodge near the mouth of the Manu River. (B,L,D).
Day 3: Boca Manu/Manu wildlife Tented camps at park (Monday)
Dawn in the forest or on the riverbank, and the travel by motor canoe up the Manu River for 5-6 hours to the Wildlife Tented Camp near Cocha Salvador. (B,L,D).
Days 4: Manu National Park (Tuesday)
Visit Cocha Salvador and take a canoe or catamaran outing on the lake to observe birds and to search for Giant Otters. Also walk trails through different forest types, with excellent chances to observe monkeys. (B,L,D).
Day 5: Manu National Park (Wednesday)
Short motorcanoe ride on the Manu River to the trail head for Cocha Otorongo, walk the trails at Cocha Otorongo to search for Woolly Monkeys (the best place to see them in the Manu lowlands), climb a 50-foot (17m), metal tower to the mid-canopy, and return to Wildlife Tented Camp for the night. (B,L,D).
Day 6: Manu National Park/Boca Manu/Manu Wildlife Center (Thursday)
Leave very early to motor down the Manu River. Stop at Boca Manu for those leaving the tour and then continue for a 90 minutes journey down the Madre de Dios River to Manu Wildlife Center. The afternoon will be spent exploring some of the 30 miles of clean forest trails that surround the lodge. On these trails you have an excellent chance to encounter some of the 12 species of monkeys, which include the Monk Saki and Emperor Tamarin, which inhabit the surrounding forest. After dinner you will have a short night excursion to explore nocturnal life in the rainforest. (B,L,D).
Day 7: Manu Wildlife Center (Friday)
Rising before dawn, take 25 minutes boat journey downstream to the only large parrot and macaw clay lick in the Manu area. From a floating catamaran blind we are afforded excellent views and photo opportunities of hundreds of medium-sized and large parrots arriving first at the lick, followed by the large Red-and-Green Macaws arriving to eat the clay. Please note that the clay lick is not as active in May, June and July.
After lunch at the center we continue to explore the miles of forest trails surrounding the lodge, and spend the late afternoon up a 34 meter canopy platform. here we watch the last frantic activity in the rainforest canopy before night settles.
We return for dinner back at the center and then leisurely hike for 60-75 minutes through the night forest to the amazon’s largest known tapir clay lick. We climb up a 17 foot by 17 foot observation platform perched 17 feet above the lick itself where we wait for the lumbering tapirs to arrive, then using powerful flashlights we observe and photograph them in action. (L/B/D).
Day 8: Manu Wildlife Center (Saturday)
After a dawn breakfast you will board the motor canoe for the two hours return trip to the Manu landing strip, from which you fly to Cusco, where your jungle adventure ends. Arrival, reception and transfer to the your hotel. (B)
Please note that the program may vary slightly so as to maximize your wildlife sightings, depending on the reports of our researchers and experienced naturalist guides based at the lodge.