Manu Reserved Zone Tour 6 Days: Macaw and Jaguar Photography

Day 01: Cusco – Manu Cloud Forest – Atalaya – Top Manu Avatar Lodge

We leave Cusco at 6:00 a.m. in a private minivan and cross the Andes. Our first stop is the pre-Inca burial towers of Ninamarca, followed by a short visit to Paucartambo, a picturesque Andean village known for its traditional dress, before we reach the entrance of Manu National Park, the highest point of the trip.

From there we descend into the cloud forest, full of orchids, heliconias and tree ferns. After lunch we look for Peru’s national bird, the Andean cock-of-the-rock, as well as quetzals, trogons, the Amazonian umbrellabird, woolly monkeys (the largest monkey in Peru), brown capuchins and, with luck, a spectacled bear. We continue by van to the river port of Atalaya, with views over the lowland rainforest, and then by boat for about 40 minutes to Top Manu Avatar Lodge. Optional night walk in the evening.

Day 02: Manu River – Limonal Ranger Station – Otorongo Oxbow Lake – Casa Matsiguenka

After breakfast we travel downstream by boat on the Madre de Dios River, watching for capybaras, birds, monkeys and the South American tapir. This is your first chance to see a jaguar. We then turn up the Manu River, with a brief stop at the Limonal ranger station, the entrance to the Reserved Zone. Along the riverbanks you will see turtles, white caimans and capybaras, and maybe a jaguar resting on a log.

In the afternoon we explore the Otorongo oxbow lake and its giant otter observation tower, walking for several hours around the lake with your guide. Night at Casa Matsiguenka Lodge, with a night walk.

Day 03: Salvador Oxbow Lake – Macaw Clay Lick – Forest Trails

At dawn we paddle silently around the Salvador oxbow lake on a catamaran, with another chance to watch giant otters fishing for piranhas. The lake is also home to hoatzins, raptors, agami herons, macaws, oropendolas and caciques. Because hunting is not allowed in the Reserved Zone, many animals here are less shy than elsewhere. After breakfast we visit the macaw clay lick to watch macaws and parakeets eating mineral-rich clay.

We spend the rest of the day on the forest trails looking for more monkeys, such as white-fronted capuchins and pygmy marmosets, along with macaws, snakes and giant ceiba trees. In the afternoon we return to the lodge, where you can meet the native people who live there.

Day 04: Brasco Oxbow Lake – Shipitiari Native Community – Tapir Clay Lick

We wake to the call of red howler monkeys and start our return toward Boca Manu, another chance to see capybaras, tapirs and jaguars along the Manu River. We visit the Brasco oxbow lake to look for giant otters, monkeys and sloths, and arrive in the afternoon at our lodge, where we spend the night.

After dinner we walk to the tapir clay lick and wait quietly on a platform for tapirs, the largest land animal in South America, to come and eat clay. The wait can be anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours or more; when the first tapir arrives, your guide quietly lets you know so you can watch it 10–20 m (33–66 ft) below the platform. On the night walk back to the lodge we may see ocelots and owls.

Day 05: Primary Forest – Shintuya Hot Springs – Top Manu Avatar Lodge

We explore the primary forest among huge ceiba trees, looking for macaws, toucans, trumpeters, snakes, peccaries, deer and monkeys such as red howlers, brown and white-fronted capuchins, spider monkeys, tamarins and woolly monkeys. You can also try the clay therapy and swim in the river.

After lunch we visit the Shintuya hot springs: a jungle hike up to a waterfall with natural pools, finishing with a soak in the hot springs. We return to Top Manu Avatar Lodge by boat, watching the riverbanks for wildlife. Optional night walk.

Day 06: Top Manu Avatar Lodge – Atalaya – Cusco

After an early breakfast we pack and take the boat to Atalaya, watching for wildlife along the river, then continue by private van through the cloud forest to Cusco. We drop you off at your hotel at around 5:00 p.m.