Manu Biosphere Reserve 2008

Manu National Park

Manu National Park was established in 1977 and in recognition of its uniqueness was designated a ''World Heritage Site” ten years later. Manu is internationally acclaimed as one of the most bio-diverse areas on earth.

Approximately half the area of Switzerland, the Manu Biosphere is a complete ecosystem with protected watershed embracing Andean mountain cloud forest, tropical lowland forest and the rivers Alto Madre de Dios and Manu drainage systems. The biosphere itself is subdivided into a National Park and two adjacent zones, one for tourism and the other for cultural subsistence. It is home to over 1000 species of birds, 15,000 species of plants, over 200 species of mammals, an untold number of insects and within its heart remain yet unconnected peoples.

Manu retains healthy populations of jaguar, tapir, anteater, black caiman, and giant otter and among the 13 species of monkey we find the unique pigmy marmoset, the smallest monkey in the world, and the nocturnal night monkey. Because of Manu's low human population and their continued use of traditional hunting techniques, the animals in the park show little fear of man and are more readily approachable than in many other rainforest locations. Manu, therefore, offers unparalleled animal watching opportunities.

Wildlife aside, however, the journey into the park itself is amazingly spectacular and not to be missed either. Access is normally by road and the two day trip from Cusco to the entrance of the Manu Reserved Zone carries you over the mountains to an elevation of 4000 m, past pre-Inca ruins and down through the cloud forest on the eastern side of the Andes into lush lowland rainforest. Roads remain largely unpaved and wind their way precariously past cascading water, deep gorges and precipices. Manu is truly a complete experience.

Manu Camping Tour Reserved Zone – Our programs:

• RESERVED ZONE (5D/4N) - Bus In / Flight Out
• MACAW CLAY LICK (7D/6N) - Bus In / Flight Out
• JUNGLE TRIP (9D/8N) - Bus In / Bus Out

Itinerary

Day 1: Cusco - Cloud Forest

Leaving Cusco early in the morning, we begin an 8-hour journey over the Andes by bus, stopping for a coffee at the beautiful colonial village of Paucartambo. Continuing, we climb to the highpoint of the Manu Biosphere at about 3,800 m before descending to the cloud forest. In these mysterious surroundings we take a hike to the lek of the incredible cock-of-the-rock, to see the 'performance' of the males right under our eyes. We spend our first night in the rustic lodge of Posada San Pedro (1,600 masl).

Itinerary

Day 2: Cloud Forest – Atalaya - Manu River

At daybreak we continue by bus to the tropical lowland rainforest. At the small village of Atalaya at 650 m, we change into a motorized canoe to navigate down the turbulent Alto Madre de Dios River to Boca Manu. As night falls we make camp on one of the beaches or stay in a basic lodge, depending on weather and availability.

Itinerary

Days 3 & 4: Lake Salvador and Lake Otorongo

On the morning of the third day we turn up the Manu River for a 6 hour ride into the heart of Manu’s Reserved Zone. From this vantage point we will have great views of riverside birds, sunbathing caimans, and the enormous aquatic guinea pig, the capybara. We reach our camping huts deep inside Manu in the afternoon. This will be our base for the next two days. During this time, we will hike through the virgin forest and explore one of the most beautiful lakes of the Manu basin, Lake Salvador, by catamaran. There is a chance to see a huge variety of colourful birds, numerous species of monkey and with luck, a family of giant otters. There is another hike in this habitat-rich forest, that will end in Lake Otorongo and a 20 metre-high observation platform that overlooks the lake. At night we can explore the forest by torchlight or go moonlight caiman spotting on the lake.

Itinerary

Day 5: Lake Salvador - Boca Manu - Beach Tambo Blanquillo

After a final walk through the forest surrounding Lake Salvador (flight schedule permitting), we return back down the Manu River. At Boca Manu, you return mid-day to Cusco by light aircraft if you are participating in the 5-day trip. If your tour is of 7 or 9 days, we continue on the Madre de Dios River and we arrive at Blanquillo, near the claylick for macaws, where we spend the night in the jungle lodge Tambo Blanquillo.

Itinerary

Day 6: Macaw Clay Lick

At first light we head to the macaw lick to watch the dazzling spectacle of hundreds of parakeets, parrots and macaws eating clay. In the afternoon we visit another one of Manu´s beautiful oxbow lakes, Cocha Blanco. Going back up the river we camp or stay in a basic lodge, depending on weather and availability.

Itinerary

Day 7: Tambo Blanquillo - Boca Manu - Pantiacolla Lodge

A short boat ride takes us to Boca Manu. If you are participating in the 7-day trip you will take a mid-day return flight to Cusco over the rainforest and the Andes by light aircraft. If you are participating in the 9-day tour, we carry on up the Alto Madre de Dios River for another 5 hours. Travelling on the river gives us our best chance to see rare animals such as the puma or jaguar that are resting or foraging on the beaches; we also get great views of the Andes. For the next two nights we stay at the Pantiacolla lodge, right at the foot of the Pantiacolla Mountains.

Itinerary

Day 8: Pantiacolla Mountains

This day we hike through a very special rainforest: this is where the Andes and the lowland tropical rainforest meet, providing the visitor with a chance to see a good selection of birds, insects and flora from both zones as well as some endemic species.

Itinerary

Day 9: Atalaya - Cloud Forest - Cusco

Back on the boat early in the morning, we head upstream to Atalaya where our bus is waiting to take us back over the Andes to Cusco.

* Bearing in mind the uncontrollable forces of nature, the programme could be subject to changes at any time
** Every group can contain people who travel for 5, 7 or 9 days

Price Information

Prices per person 2008 – Standard Pool service Adult:

• RESERVED ZONE 5D/4N: S/. 2655.00 (*) (**)
• MACAW CLAY LICK 7D/6N: S/. 2855.00 (*) (**)
• JUNGLE TRIP 9D/8N: S/. 2680.00 (*)

* Manu Reserved Zone entrance fee not included: S/. 150.00 per person
** Boca Manu airport tax not included: S/. 42.00 per person

Private Service tours are also available. Please contact us for more information.

Departure dates 2008

We offer the following fixed departure dates:

• April: 18-25
• May: 02-09-16-23-30
• June: 06-13-20-27
• July: 02*-04-11-16*-18-25-30*
• August: 01-06*-08-15-22-29
• September: 05-12-19-26
• October: 03-10-17-24-31
• November: 07-14-21-28
• December: 05-12-19-26

*since generally there are no flights between Boca Manu and Cusco on Sundays, the “5-day” programme starting on Wednesdays will have an extra overnight in the Yine Lodge (5th night) to travel by plane to Cusco on Monday morning (flight conditions permitting)

Group Size

Maximum is 10 people per guide and 14 people per group, no minimum is required on a fixed departure.

What is included

• Qualified naturalist English/Spanish-speaking guide
• Transportation by private bus from Cusco to the Cloud Forest and Atalaya (5 and 7 day tours), and back from Atalaya to Cusco (9 day tour)
• Transportation by private boat: Atalaya / Lake Salvador / Boca Manu (5-day tour) – Macaw Lick – Boca Manu (7-day tour), Pantiacolla Lodge / Atalaya (9-day tour)
• Flight from Boca Manu to Cusco (5 and 7 day tour)
• Tents and mattresses
• Meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
• Manu National Park guide book – Talking About Manu
• Paperwok for Park entrance

What is not included

• Manu Reserved Zone entrance fee (US$50.00 per person)
• Boca Manu airport tax (US$10.00 per person) (5 and 7 day tours)
• Sleeping Bag (it can be hired at our agency for US$4.00 a day)
• Soft drinks, beers and others

What we recommend that you bring

Rainforest expeditions are not comfortable tours, but with the following equipment, you will get the best out of the forest and yourself:

• Binoculars (imperative)
• Flashlight with spare bulbs and batteries
• Sleeping bag
• Day pack
• Long pants and long-sleeved shirts
• T-shirts
• Shorts / Swimsuit
• Towel
• Sweater or light jacket
• 1 pair of hiking boots and 1 pair of light shoes or sandals
• Long cotton socks
• Rain gear
• Rubber boots (only in the rainy season – we provide them)
• Sun hat, sunglasses, sun block
• Insect repellent (min. 25% DEET) and afterbite
• Toilet paper
• Plastic bags (to keep everything dry)
• Water bottle (with water for the bus ride into Manu)
• Copy of a valid passport
• Copy of yellow fever and tetanus vaccinations
• Money for soft drinks, beers, handicrafts or others at the Boca Manu landing strip
• Batteries for video cameras can be charged on the second night of the trip, please bring your own recharger

Other useful information

• Malaria: There is an extremely low malaria risk in the Manu area and the occasional cases of malaria in the Alto Madre de Dios River and zone have proved completely curable. Please use insect repellent and effective clothing to avoid being bitten.
• Boca Manu – Cusco flight: two types of aircraft are used for the flights between Cusco and the airstrip at Boca Manu. One, a Beechcraft King Air B-90 seats ten people and the other, a Twin Otter seats eighteen. The flight lasts about 50 minutes. In case of heavy rain or low clouds, flights may be delayed to and from Boca Manu. In 2006, approximately 50% of flights have resulted in delays, and 15% of flights have needed to spend the night in Boca Manu due to weather conditions.

Booking online

If you would like to make a reservation for this program, please go directly to the Booking Online section of this website by clicking here.

In case you have any doubts, queries or require additional information, please contact us, we will be very glad to assist you. Your request will be answered by return mail within a maximum of 2 working days.

Manu National Park

Our recommendations for a low impact trip in Manu National Park

We would like to share with you our recommendations for how to have as little an impact upon the natural environment in Manu as possible during your visit.

1. Avoid using plastics that only have a short-term use. If plastic is necessary, like plastic bags to keep your clothes dry in for example, try to buy bags that can be used again, either by you or the next tourist. If possible, don’t buy any drinks in plastic bottles, opting instead for glass bottles. If buying plastic bottles can’t be avoided, make sure the bottles will be returned to Cusco, handing them back to us for recycling.
2. Recycle camera/flashlight batteries. Cusco does not have a place to recycle batteries; if this is available to you back home, please take your batteries back with you and recycle them there. Where this is not possible, please leave the batteries with your guide or at our office in Cusco. We will store them, hoping in the future there will be the possibility of recycling them locally.
3. Respect our rules for disposal of garbage in bags for biodegradable and non-biodegradable garbage. Thank you!
4. Lower fuel emissions. Oftentimes the bus and boat used for your transportation will also transport food or materials for the jungle lodges. We ask your understanding, since in this way we can reduce the number of trips our bus and boats make, thereby reducing the gas used and the emissions from the motors.
5. Plant a tree! To help offset the carbon-dioxide emissions caused by the plane that has brought you to Peru, why not help by planting trees? You can read about how you can contribute to this worthwhile project on the website of the organization Trees for Travel: www.treesfortravel.nl/general.html.

If you have additional ideas you’d like to share, we’d be pleased to hear them and add them to this list!

Frequently Asked Questions

Below is a list of the most frequently asked questions by passengers and their answers, hopefully they will give you more information and a better idea about our tours to Manu.

What is the maximum group size on the camping trips?

The maximum size of the groups is 10 people per guide. If we have more people (between 11 and 14) we send two guides. If there are more than 14 people we split the group into two independent groups - both with their own boats, guides, cooks and program. The only time they spend together is on the first day and a part of the second, while travelling by bus.

What kind of transportation do you provide for the trip into Manu?

A Russian 6-wheel drive bus is used for 22 passengers – it is the perfect vehicle to go to Manu considering that the road is not perfect.

Are participants expected to help with setting up the camp and with the cooking, or is this done for us?

Cooking and dishes are done by the cook and his helper. In principal the boatmen and the guide will put up the tents but since it takes a while people in the group usually assist them - although there is no obligation to do so.

What facilities are there at the campsites, for example, for washing and for toilet facilities, and is the tour luxury?

We find it important to minimize our impact as much as possible. Therefore, we do not promote this as a luxury tour. On the contrary you may encounter some physical hardships such as heat, humidity, biting insects, plus basic washing and toilet facilities.

Our base camp at Lake Salvador has good toilets, showers and a dining area. At some campsites (no more than 2 nights per tour) the only way to wash is in the river and there are no toilets. If you don't like to wash yourself in the river you can ask for a bucket of water and throw it over yourself with a cup. At each campsite we provide water to wash your hands before meals. Nevertheless, your reward is to be part of a rainforest as it has been since the beginning of its time!

What safety measurements do you have?

Concerning the back-up facilities, all our campsites have a radio communication set either at the site or within 30 minutes walking/boating. All our personnel have been trained in first-aid, and a first-aid kit goes with the tour.

Do the boats have a roof?

Yes the boats have a roof to protect yourself against the sun and rain (if you are sitting on a moving boat, rain always comes in on one side though).

Is all drinking water provided? Is this purified?

You should bring your own water just for the first day. For the rest of the trip we provide mineral water that we bring in from Cusco.

What is the food like?

Our food is not typical Peruvian food, nor typical tourist food. It is food that lasts in the heat and humidity of the tropical rainforest. For breakfasts there are omelettes, scrambled eggs, pancakes etc. The lunches in general consist of cold salads, since it is usually hot at that time of the day, and the dinners feature soups (the great Peruvian soups!), a main course with meat for the first part of the tour and beans or lentils for the second part (since meat cannot been kept cool for a long time) and desserts of fresh fruits or puddings etc. You can also ask for a special diet, such as vegetarian, leaving out salt or anything else that you need or prefer.

Do you remove all waste from the campsites?

Yes, of course we remove all waste from the campsite. Biodegradable garbage is decomposed in the ground at a specially designed area near the Pantiacolla Lodge. Non-biodegradable waste is returned to Cusco.

What is the camping equipment like?

For comfort we provide 3-person tents for 2 people sharing and large single tents for single travellers. We provide sleeping mats and you need to bring your own sleeping bag. You can hire sleeping bags at our office for US$4.00/day, including a sleeping liner. When you sleep in the tents it is not necessary to use mosquito nets because the tent, with mosquito wiring in the door, will protect you against them.

Do we need to bring our own mosquito nets?

You do not have to bring your own mosquito nets; wherever they are needed we will provide them.

What are the overnight conditions for each night of the tour?

first night: Posada San Pedro is a basic lodge with double rooms. The rooms have two beds with mattresses and mosquito netting. There are shared showers and toilets and a dining area. And there is hot water for the showers.

second night: this is on a beach in tents, without showers and toilets. The tents are 3-people capacity tents, used for 2, so you both fit in and your backpacks as well. There is a screened dinner tent, for toilets you receive a little shuffle to make your own and for a shower you can swim in the river, or ask the guide to bring you a bucket of water.

third and fourth night: at our campsite near Lake Salvador. Our campsite consists of little huts, raised from the forest floor, with beds with mattresses and mosquito netting. There are shared showers and toilets and there is a dining area.

fifth night: on a beach, like the second night.

sixth night: at Tambo Blanquillo, near the clay lick for macaws. This is also a basic lodge with double rooms, shared showers and toilets.

seventh and eight night: at Pantiacolla Lodge, same as above, a basic lodge with double rooms and shared showers and toilets.

For the second and the fifth night, the "real camping" nights on the beaches, there is a lodge alternative, which has a cost of $20.00 - per person per night extra. Nevertheless, in case the weather would be bad for that second or fifth night, we all go to the lodge, and there will be no extra charge.

Are you guaranteed to see birds at the Macaw Lick?

The dry season is a good season to see the birds. The most likely reason for them to come together and eat the clay is because at certain times of the year there are hardly any fruits available for them, just seeds. Seeds in general have a toxic layer to prevent animals from eating them. If the macaws eat them they have a build up of poison in their stomach. To neutralize the acids that the poison produces in their stomachs they eat the clay. In the rainy season there are many fruits up until the beginning of the dry season, which is May. So the macaws eat fewer seeds and more non-toxic fruits and feel less necessity to eat the clay. Usually it means there are fewer macaws present: in the middle of the dry season there may be from 100 to 150 macaws visiting the clay lick in one morning, whereas these maybe only 10 to 50 at the end of the rainy season.

What are the temperatures like in Manu?

The first night is spent in the cloud forest, at 1600m, where temperatures are about 10 degrees Celsius (50F). In Manu’s lowland forest, the temperature at night is normally around 24 degrees Celsius (75F) and during the day about 30 degrees Celsius (86F). However, cold winds from Patagonia may reach Manu and the temperature may lower to about 10 degrees Celsius (50F). These “friajes” are more common during the southern hemisphere’s wintertime (between April and the end of August).

Is there a lot of walking?

There is not a lot of walking in the sense of going far. All walking is done slowly. This is because most of what you find in a rainforest is vegetation and to be able to pick out the animals you have to take your time to look around, and listen as well. The first day of the tour has an afternoon hike of about two hours. The second day is mostly spent looking for birds and animals on the Alto Madre de Dios River, with less walking than the other days. The third and fourth days feature a short hike to Lake Salvador, and various different hikes in the Reserved Zone and on trails around the accommodation. The fifth day has an early morning walk. Finally, the sixth day has a two-hour walk, and the seventh day has no walks at all. Night walks can be added to most days depending on the camp area (it is not possible on beach camps).

Are the flights Boca Manu to Cusco often delayed?

Concerning the flights from Boca Manu to Cusco, delays frequently occur due to bad weather conditions (there is no radar on the Boca Manu landing strip) or other external circumstances, having an incidence of approximately 50% of flights being delayed for 2 hours or more. This means you still return to Cusco on the same day as planned, but in the afternoon instead of in the morning. In about 10% of the cases however, people have to wait an extra night at the Boca Manu airport, to return to Cusco the morning of the next day. In these cases, the agency will cover the extra costs derived in the rainforest from a non-flight situation (extra overnights, meals etc.). However, extra costs outside of the rainforest, such as hotel expenses in Cusco or elsewhere, changing airplane tickets etc., are not our responsibility and will therefore not be covered by us.

The recent construction of a road between Boca Colorado and Puerto Maldonado on the Madre de Dios River, now also gives us the option to return to Cusco via Puerto Maldonado. The choice between the two return flight options, the first from Boca Manu and the second from Puerto Maldonado, is made according to what best fits your commodity and safety. Also in the case of a return flight from Puerto Maldonado, the agency will cover all the costs made in the rainforest area.

If you have more questions about the return flights, please contact us you more details.

Should I take a malaria prophylaxis?

There is no malaria in the area we visit. However, in a nearby gold miners area there is, and these gold miners may travel back on the same river as we do. Therefore, there exists the possibility that one of the mosquitoes, that have no malaria yet, can bite one of the gold miners with malaria first, in the process infecting itself with malaria, and afterwards bite you, and so infecting you with malaria. This probability is very small, and until now no tourist who visited Manu did get malaria, but still it exists. On the other hand, the gold miners do not use a malaria prophylaxis, meaning the malaria has built no resistance against any malaria medication, and curing yourself from being the first Manu tourist who got malaria, will be simple and 100%. This combined with the fact that the malaria prophylaxis is not good for our health, make it more recommendable all in all not take the tablets, but of course, it is everyone’s choice.

Regarding yellow fever, a yellow fever vaccination is totally recommended before entering Manu.

Will there be a Pre-departure briefing?

The day before departure there will be a briefing at 19:00 hrs. In case you cannot be present for the briefing please let us know, to make sure you get at least information about departure time and place.